Isaiah 9 (New
Living Translation)
Hope in the Messiah
1
Nevertheless,
that time of darkness
and despair will not go on forever. The land of
Zebulun and Naphtali will be humbled, but there will be a time in the
future when Galilee of the Gentiles, which lies along the road that
runs between the Jordan and the sea, will be filled with glory.
2
The people who walk in darkness
will see a great light.
For those who live in a land of deep darkness,
a light will shine.
3 You will enlarge
the nation of Israel,
and its people will rejoice.
They will rejoice before you
as people rejoice at the harvest
and like warriors dividing the
plunder.
4 For you will break
the yoke of their slavery
and lift the heavy burden from
their shoulders.
You will break the oppressor’s rod,
just as you did when you destroyed
the army of Midian.
5 The boots of the
warrior
and the uniforms bloodstained by
war
will all be burned.
They will be fuel for the fire.
6
For a child is born to us,
a son is given to us.
The government will rest on his shoulders.
And he will be called:
Wonderful Counselor,
Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of
Peace.
7 His government and
its peace
will never end.
He will rule with fairness and justice from the
throne of his ancestor David
for all eternity.
The passionate commitment of the Lord
of Heaven’s Armies
will make this happen!
The Lord’s
Anger against Israel
8
The Lord has spoken out against Jacob;
his judgment has fallen upon
Israel.
9 And the people of
Israel
and Samaria,
who spoke with such pride and
arrogance,
will soon know it.
10 They said, “We
will replace the broken bricks of our ruins with finished stone,
and replant the felled
sycamore-fig trees with cedars.”
11
But the Lord will bring
Rezin’s enemies against Israel
and stir up all their foes.
12 The Syrians
from the east and the Philistines from the west
will bare their fangs and devour
Israel.
But even then the Lord’s
anger will not be satisfied.
His fist is still poised to
strike.
13
For after all this punishment, the people will still not repent.
They will not seek the Lord
of Heaven’s Armies.
14 Therefore, in a
single day the Lord will
destroy both the head and the tail,
the noble palm branch and the
lowly reed.
15 The leaders of
Israel are the head,
and the lying prophets are the
tail.
16 For the leaders of
the people have misled them.
They have led them down the path
of destruction.
17 That is why the
Lord takes no pleasure in the young men
and shows no mercy even to the
widows and orphans.
For they are all wicked hypocrites,
and they all speak foolishness.
But even then the Lord’s
anger will not be satisfied.
His fist is still poised to
strike.
18
This wickedness is like a brushfire.
It burns not only briers and
thorns
but also sets the forests ablaze.
Its burning sends up clouds of
smoke.
19 The land will be
blackened
by the fury of the Lord
of Heaven’s Armies.
The people will be fuel for the fire,
and no one will spare even his own
brother.
20 They will attack
their neighbor on the right
but will still be hungry.
They will devour their neighbor on the left
but will not be satisfied.
In the end they will even eat their own children.
21 Manasseh will feed
on Ephraim,
Ephraim will feed on Manasseh,
and both will devour Judah.
But even then the Lord’s
anger will not be satisfied.
His fist is still poised to
strike.
verses six and seven,
in the NIV are as follows:
6
For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his
shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of
Peace.
7
Of the increase of his government and peace
there will be no end.
He will reign on David's throne
and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
with justice and righteousness
from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the LORD Almighty
will accomplish this.
