| Holman Christian Standard Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1Nevertheless, the gloom of the distressed land will not be like that of the former times when He humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali. But in the future He will bring honor to the Way of the Sea, to the land east of the Jordan, and to 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; a light has dawned on those living in the land of darkness. | 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 have rejoiced before You as they rejoice at harvest time and as they rejoice when dividing spoils. | 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 You have shattered their oppressive yoke and the rod on their shoulders, the staff of their oppressor, just as You did 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 the trampling boot of battle and the bloodied garments of war 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 a child will be born for us, a son will be given to us, and the government will be on His shoulders. He will be named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal 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. |
| 7The dominion will be vast, and its prosperity will never end. He will reign on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish and sustain it with justice and righteousness from now on and forever. 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 sent a message against Jacob; it came against Israel. | 8The Lord has spoken out against Jacob; his judgment has fallen upon Israel. |
| 9All the people-- Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria--will know it. They will say with pride and arrogance:" | 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 rebuild with cut stones; the sycamores 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.” |
| 11The LORD has raised up Rezin's adversaries against him and stirred up his enemies. | 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 consumed Israel with open mouths. In all this, His anger is not removed, and His hand is still raised 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. |
| 13The people did not turn 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 cut off Israel's 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 head is the elder, the honored one; the tail is the prophet, the lying teacher. | 15The leaders of Israel are the head, and the lying prophets are the tail. |
| 16The leaders of the 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 does not rejoice over Israel's young men and has no compassion on its fatherless and widows, for everyone is a godless evildoer, and every mouth speaks folly. In all this, His anger is not removed, and His hand is still raised 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. |
| 18For wickedness burns like a fire that consumes thorns and briers and kindles the forest thickets so that they go up 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. |
| 19The land is scorched by the wrath of the LORD of Hosts, and the people are like fuel for the fire. No one has compassion on 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 meat on the right, but they are still hungry; they have eaten on the left, but they are still not satisfied. Each one eats 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 is with Ephraim, and Ephraim with Manasseh; together, both are against Judah. In all this, His anger is not removed, and His hand is still raised 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. |
| Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. | 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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