Isaiah 9
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 9
1 The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light;
Upon those who lived in a land of gloom
a light has shone.(A)
2 You have brought them abundant joy
and great rejoicing;
They rejoice before you as people rejoice at harvest,
as they exult when dividing the spoils.
3 For the yoke that burdened them,
the pole on their shoulder,
The rod of their taskmaster,
you have smashed, as on the day of Midian.[a](B)
4 For every boot that tramped in battle,
every cloak rolled in blood,
will be burned as fuel for fire.(C)
5 For a child[b] is born to us, a son is given to us;
upon his shoulder dominion rests.
They name him Wonder-Counselor, God-Hero,(D)
Father-Forever, Prince of Peace.
6 His dominion is vast
and forever peaceful,
Upon David’s throne, and over his kingdom,
which he confirms and sustains
By judgment and justice,
both now and forever.(E)
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this!
Judgment on the Northern Kingdom[c]
7 The Lord has sent a word against Jacob,
and it falls upon Israel;
8 And all the people know it—
Ephraim and those who dwell in Samaria—
those who say in arrogance and pride of heart,
9 “Bricks have fallen,
but we will rebuild with cut stone;
Sycamores have been felled,
but we will replace them with cedars.”(F)
10 So the Lord raises up their foes against them
and stirs up their enemies to action—
11 Aram[d] from the east and the Philistines from the west—
they devour Israel with open mouth.
For all this, his wrath is not turned back,
and his hand is still outstretched!
12 The people do not turn back to the one who struck them,
nor do they seek the Lord of hosts.
13 So the Lord cuts off from Israel head and tail,
palm branch and reed in one day.(G)
14 (The elder and the noble are the head,
the prophet who teaches falsehood is the tail.)(H)
15 Those who lead this people lead them astray,
and those who are led are swallowed up.(I)
16 That is why the Lord does not spare their young men,
and their orphans and widows he does not pity;
For they are totally impious and wicked,
and every mouth speaks folly.
For all this, his wrath is not turned back,
his hand is still outstretched!
17 For wickedness burns like fire,
devouring brier and thorn;
It kindles the forest thickets,
which go up in columns of smoke.(J)
18 At the wrath of the Lord of hosts the land quakes,
and the people are like fuel for fire;
no one spares his brother.(K)
19 They hack on the right, but remain hungry;
they devour on the left, but are not filled.
Each devours the flesh of the neighbor;
20 Manasseh devours Ephraim,[e] and Ephraim Manasseh,
together they turn on Judah.
For all this, his wrath is not turned back,
his hand is still outstretched!
Footnotes
- 9:3 Day of Midian: when God used the judge Gideon to deliver these northern territories from Midianite oppression (Jgs 6–7).
- 9:5 A child: perhaps to be identified with the Emmanuel of 7:14 and 8:8; cf. 11:1–2, 9. This verse may reflect a coronation rather than a birth. Upon his shoulder: the reference may be to a particular act in the ritual in which a symbol of the king’s authority was placed on his shoulder (cf. 2 Kgs 11:12; Is 22:22).
- 9:7–20 + 5:25–30 These verses describe a series of judgments God sent against the Northern Kingdom of Israel because of its sins. Despite the judgments, however, Israel continued to rebel, and God’s anger remained unabated, as the recurring refrain emphasizes (9:11, 16, 20). The refrain ties Is 9:7–20 together as a unit, but 9:20 is far too abrupt to be the original conclusion to the oracle. With its series of past judgments and repeated refrain, the oracle resembles Am 4:6–12; by analogy with that model one expects a conclusion in which the prophet turns from the narration of past judgments to the announcement of a future judgment. Is 5:25–30 fits the pattern found in 9:7–20 and provides a suitable and possibly original conclusion for the whole oracle.
- 9:11 Aram: the Syrian kingdom, with its capital at Damascus.
- 9:20 Manasseh…Ephraim: two of the leading tribes of the Northern Kingdom. The reference is to the civil wars that marked the final decades of the Northern Kingdom (2 Kgs 15:10, 14–16, 25; cf. Hos 7:3–7).
Isaiah 9
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Birth of the Prince of Peace
9 [a]Nevertheless, the gloom of the distressed land will not be like that of the former times when He humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali.(A) But in the future He will bring honor to the Way of the Sea, to the land east of the Jordan, and to Galilee of the nations.
2 [b]The people walking in darkness
have seen a great light;(B)
a light has dawned
on those living in the land of darkness.(C)
3 You have enlarged the nation
and increased its joy.[c](D)
The people have rejoiced before You
as they rejoice at harvest time
and as they rejoice when dividing spoils.(E)
4 For You have shattered their oppressive yoke(F)
and the rod on their shoulders,
the staff of their oppressor,
just as You did on the day of Midian.(G)
5 For the trampling boot of battle
and the bloodied garments of war
will be burned as fuel for the fire.
6 For a child will be born for us,
a son will be given to us,(H)
and the government will be on His shoulders.(I)
He will be named
Wonderful Counselor,(J) Mighty God,(K)
Eternal Father,(L) Prince of Peace.(M)
7 The dominion will be vast,
and its prosperity will never end.(N)
He will reign on the throne of David
and over his kingdom,
to establish and sustain it
with justice and righteousness from now on and forever.
The zeal of the Lord of Hosts will accomplish this.(O)
The Hand Raised against Israel
8 The Lord sent a message against Jacob;
it came against Israel.
9 All the people—
Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria(P)—will know it.
They will say with pride and arrogance:
10 “The bricks have fallen,
but we will rebuild with cut stones;
the sycamores have been cut down,
but we will replace them with cedars.”
11 The Lord has raised up Rezin’s adversaries against him
and stirred up his enemies.
12 Aram from the east and Philistia from the west
have consumed Israel with open mouths.
In all this, His anger is not removed,
and His hand is still raised to strike.(Q)
13 The people did not turn to Him who struck them;
they did not seek the Lord of Hosts.
14 So the Lord cut off Israel’s head and tail,(R)
palm branch and reed in a single day.
15 The head is the elder, the honored one;(S)
the tail is the prophet, the lying teacher.(T)
16 The leaders of the people mislead them,
and those they mislead are swallowed up.[d]
17 Therefore the Lord does not rejoice
over[e] Israel’s young men
and has no compassion
on its fatherless and widows,
for everyone is a godless evildoer,(U)
and every mouth speaks folly.
In all this, His anger is not removed,
and His hand is still raised to strike.
18 For wickedness burns like a fire(V)
that consumes thorns and briers
and kindles the forest thickets
so that they go up in a column of smoke.
19 The land is scorched
by the wrath of the Lord of Hosts,
and the people are like fuel for the fire.(W)
No one has compassion on his brother.(X)
20 They carve meat on the right,
but they are still hungry;(Y)
they have eaten on the left,
but they are still not satisfied.
Each one eats the flesh of his own arm.(Z)
21 Manasseh is with Ephraim,
and Ephraim with Manasseh;
together, both are against Judah.(AA)
In all this, His anger is not removed,
and His hand is still raised to strike.(AB)
Footnotes
- Isaiah 9:1 Is 8:23 in Hb
- Isaiah 9:2 Is 9:1 in Hb
- Isaiah 9:3 Alt Hb tradition reads have not increased joy
- Isaiah 9:16 Or are confused
- Isaiah 9:17 DSS read not spare
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
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