Isaiah 9-12

Common English Bible

^2 [c] The people walking in darkness have seen a great light.
    On those living in a pitch-dark land, light has dawned.
³ You have made the nation great;
    you have increased its joy.
They rejoiced before you as with joy at the harvest,
    as those who divide plunder rejoice.
⁴ As on the day of Midian, you’ve shattered the yoke that burdened them,
    the staff on their shoulders,
    and the rod of their oppressor.
⁵ Because every boot of the thundering warriors,
    and every garment rolled in blood
    will be burned, fuel for the fire.
⁶ A child is born to us, a son is given to us,
    and authority will be on his shoulders.
    He will be named
    Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
    Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.
⁷ There will be vast authority and endless peace
    for David’s throne and for his kingdom,
    establishing and sustaining it
    with justice and righteousness
    now and forever.

⁸ The Lord sent a word against Jacob;
    it fell upon Israel;
⁹     the people all knew it—
    Ephraim and the one who rules in Samaria.
But with a proud and arrogant heart they said,
¹⁰     “Bricks have fallen,
        but let’s rebuild with stones.
    Sycamores were cut down,
        but let’s replace them with cedars.”
¹¹ So the Lord raised up their foes against them,^[d]
    and stirred up their enemies—
¹²     Aram from the east and the Philistines from the west—
    and they devoured Israel with an open mouth.
Even then God’s anger didn’t turn away;
    God’s hand was still extended.

10 Doom to those who pronounce wicked decrees,
    and keep writing harmful laws
²     to deprive the needy of their rights
    and to rob the poor among my people of justice;
    to make widows their loot;
    to steal from orphans!
³ What will you do on the day of punishment
    when disaster comes from far away?
To whom will you flee for help;
    where will you stash your wealth?
⁴ How will you avoid crouching among the prisoners
    and falling among the slain?
Even so, God’s anger hasn’t turned away;
    God’s hand is still extended.

⁵ Doom to Assyria, rod of my anger,
    in whose hand is the staff of my fury!
⁶ Against a godless nation I send him;
    against an infuriating people
    I direct him to seize spoil, to steal plunder,
    and to trample them like mud in the streets.
⁷ But he has other plans;
    he schemes in secret;
    destruction is on his mind,
    extermination of nation after nation.
⁸ He says: Aren’t my commanders all kings?
⁹     Isn’t Calno like Carchemish?
    Isn’t Hamath like Arpad?
    Isn’t Samaria like Damascus?
¹⁰ Just as I took control of idolatrous kingdoms
    with more images than Jerusalem and Samaria,
¹¹     just as I did to Samaria and her false gods,
    won’t I also do this to Jerusalem and her idols?

¹³ He said, “By my own strength I have achieved it,
    and by my wisdom, since I’m so clever.
    I disregarded national boundaries; I raided their treasures;
    I knocked down their rulers like a bull.
¹⁴     My hand found the wealth of the peoples
    as if it were in a nest.
Just as one gathers abandoned eggs,
    I have gathered the entire earth;
    no creature fluttered a wing or opened a mouth to chirp.”

²⁶ Therefore, the Lord of heavenly forces will crack a whip against Assyria,
    as when he struck Midian at the rock of Oreb.
    He will raise a rod over the sea,
        as he did in Egypt.
²⁷ On that day, God will remove the burden from your shoulder
    and destroy the yoke on your neck.^[i]

He has gone up from Samaria,
²⁸     come against Aiath,
    passed to Migron.
At Michmash he stored his equipment.
²⁹ They crossed at the pass: “We’ll camp at Geba!”
    Ramah trembles; Gibeah of Saul has fled.
³⁰ Cry aloud, Daughter Gallim!
    Listen, Laishah! Answer her, Anathoth!
³¹ Madmenah has flown.
    Gebim’s inhabitants sought refuge.
³² This very day he will stand at Nob
    and shake his fist^[j] at Daughter Zion’s mountain,
    the hill of Jerusalem!
³³ Look! The Lord God of heavenly forces
    is chopping off the branches with terrible power.
    The loftiest ones are about to be cut down
        and the exalted laid low.
³⁴ He will strike down the forest thickets with an ax,
    and mighty Lebanon will fall.

11 A shoot will grow up from the stump of Jesse;
    a branch will sprout^[k] from his roots.
² The Lord’s spirit will rest upon him,
    a spirit of wisdom and understanding,
    a spirit of planning and strength,
    a spirit of knowledge and fear of the Lord.
³ He will delight in fearing the Lord.
He won’t judge by appearances,
    nor decide by hearsay.
⁴ He will judge the needy with righteousness,
    and decide with equity for those who suffer in the land.
He will strike the violent^[l] with the rod of his mouth;
    by the breath of his lips he will kill the wicked.
⁵ Righteousness will be the belt around his hips,
    and faithfulness the belt around his waist.
⁶ The wolf will live with the lamb,
    and the leopard will lie down with the young goat;
    the calf and the young lion will feed^[m] together,
    and a little child will lead them.
⁷ The cow and the bear will graze.
    Their young will lie down together,
    and a lion will eat straw like an ox.
⁸ A nursing child will play over the snake’s hole;
    toddlers will reach right over the serpent’s den.
⁹ They won’t harm or destroy anywhere on my holy mountain.
    The earth will surely be filled with the knowledge of the Lord,
    just as the water covers the sea.

¹² God will raise a signal for the nations and gather the outcast men of Israel.
    God will collect the dispersed women of Judah from the four corners of the earth.
¹³ Ephraim’s jealousy will cease,
    and Judah’s harassment will be eliminated.
Ephraim won’t be jealous of Judah,
    and Judah won’t harass Ephraim.
¹⁴ But they will swoop down on the slopes of Philistia to the west;
    together they will plunder the people to the east.
Edom and Moab will be under their power,
    and the Ammonites will be their subjects.

12 You will say on that day:
“I thank you, Lord.
Though you were angry with me,
    your anger turned away and you comforted me.
² God is indeed my salvation;
    I will trust and won’t be afraid.
Yah, the Lord, is my strength and my shield;
    he has become my salvation.”