Isaiah 9:8-17
Isaiah 9:8-17 The Message (MSG)
The Master sent a message against Jacob. It landed right on Israel’s doorstep. All the people soon heard the message, Ephraim and the citizens of Samaria. But they were a proud and arrogant bunch. They dismissed the message, saying, “Things aren’t that bad. We can handle anything that comes. If our buildings are knocked down, we’ll rebuild them bigger and finer. If our forests are cut down, we’ll replant them with finer trees.” So GOD incited their adversaries against them, stirred up their enemies to attack: From the east, Arameans; from the west, Philistines. They made hash of Israel. But even after that, he was still angry, his fist still raised, ready to hit them again. But the people paid no mind to him who hit them, didn’t seek GOD-of-the-Angel-Armies. So GOD hacked off Israel’s head and tail, palm branch and reed, both on the same day. The bigheaded elders were the head, the lying prophets were the tail. Those who were supposed to lead this people led them down blind alleys, And those who followed the leaders ended up lost and confused. That’s why the Master lost interest in the young men, had no feeling for their orphans and widows. All of them were godless and evil, talking filth and folly. And even after that, he was still angry, his fist still raised, ready to hit them again.
Isaiah 9:8-17 King James Version (KJV)
The Lord sent a word into Jacob, and it hath lighted upon Israel. And all the people shall know, even Ephraim and the inhabitant of Samaria, that say in the pride and stoutness of heart, The bricks are fallen down, but we will build with hewn stones: the sycomores are cut down, but we will change them into cedars. Therefore the LORD shall set up the adversaries of Rezin against him, and join his enemies together; the Syrians before, and the Philistines behind; and they shall devour Israel with open mouth. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still. For the people turneth not unto him that smiteth them, neither do they seek the LORD of hosts. Therefore the LORD will cut off from Israel head and tail, branch and rush, in one day. The ancient and honourable, he is the head; and the prophet that teacheth lies, he is the tail. For the leaders of this people cause them to err; and they that are led of them are destroyed. Therefore the LORD shall have no joy in their young men, neither shall have mercy on their fatherless and widows: for every one is an hypocrite and an evildoer, and every mouth speaketh folly. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.
Isaiah 9:8-17 New American Standard Bible - NASB 1995 (NASB1995)
The Lord sends a message against Jacob, And it falls on Israel. And all the people know it, That is, Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria, Asserting in pride and in arrogance of heart: “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.” Therefore the LORD raises against them adversaries from Rezin And spurs their enemies on, The 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. Yet the people do not turn back to Him who struck them, Nor do they seek the LORD of hosts. So the LORD cuts off head and tail from Israel, Both palm branch and bulrush in a single day. The head is the elder and honorable man, And the prophet who teaches falsehood is the tail. For those who guide this people are leading them astray; And those who are guided by them are brought to confusion. Therefore 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.
Isaiah 9:8-17 New Century Version (NCV)
The Lord sent a message against the people of Jacob; it says that God will judge Israel. Then everyone in Israel, even the leaders in Samaria, will know that God has sent it. Those people are proud and brag by saying, “These bricks have fallen, but we will build again with cut stones. These small trees have been chopped down, but we will put great cedars there.” But the LORD has brought the enemies of Rezin against them; he has stirred up their enemies against them. The Arameans came from the east and the Philistines from the west, and they ate up Israel with their armies. But the LORD was still angry; his hand was still raised to punish the people. But the people did not return to the one who had struck them; they did not follow the LORD All-Powerful. So the LORD cut off Israel’s head and tail, taking away both the branch and stalk in one day. The elders and important men were the head, and the prophets who speak lies were the tail. Those who led the people led them in the wrong direction, and those who followed them were destroyed. So the Lord is not happy with the young people, nor will he show mercy to the orphans and widows. All the people are separated from God and are very evil; they all speak lies. But the LORD is still angry; his hand is still raised to strike down the people.
Isaiah 9:8-17 American Standard Version (ASV)
The Lord sent a word into Jacob, and it hath lighted upon Israel. And all the people shall know, even Ephraim and the inhabitant of Samaria, that say in pride and in stoutness of heart, The bricks are fallen, but we will build with hewn stone; the sycomores are cut down, but we will put cedars in their place. Therefore Jehovah will set up on high against him the adversaries of Rezin, and will stir up his enemies, the Syrians before, and the Philistines behind; and they shall devour Israel with open mouth. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still. Yet the people have not turned unto him that smote them, neither have they sought Jehovah of hosts. Therefore Jehovah will cut off from Israel head and tail, palm-branch and rush, in one day. The elder and the honorable man, he is the head; and the prophet that teacheth lies, he is the tail. For they that lead this people cause them to err; and they that are led of them are destroyed. Therefore the Lord will not rejoice over their young men, neither will he have compassion on their fatherless and widows; for every one is profane and an evil-doer, and every mouth speaketh folly. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.
Isaiah 9:8-17 New International Version (NIV)
The Lord has sent a message against Jacob; it will fall on Israel. All the people will know it— Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria— who say with pride and arrogance of heart, “The bricks have fallen down, but we will rebuild with dressed stone; the fig trees have been felled, but we will replace them with cedars.” But the LORD has strengthened Rezin’s foes against them and has spurred their enemies on. Arameans from the east and Philistines from the west have devoured Israel with open mouth. Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away, his hand is still upraised. But the people have not returned to him who struck them, nor have they sought the LORD Almighty. So the LORD will cut off from Israel both head and tail, both palm branch and reed in a single day; the elders and dignitaries are the head, the prophets who teach lies are the tail. Those who guide this people mislead them, and those who are guided are led astray. Therefore the Lord will take no pleasure in the young men, nor will he pity the fatherless and widows, for everyone is ungodly and wicked, every mouth speaks folly.
Isaiah 9:8-17 New King James Version (NKJV)
The Lord sent a word against Jacob, And it has fallen on Israel. All the people will know— Ephraim and the inhabitant of Samaria— Who say in pride and arrogance of heart: “The bricks have fallen down, But we will rebuild with hewn stones; The sycamores are cut down, But we will replace them with cedars.” Therefore the LORD shall set up The adversaries of Rezin against him, And spur his enemies on, The 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. For the people do not turn to Him who strikes them, Nor do they seek the LORD of hosts. Therefore the LORD will cut off head and tail from Israel, Palm branch and bulrush in one day. The elder and honorable, he is the head; The prophet who teaches lies, he is the tail. For the leaders of this people cause them to err, And those who are led by them are destroyed. Therefore 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.
Isaiah 9:8-17 Amplified Bible (AMP)
¶The Lord sends a word (message) against Jacob, And it falls on Israel [the ten northern tribes, the kingdom of Ephraim]. And all the people know it, That is, Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria [its capital], Who say in pride and arrogance of heart: “The bricks have fallen down, But we will rebuild [all the better] with ashlar (hewed stones); The sycamores have been cut down, But we will replace them with [expensive] cedars.” Therefore the LORD raises against Ephraim adversaries from Rezin [king of Aram] And spurs their enemies on, The Arameans on the east and the Philistines on the west; And they devour Israel with gaping jaws. In spite of all this, God’s anger does not turn away But His hand is still stretched out [in judgment]. ¶Yet the people do not turn back [in repentance] to Him who struck them, Nor do they seek the LORD of hosts [as their most essential need]. Therefore the LORD cuts off head and tail [the highest and the lowest] from Israel, Both [the high] palm branch and [the low] bulrush in one day. The elderly and honorable man, he is the head; And the prophet who teaches lies, he is the tail. For those who lead this people are causing them to go astray; And those who are led [astray] by them are swallowed up. Therefore the Lord does not rejoice over their young men, Nor does He have compassion on their fatherless or their widows; For every one of them is godless and an evildoer, And every mouth is speaking foolishness. In spite of all this, God’s anger does not turn away But His hand is still stretched out [in judgment].
Isaiah 9:8-17 New Living Translation (NLT)
The Lord has spoken out against Jacob; his judgment has fallen upon Israel. And the people of Israel and Samaria, who spoke with such pride and arrogance, will soon know it. They said, “We will replace the broken bricks of our ruins with finished stone, and replant the felled sycamore-fig trees with cedars.” But the LORD will bring Rezin’s enemies against Israel and stir up all their foes. The 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. For after all this punishment, the people will still not repent. They will not seek the LORD of Heaven’s Armies. Therefore, in a single day the LORD will destroy both the head and the tail, the noble palm branch and the lowly reed. The leaders of Israel are the head, and the lying prophets are the tail. For the leaders of the people have misled them. They have led them down the path of destruction. That 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.
Isaiah 9:8-17 The Passion Translation (TPT)
The Lord decreed a word against Jacob, and it brought calamity upon Israel. And all the people of Ephraim and Samaria knew of it. Their hearts filled with pride and they arrogantly boasted, “Our brick walls may have crumbled, but we will rebuild them with dressed stones. Invading armies may have cut down our sycamore trees, but we will plant cedars in their place!” So the Lord YAHWEH stirred up their enemies and strengthened Rezin’s foes, and they came against the people. Syrians on the east, Philistines on the west—they came with bared teeth and devoured Israel. Yet despite all this, his anger did not subside, and his hand of judgment is poised to strike them again. For the people did not repent and turn to the one who struck them or seek the Lord YAHWEH, Commander of Angel Armies. In a single day, the Lord YAHWEH cut off from Israel both head and tail, palm branch and reed. The elders and dignitaries are the head, and the prophet who teaches lies is the tail. The leaders have led them astray, and the citizens are left in confusion. That is why the Lord did not show pity to the young people or have compassion on their orphans and widows. For everyone was godless and did evil and each mouth spewed out wickedness. Therefore, the Lord’s anger has not subsided, and his hand is poised to strike them again.
Isaiah 9:8-17 English Standard Version 2016 (ESV)
The Lord has sent a word against Jacob, and it will fall on Israel; and all the people will know, Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria, who say in pride and in arrogance of heart: “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.” But the LORD raises the adversaries of Rezin against him, and stirs up his enemies. The 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. The people did not turn to him who struck them, nor inquire of the LORD of hosts. So the LORD cut off from Israel head and tail, palm branch and reed in one day— the elder and honored man is the head, and the prophet who teaches lies is the tail; for those who guide this people have been leading them astray, and those who are guided by them are swallowed up. Therefore 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.