| New Living Translation | New American Standard Bible 1995 |
| 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. | 1But there will be no more gloom 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 make it glorious, by the way of the sea, on the other side of Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles. |
| 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. | 2The people who walk in darkness Will see a great light; Those who live in a dark land, The light will shine on them. |
| 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. | 3You shall multiply the nation, You shall increase their gladness; They will be glad in Your presence As with the gladness of harvest, As men rejoice when they divide the spoil. |
| 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. | 4For You shall break the yoke of their burden and the staff on their shoulders, The rod of their oppressor, as at the battle of Midian. |
| 5The boots of the warrior and the uniforms bloodstained by war will all be burned. They will be fuel for the fire. | 5For every boot of the booted warrior in the battle tumult, And cloak rolled in blood, will be for burning, fuel for the fire. |
| 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. | 6For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. |
| 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 | 7There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this. |
| 8The Lord has spoken out against Jacob; his judgment has fallen upon Israel. | 8The Lord sends a message against Jacob, And it falls on Israel. |
| 9And the people of Israel and Samaria, who spoke with such pride and arrogance, will soon know it. | 9And all the people know it, That is, Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria, Asserting in pride and in arrogance of heart: |
| 10They said, “We will replace the broken bricks of our ruins with finished stone, and replant the felled sycamore-fig trees with cedars.” | 10"The bricks have fallen down, But we will rebuild with smooth stones; The sycamores have been cut down, But we will replace them with cedars." |
| 11But the LORD will bring Rezin’s enemies against Israel and stir up all their foes. | 11Therefore the LORD raises against them adversaries from Rezin And spurs their enemies on, |
| 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. | 12The Arameans on the east and the Philistines on the west; And they devour Israel with gaping jaws. In spite of all this, His anger does not turn away And His hand is still stretched out. |
| 13For after all this punishment, the people will still not repent. They will not seek the LORD of Heaven’s Armies. | 13Yet the people do not turn back to Him who struck them, Nor do they seek the LORD of hosts. |
| 14Therefore, in a single day the LORD will destroy both the head and the tail, the noble palm branch and the lowly reed. | 14So the LORD cuts off head and tail from Israel, Both palm branch and bulrush in a single day. |
| 15The leaders of Israel are the head, and the lying prophets are the tail. | 15The head is the elder and honorable man, And the prophet who teaches falsehood is the tail. |
| 16For the leaders of the people have misled them. They have led them down the path of destruction. | 16For those who guide this people are leading them astray; And those who are guided by them are brought to confusion. |
| 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. | 17Therefore the Lord does not take pleasure in their young men, Nor does He have pity on their orphans or their widows; For every one of them is godless and an evildoer, And every mouth is speaking foolishness. In spite of all this, His anger does not turn away And His hand is still stretched out. |
| 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. | 18For 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. |
| 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. | 19By the fury of the LORD of hosts the land is burned up, And the people are like fuel for the fire; No man spares his brother. |
| 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. | 20They slice off what is on the right hand but still are hungry, And they eat what is on the left hand but they are not satisfied; Each of them eats the flesh of his own arm. |
| 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. | 21Manasseh devours Ephraim, and Ephraim Manasseh, And together they are against Judah. In spite of all this, His anger does not turn away And His hand is still stretched out. |
| 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. | New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit //www.lockman.org |
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