Isaiah9
New King James Version
1Nevertheless the gloom will not be upon her who is distressed, As when at first He lightly esteemed The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, And afterward more heavily oppressed her, By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, In Galilee of the Gentiles.
2The people who walked in darkness Have seen a great light; Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, Upon them a light has shined.
3You have multiplied the nation And increased its joy; They rejoice before You According to the joy of harvest, As men rejoice when they divide the spoil.
4For You have broken the yoke of his burden And the staff of his shoulder, The rod of his oppressor, As in the day of Midian.
5For every warrior’s sandal from the noisy battle, And garments rolled in blood, Will be used for burning and fuel of fire.
6For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name 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, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.
8The Lord sent a word against Jacob, And it has fallen on Israel.
9All the people will know— Ephraim and the inhabitant of Samaria— Who say in pride and arrogance of heart:
10“The bricks have fallen down, But we will rebuild with hewn stones; The sycamores are cut down, But we will replace them with cedars.”
11Therefore the Lord shall set up The adversaries of Rezin against him, And spur his enemies on,
12The Syrians before and the Philistines behind; And they shall devour Israel with an open mouth. For all this His anger is not turned away, But His hand is stretched out still.
13For the people do not turn to Him who strikes them, Nor do they seek the Lord of hosts.
14Therefore the Lord will cut off head and tail from Israel, Palm branch and bulrush in one day.
15The elder and honorable, he is the head; The prophet who teaches lies, he is the tail.
16For the leaders of this people cause them to err, And those who are led by them are destroyed.
17Therefore the Lord will have no joy in their young men, Nor have mercy on their fatherless and widows; For everyone is a hypocrite and an evildoer, And every mouth speaks folly. For all this His anger is not turned away, But His hand is stretched out still.
18For wickedness burns as the fire; It shall devour the briers and thorns, And kindle in the thickets of the forest; They shall mount up like rising smoke.
19Through the wrath of the Lord of hosts The land is burned up, And the people shall be as fuel for the fire; No man shall spare his brother.
20And he shall snatch on the right hand And be hungry; He shall devour on the left hand And not be satisfied; Every man shall eat the flesh of his own arm.
21Manasseh shall devour Ephraim, and Ephraim Manasseh; Together they shall be against Judah. For all this His anger is not turned away, But His hand is stretched out still.
Study Guide
Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Isaiah 9.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: The Son that should be born, and his kingdom. (1-7). The judgments to come upon Israel, and on the enemies of the kingdom of Christ. (8-21).
vv1-7
The Syrians and Assyrians first ravaged the countries here mentioned, and that region was first favoured by the preaching of Christ. Those that want the gospel, walk in darkness, and in the utmost danger. But when the gospel comes to any place, to any soul, light comes. Let us earnestly pray that it may shine into our hearts, and make us wise unto salvation. The gospel brings joy with it. Those who would have joy, must expect to go through hard work, as the husbandman, before he has the joy of harvest; and hard conflict, as the soldier, before he divides the spoil. The Jews were delivered from the yoke of many oppressors; this was a shadow of the believer's deliverance from the yoke of Satan. The cleansing the souls of believers from the power and pollution of sin, would be by the influence of the Holy Spirit, as purifying fire. These great things for the church, shall be done by the Messiah, Emmanuel. The Child is born; it was certain; and the church, before Christ came in the flesh, benefitted by his undertaking. It is a prophecy of him and of his kingdom, which those that waited for the Consolation of Israel read with pleasure. This Child was born for the benefit of us men, of us sinners, of all believers, from the beginning to the end of the world. Justly is he called Wonderful, for he is both God and man. His love is the wonder of angels and glorified saints. He is the Counsellor, for he knew the counsels of God from eternity; and he gives counsel to men, in which he consults our welfare. He is the Wonderful Counsellor; none teaches like him. He is God, the mighty One. Such is the work of the Mediator, that no less power than that of the mighty God could bring it to pass. He is God, one with the Father. As the Prince of Peace, he reconciles us to God; he is the Giver of peace in the heart and conscience; and when his kingdom is fully established, men shall learn war no more. The government shall be upon him; he shall bear the burden of it. Glorious things are spoken of Christ's government. There is no end to the increase of its peace, for the happiness of its subjects shall last for ever. The exact agreement of this prophecy with the doctrine of the New Testament, shows that Jewish prophets and Christian teachers had the same view of the person and salvation of the Messiah. To what earthly king or kingdom can these words apply? Give then, O Lord, to thy people to know thee by every endearing name, and in every glorious character. Give increase of grace in every heart of thy redeemed upon earth.
vv8-21
Those are ripening apace for ruin, whose hearts are unhumbled under humbling providences. For that which God designs, in smiting us, is, to turn us to himself; and if this point be not gained by lesser judgments, greater may be expected. The leaders of the people misled them. We have reason to be afraid of those that speak well of us, when we do ill. Wickedness was universal, all were infected with it. They shall be in trouble, and see no way out; and when men's ways displease the Lord, he makes even their friends to be at war with them. God would take away those they thought to have help from. Their rulers were the head. Their false prophets were the tail and the rush, the most despicable. In these civil contests, men preyed on near relations who were as their own flesh. The people turn not to Him who smites them, therefore he continues to smite: for when God judges, he will overcome; and the proudest, stoutest sinner shall either bend or break.
Key Words
לַהַד: Lahad, an Israelite
לֹא: not (the simple or abs. negation); by implication, no; often used with other particles
מוּעָף: properly, covered, i.e. dark; abstractly, obscurity, i.e. distress
אֲשֶׁר: who, which, what, that; also (as an adverb and a conjunction) when, where, how, because, in order that, etc.
מוּצַק: narrowness; figuratively, distress
רִאשׁוֹן: first, in place, time or rank (as adjective or noun)
עֵת: time, especially (adverb with preposition) now, when, etc.
קָלַל: to be (causatively, make) light, literally (swift, small, sharp, etc.) or figuratively (easy, trifling, vile, etc.)
אֶרֶץ: the earth (at large, or partitively a land)
זְבוּלוּן: Zebulon, a son of Jacob; also his territory and tribe
Cross References
Isaiah 9Explicitly cited in Matthew 4:14-16 as the fulfillment of Christ's light appearing in Galilee.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
The 'day of Midian' refers to Gideon's miraculous victory with a small band over vast hosts.
Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB
Establishes the covenant with David regarding an eternal kingdom and throne, fulfilled in Christ.
Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB
Directly links Christ to the throne of His father David and an endless kingdom.
Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB
Historical record of Tiglath-pileser's invasion of Zebulun and Naphtali (the first light affliction).
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Historical record of the subsequent grievous affliction when Shalmaneser carried Israel into exile.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Parallels the birth of the child (Immanuel) as the sign of God's presence and deliverance.
Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB
The immediate context of darkness and dimness from which chapter 9 transitions to light.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Explicates Christ's work as the 'Prince of Peace' reconciling Jew and Gentile to God.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Another Messianic prophecy contrasting a humble ruler's origin with eternal ruler status.
Supported by JFB
Repeats the exact refrain of judgment: 'For all this his anger is not turned away...'
Supported by Matthew Poole
Illustrates how blind leaders and those led by them fall into destruction together.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Demonstrates the historical Jewish contempt for Galilee, explaining why its light was unexpected.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Messianic title parallel where the coming branch of David is called 'The Lord Our Righteousness'.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Textual parallel showing sycomores and cedars as contrasting values in Israel.
Supported by Matthew Poole