Isaiah 9

1 But the darkness shall not remain where now is distress; Of old he brought the land of Zebulon and the land of Naphtali into contempt; In future times shall he bring the land of the sea beyond Jordan, the circle of the gentiles, into honor.

Drink this first. Act quickly, O land of Zabulon, land of Nephthalim, and the rest [inhabiting] the sea-coast, and [the land] beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles.

2 The people that walk in darkness behold a great light; They who dwell in the land of death-like shade, Upon them a light shineth.

O people walking in darkness, behold a great light: ye that dwell in the region [and] shadow of death, a light shall shine upon you.

3 Thou enlargest the nation; Thou increasest their joy; They rejoice before thee with the joy of harvest, With the joy of those who divide the spoil.

The multitude of the people which thou hast brought down in thy joy, they shall even rejoice before thee as they that rejoice in harvest, and as they that divide the spoil.

4 For thou breakest their heavy yoke, And the rod that smote their backs, And the scourge of the taskmaster, As in the day of Midian.

Because the yoke that was laid upon them has been taken away, and the rod that was on their neck: for he has broken the rod of the exactors, as in the day of Madiam.

5 For every greave of the warrior in battle, And the war-garment rolled in blood, Shall be burned; yea, it shall be food for the fire.

For they shall compensate for every garment that has been acquired by deceit, and [all] raiment with restitution; and they shall be willing, [even] if they were burnt with fire.

6 For to us a child is born, To us a son is given, And the government shall be upon his shoulder, And he shall be called Wonderful, counsellor, mighty potentate, Everlasting father, prince of peace;

For a child is born to us, and a son is given to us, whose government is upon his shoulder: and his name is called the Messenger of great counsel: for I will bring peace upon the princes, and health to him.

7 His dominion shall be great, And peace without end shall be upon the throne of David and his kingdom, To fix and establish it Through justice and equity, Henceforth and forever. The zeal of Jehovah of hosts will do this.

His government shall be great, and of his peace there is no end: [it shall be] upon the throne of David, and [upon] his kingdom, to establish it, and to support [it] with judgment and with righteousness, from henceforth and forever. The seal of the Lord of hosts shall perform this.

8 The Lord sendeth a word against Jacob; It cometh down to Israel.

The Lord has sent death upon Jacob, and it has come upon Israel.

9 His whole people shall feel it, Ephraim, and the inhabitants of Samaria, Who say in pride and arrogance of heart,

And all the people of Ephraim, and they that dwelt in Samaria shall know, who say in their pride and lofty heart,

10 “The bricks are fallen down, but we will build with hewn stones; The sycamores are cut down, but we will replace them with cedars.”

The bricks are fallen down, but come, let us hew stones, and cut down sycamores and cedars, and let us build for ourselves a tower.

11 Jehovah will raise up the enemies of Rezin against them, And will arm their adversaries;

And God shall dash down them that rise up against him on mount Sion, and shall scatter his enemies;

12 The Syrians before, the Philistines behind, Who shall devour Israel with wide jaws. For all this his anger is not turned away, But his hand is stretched out still.

[even] Syria from the rising of the sun, and the Greeks from the setting of the sun, who devour Israel with open mouth. For all this [his] anger is not turned away, but still [his] hand is exalted.

13 The people turn not to him that smiteth them; Neither do they seek Jehovah of hosts.

But the people turned not until they were smitten, and they sought not the Lord.

14 Therefore shall Jehovah cut off from Israel the head and the tail, The palm-branch and the rush, in one day.

So the Lord took away from Israel the head and tail, great and small, in one day:

15 [[The aged and the honorable are the head, And the prophet that speaketh falsehood is the tail.]]

the old man, and them that respect persons, this is the head; and the prophet teaching unlawful things, he is the tail.

16 For the leaders of this people lead them astray, And they that are led by them go to destruction.

And they that pronounce this people blessed shall mislead them; and they mislead them that they may devour them.

17 Therefore shall the Lord have no joy in their young men, And on their orphans and widows he shall have no compassion; For they are all profane, and evil-doers; Every mouth speaketh folly. For all this his anger is not turned away, But his hand is stretched out still.

Therefore the Lord shall not take pleasure in their young men, neither shall he have pity on their orphans or on their widows: for they are all transgressors and wicked, and every mouth speaks unjustly. For all this [his] anger is not turned away, but [his] hand is yet exalted.

18 For wickedness burneth like a fire, It consumeth the briers and thorns, And it kindleth the thicket of the forest, So that it goeth up in columns of smoke.

And iniquity shall burn as fire, and shall be devoured by fire as dry grass: and it shall burn in the thickets of the wood, and shall devour all that is round about the hills.

19 Through the wrath of Jehovah of hosts is the land burned, And the people are food for the fire; No one spareth another.

The whole earth is set on fire because of the fierce anger of the Lord, and the people shall be as men burnt by fire: no man shall pity his brother.

20 They consume on the right hand, and yet are hungry; They devour on the left, and are not satisfied; Every one devoureth the flesh of his arm.

But [one] shall turn aside to the right hand, for he shall be hungry; and shall eat on the left, and a man shall by no means be satisfied with eating the flesh of his own arm.

21 Manasseh is against Ephraim, and Ephraim against Manasseh, And both together against Judah. For all this his anger is not turned away, But his hand is stretched out still.

For Manasses shall eat [the flesh] of Ephraim, and Ephraim [the flesh] of Manasses; for they shall besiege Juda together. For all this [his] anger is not turned away, but [his] hand is yet exalted.