| International Standard Version | New Living Translation |
| 1 But there will be no gloom for her who was in distress. Formerly, he brought contempt to the region of Zebulun and the region of Naphtali, but in the future he will have made glorious the way of the sea, the territory beyond the Jordan—Galilee of the nations. | 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 walked in darkness have seen a great light; for those living in a land of deep darkness, a light has shined upon them. | 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. |
| 3You have increased the nation; you have increased its joy; they rejoice in your presence as they rejoice at the harvest, as they are glad when they're dividing the spoils of war. | 3You 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. |
| 4Now as to the yoke that has been his burden, and the bar laid on his shoulder— the rod of his oppressor— you have broken it as on the day of Midiam. | 4For 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. |
| 5For every boot of the tramping soldier in battle tumult and every garment rolled in blood will be used for burning as fuel for a fire. | 5The boots of the warrior and the uniforms bloodstained by war will all be burned. They will be fuel for the fire. |
| 6For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government will be upon his shoulder, and his name is called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. | 6For 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. |
| 7Of the growth of his government and peace there will be no end. He will rule over his kingdom, sitting on the throne of David, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from this time onward and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of the Heavenly Armies will accomplish this. | 7His 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 sent a plague against Jacob, and it will fall on Israel; | 8The Lord has spoken out against Jacob; his judgment has fallen upon Israel. |
| 9and all of the people were evil — Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria— saying proudly with arrogant hearts: | 9And the people of Israel and Samaria, who spoke with such pride and arrogance, will soon know it. |
| 10The bricks have fallen, but we will build with dressed stones; the sycamore trees have been cut down, but we will replace them with cedars.' | 10They said, “We will replace the broken bricks of our ruins with finished stone, and replant the felled sycamore-fig trees with cedars.” |
| 11But the LORD has raised adversaries from Rezin against him, and he stirs up his enemies— | 11But the LORD will bring Rezin’s enemies against Israel and stir up all their foes. |
| 12Arameans from the east and Philistines from the west— and they devour Israel with open mouths! "Yet for all this, his anger has not turned away, and his hand is still stretched out, ready to strike." | 12The 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"But the people have not returned to rely on him who struck them, nor have they sought the LORD of the Heavenly Armies. | 13For after all this punishment, the people will still not repent. They will not seek the LORD of Heaven’s Armies. |
| 14So the LORD has cut off from Israel head and tail, palm branch and reed in a single day— | 14Therefore, in a single day the LORD will destroy both the head and the tail, the noble palm branch and the lowly reed. |
| 15the elder and the dignitary is the head, and the prophet who teaches lies is the tail. | 15The leaders of Israel are the head, and the lying prophets are the tail. |
| 16For those who guide this people have been leading them astray, and those who are guided by them are swallowed up. | 16For the leaders of the people have misled them. They have led them down the path of destruction. |
| 17Therefore the Lord does not have pity on their young men, and has no compassion on their orphans and widows, because each of them was godless and an evildoer, and every mouth spoke folly. "Yet for all this, his anger has not turned away, and his hand is still stretched out, ready to strike. | 17That 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"For wickedness has burned like a blaze that consumes briers and thorns; it sets thickets of the forest on fire, and skyward they swirl in a column of smoke. | 18This 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. |
| 19From the wrath of the LORD of the Heavenly Armies the land has been scorched, and the people have become like fuel for the fire; no one will spare his neighbor. | 19The 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. |
| 20They cut meat on the right, but they're still hungry, and they devour also on the left, but they're not satisfied; each devours the flesh of his own children. | 20They 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. |
| 21Manasseh devours Ephraim, and Ephraim devours Manasseh; together they are against Judah. "Yet for all this, his anger has not turned away, and his hand is still stretched out, ready to strike." | 21Manasseh 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. |
The Holy Bible: International Standard Version® Release 2.1 Copyright © 1996-2012 The ISV Foundation
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
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