| Berean Study Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those in distress. In the past He humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future He will honor the Way of the Sea, 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. |
| 2The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death, a light has dawned. | 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 enlarged the nation and increased its joy. The people rejoice before You as they rejoice at harvest time, as men rejoice in dividing the plunder. | 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. |
| 4For as in the day of Midian You have shattered the yoke of their burden, the bar across their shoulders, and the rod of their oppressor. | 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 trampling boot of battle and every garment rolled in blood will be burned as fuel for the fire. | 5The boots of the warrior and the uniforms bloodstained by war will all be burned. They will be fuel for the fire. |
| 6For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government will be upon His shoulders. And He will be 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 increase of His government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish and sustain it with justice and righteousness from that time and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of Hosts 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 |
| 8The Lord has sent a message against Jacob, and it has fallen upon Israel. | 8The Lord has spoken out against Jacob; his judgment has fallen upon Israel. |
| 9All the people will know it—Ephraim and the dwellers of Samaria. With pride and arrogance of heart they will say: | 9And the people of Israel and Samaria, who spoke with such pride and arrogance, will soon know it. |
| 10“The bricks have fallen, but we will rebuild with finished stone; the sycamores have been felled, 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.” |
| 11The LORD has raised up the foes of Rezin against him and joined his enemies together. | 11But the LORD will bring Rezin’s enemies against Israel and stir up all their foes. |
| 12Aram from the east and Philistia from the west have devoured Israel with open mouths. Despite all this, His anger is not turned away; His hand is still upraised. | 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. |
| 13But the people did not return to Him who struck them; they did not seek the LORD of Hosts. | 13For after all this punishment, the people will still not repent. They will not seek the LORD of Heaven’s Armies. |
| 14So the LORD will cut off Israel’s head and tail, both 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 head is the elder and honorable man, and the tail is the prophet who teaches lies. | 15The leaders of Israel are the head, and the lying prophets are the tail. |
| 16For those who guide this people mislead them, and those they mislead are swallowed up. | 16For the leaders of the people have misled them. They have led them down the path of destruction. |
| 17Therefore the Lord takes no pleasure in their young men; He has no compassion on their fatherless and widows. For every one of them is godless and wicked, and every mouth speaks folly. Despite all this, His anger is not turned away; His hand is still upraised. | 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. |
| 18For wickedness burns like a fire that consumes the thorns and briers and kindles the forest thickets which roll upward in billows 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. |
| 19By the wrath of the LORD of Hosts the land is scorched, and the people are fuel for the fire. No man even spares his brother. | 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 carve out what is on the right, but they are still hungry; they eat what is on the left, but they are still not satisfied. Each one devours the flesh of his own offspring. | 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 Manasseh; together they turn against Judah. Despite all this, His anger is not turned away; His hand is still upraised. | 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. |
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