1 9:1Ch8:23in Heb But there will be nomoregloom 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 shall makeitglorious, by the way of the sea, on the other side of Jordan, Galilee of the 9:1Or nations Gentiles.
2 9:2Ch9:1in Heb The people who walk in darknessWill see a great light;Those who live in the land of the shadow of death,The light will shine on them.
3 You shall multiply the nation,You shall 9:3 M.T. not increase make great 9:3 Lit the their gladness;They will be glad in Your presenceAs with the gladness 9:3 Lit in of harvest,As 9:3 Lit they men rejoice when they divide the spoil.
4 For You shall shatter the yoke of their burden and the staff on their shoulders,The rod of their taskmaster, as 9:4Lit in the day of Midian at the battle of Midian.
5 For every boot of the booted warrior in the rumblingof battle,And cloak rolled in blood, will be for burning, fuel for the fire.
6 For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us;And the government will 9:6Lit be rest on His shoulders;And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.
7 There will be no end to the increase ofHisgovernment or of peace,On the throne of David and over his kingdom,To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousnessFrom then on and forevermore.The zeal of Yahweh of hosts will accomplish this.Yahweh’s Anger with Israel’s Arrogance
8 ¶The Lord sends a 9:8Lit word message against Jacob,And it falls on Israel.
9 And all the people knowit,That is, Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria,Saying in lofty pride and in arrogance of heart:
10 “The bricks have fallen down,But we will rebuild with cut stones;The sycamores have been cut in pieces,But we will replacethemwith cedars.”
11 Therefore Yahweh exalts against them adversaries from RezinAnd incites their enemies,
12 The Arameans on the east and the Philistines on the west;And they devour Israel with 9:12Lit the whole mouth gaping jaws.Inspite ofall this, His anger does not turn back,And His hand is still stretched out.
13 ¶Yet the people do not turn back to Him who struck them,Nor do they seek Yahweh of hosts.
14 So Yahweh cuts off head and tail from Israel,Bothpalm branch and bulrush in a single day.
15 The head is the elder and the 9:15Lit the one whose face is lifted up highly respected man,And the prophet who teaches falsehood is the tail.
16 For those who guide this people are leadingthemastray;And those who are guided by them are 9:16 Or swallowed up brought to confusion.
17 Therefore the Lord is not glad in their choice men,Nor does He have compassion on their 9:17Or fatherless orphans or their widows;For every one of them is godless and an evildoer,And every mouth is speaking wicked foolishness.Inspite ofall this, His anger does not turn back,And His hand is still stretched out.
18 ¶For wickedness burns like a fire;It consumes briars and thorns;It even sets the thickets of the forest aflame,And they roll upward in a column of smoke.
19 By the fury of Yahweh of hosts the land is burned up,And the people are like fuel for the fire;No man spares his brother.
20 9:20 Lit he slices They slice offwhat ison the right hand butstillare hungry,And 9:20 Lit he eats they eatwhat ison the left hand but they are not satisfied;Each of them eats the flesh of his own arm.
21 ManassehdevoursEphraim, and Ephraim Manasseh,Andtogether they are against Judah.Inspite ofall this, His anger does not turn back,And His hand is still stretched out.