Isaiah 9

English Standard Version

For to Us a Child Is Born

9 ^[a] But there will be no ^(A)gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time he ^(B)brought into contempt the land of ^(C)Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he ^(D)has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.^[b]

²^[c] ^(E)The people ^(F)who walked in darkness
    have seen a great light;
those who dwelt in a land of ^(G)deep darkness,
    on them has light shone.
³^(H)You have multiplied the nation;
    you have increased its joy;
they rejoice before you
    as with ^(I)joy at the harvest,
    as they ^(J)are glad ^(K)when they divide the spoil.
⁴^(L)For the yoke of his burden,
    ^(M)and the staff for his shoulder,
    the rod of his oppressor,
    you have broken as ^(N)on the day of Midian.
⁵^(O)For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult
    and every garment rolled in blood
    will be burned as fuel for the fire.
⁶^(P)For to us a child is born,
    to us ^(Q)a son is given;
^(R)and the government shall be ^(S)upon^[d] his shoulder,
    and his name shall be called^[e]
Wonderful ^(T)Counselor, ^(U)Mighty God,
    ^(V)Everlasting ^(W)Father, Prince of ^(X)Peace.
⁷Of the increase of his government and of peace
    ^(Y)there will be no end,
on the throne of David and over his kingdom,
    to establish it and to uphold it
^(Z)with justice and with righteousness
    from this time forth and forevermore.
^(AA)The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.

Judgment on Arrogance and Oppression

⁸The Lord has sent a word against Jacob,
    and it will fall on Israel;
⁹and all the people will know,
    ^(AB)Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria,
    who say in pride and in arrogance of heart:
¹⁰“The bricks have fallen,
    but we will build with dressed stones;
the sycamores have been cut down,
    but we will put cedars in their place.”
¹¹But the Lord raises the adversaries of Rezin against him,
    and stirs up his enemies.
¹²^(AC)The Syrians on the east and ^(AD)the Philistines on the west
    devour Israel with open mouth.
^(AE)For all this his anger has not turned away,
    and his hand is stretched out still.

¹³The people ^(AF)did not turn to him who struck them,
    nor inquire of the Lord of hosts.
¹⁴So the Lord cut off from Israel ^(AG)head and tail,
    palm branch and reed in one day—
¹⁵^(AH)the elder and honored man is the head,
    and ^(AI)the prophet who teaches lies is the tail;
¹⁶for those who guide this people have been leading them astray,
    and those who are guided by them are swallowed up.
¹⁷Therefore the Lord does not ^(AJ)rejoice over their young men,
    and has no compassion on their fatherless and widows;
for everyone is ^(AK)godless and an evildoer,
    and every mouth speaks ^(AL)folly.^[f]
^(AM)For all this his anger has not turned away,
    and his hand is stretched out still.

¹⁸For wickedness burns like ^(AN)a fire;
    it consumes briers and thorns;
it kindles the thickets of the forest,
    and they roll upward in a column of smoke.
¹⁹Through the wrath of the Lord of hosts
    the land is scorched,
and ^(AO)the people are like fuel for the fire;
    ^(AP)no one spares another.
²⁰^(AQ)They slice meat on the right, but are still hungry,
    and they devour on the left, but are not satisfied;
^(AR)each devours the flesh of his own arm,
²¹Manasseh devours Ephraim, and Ephraim devours Manasseh;
    together they are ^(AS)against Judah.
^(AT)For all this his anger has not turned away,
    and his hand is stretched out still.