| English Standard Version | New Living Translation |
| 1But there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he has made glorious the way of the sea, the land 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 who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone. | 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 multiplied the nation; you have increased its joy; they rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as they are glad when they divide the spoil. | 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 the yoke of his burden, and the staff for his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, you have broken as on the day of Midian. | 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 warrior in battle tumult 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 to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall 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 of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do 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 word against Jacob, and it will fall on Israel; | 8The Lord has spoken out against Jacob; his judgment has fallen upon Israel. |
| 9and all the people will know, Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria, who say in pride and in arrogance of heart: | 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 build with dressed stones; the sycamores have been cut down, but we will put cedars in their place.” | 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 raises the adversaries of Rezin against him, and stirs up his enemies. | 11But the LORD will bring Rezin’s enemies against Israel and stir up all their foes. |
| 12The Syrians on the east and the Philistines on the west devour Israel with open mouth. For all this his anger has not turned away, and his hand is stretched out still. | 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. |
| 13The people did not turn to him who struck them, nor inquire of 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 cut off from Israel head and tail, palm branch and reed in one 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 honored man 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 rejoice over their young men, and has no compassion on their fatherless and widows; for everyone is godless and an evildoer, and every mouth speaks folly. For all this his anger has not turned away, and his hand is stretched out still. | 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; it consumes briers and thorns; it kindles the thickets of the forest, and they roll upward 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. |
| 19Through the wrath of the LORD of hosts the land is scorched, and the people are like fuel for the fire; no one spares another. | 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 slice meat on the right, but are still hungry, and they devour on the left, but are not satisfied; each devours the flesh of his own arm, | 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. For all this his anger has not turned away, and his hand is stretched out still. | 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. |
| ESV Text Edition: 2016. The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited. All rights reserved. | 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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