Isa 9 | NASB2020 | STEP | But there will be no more gloom for her who was in anguish . In earlier times He treated the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali with contempt , but later on He will make it glorious , by the way of the sea , on the other side of the Jordan , Galilee of the Gentiles .

Isaiah 9

Birth and Reign of the Prince of Peace

1 ^{▼▼Ch 8:23 in Heb}But there will be no more ^bgloom for her who was in anguish. In earlier times He ^ctreated the ^dland of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali with contempt, but later on He will make it glorious, by the way of the sea, on the other side of the Jordan, Galilee of the ^{▼▼Or nations}Gentiles.

2 ^{▼▼Ch 9:1 in Heb
,} ^gThe people who walk in darkness
Will see a great light;
Those who live in a dark land,
The light will shine on them.
3 ^hYou will multiply the nation,
You ⁱwill ^{▼▼Another reading is not increase}increase ^{▼▼Lit the}their joy;
They will rejoice in Your presence
As with the joy ^{▼▼Lit in}of harvest,
As people ^mrejoice when they divide the spoils.
4 For ⁿYou will break the yoke of their burden and the staff on their shoulders,
The rod of their ^ooppressor, as ^{▼▼Lit in the day of Midian}at the battle of ^qMidian.
5 For every boot of the marching warrior in the roar of battle,
And cloak rolled in blood, will be for burning, fuel for the fire.
6 For a ^rChild will be born to us, a ^sSon will be given to us;
And the ^tgovernment will ^{▼▼Lit be}rest ^von His shoulders;
And His name will be called ^wWonderful Counselor, ^xMighty God,
Eternal ^yFather, Prince of ^zPeace.
7 There will be ^aano end to the increase of His government or of peace
On the ^abthrone of David and over ^{▼▼I.e., David’s}his kingdom,
To establish it and to uphold it with ^adjustice and righteousness
From then on and forevermore.
^aeThe zeal of the Lord of armies will accomplish this.

God’s Anger with Israel’s Arrogance

8 The Lord sends a ^{▼▼Lit word}message against Jacob,
And it falls on Israel.
9 And all the people know it,
That is, ^agEphraim and the inhabitants of Samaria,
Asserting in pride and in ^aharrogance of heart:
10 “The bricks have fallen down,
But we will ^airebuild with smooth stones;
The sycamores have been cut down,
But we will replace them with cedars.”
11 Therefore the Lord raises superior adversaries against them from ^ajRezin
And provokes their enemies,
12 The Arameans from the east and the ^akPhilistines from the west;
And they ^aldevour Israel with ^{▼▼Lit the whole mouth}gaping jaws.
^anIn spite of all this, His anger does not turn away,
And His hand is still stretched out.

13 Yet the people ^aodo not turn back to Him who struck them,
Nor do they ^apseek the Lord of armies.
14 So the Lord cuts off ^aqhead and tail from Israel,
Both palm branch and bulrush ^arin a single day.
15 The head is ^asthe elder and esteemed man,
And the prophet who teaches ^atfalsehood is the tail.
16 ^auFor those who guide this people are leading them astray;
And those who are guided by them are ^{▼▼Or swallowed up}confused.
17 Therefore the Lord does ^awnot rejoice over their young men,
^axNor does He have compassion on their ^{▼▼Or fatherless}orphans or their widows;
For every one of them is ^azgodless and an ^baevildoer,
And every ^bbmouth is speaking foolishness.
^bcIn spite of all this, His anger does not turn away,
And His hand is still stretched out.

18 ^bdFor wickedness burns like a fire;
It consumes briars and thorns;
It also sets the thickets of the forest aflame
And they roll upward in a column of smoke.
19 By the ^bewrath of the Lord of armies the ^bfland is burned,
And the ^bgpeople are like fuel for the fire;
No ^bhone spares his brother.
20 ^{▼▼Lit And he slices}They devour what is on the right hand but are still ^bjhungry,
And ^{▼▼Lit he eats}they eat what is on the left hand, but they are not satisfied;
Each of them eats the ^blflesh of his own arm.
21 Manasseh devours Ephraim, and Ephraim Manasseh,
^bmAnd together they are against Judah.
^bnIn spite of all this, His anger does not turn away
And His hand is still stretched out.