Isaías 9

ARC · Chapter 9/66

1Mas a terra, que foi angustiada, não será entenebrecida; envileceu nos primeiros tempos, a terra de Zabulon, e a terra de Naphtali; mas nos ultimos a ennobreceu junto ao caminho do mar, d'além do Jordão, na Galilea dos gentios.

2O povo que andava em trevas, viu uma grande luz, e sobre os que habitavam na terra da sombra de morte resplandeceu uma luz.

3Tu multiplicaste a este povo, porém a alegria lhe augmentaste: todos se alegrarão perante ti, como se alegram na sega, e como exultam quando se repartem os despojos.

4Porque tu quebraste o jugo da sua carga, e o bordão dos seus hombros, e a vara do que o guiava, como no dia dos midianitas,

5Quando toda a peleja d'aquelles que pelejavam se fazia com ruido, e os vestidos se revolviam em sangue e se queimavam para pasto do fogo.

6Porque um menino nos nasceu, um filho se nos deu, e o principado está sobre os seus hombros, e o seu nome se chama Maravilhoso, Conselheiro, Deus forte, Pae da eternidade, Principe da paz.

7Da grandeza d'este principado e da paz não haverá fim, sobre o throno de David e no seu reino, para o firmar e o fortificar com juizo e com justiça, desde agora para sempre: o zelo do Senhor dos Exercitos fará isto.

8O Senhor enviou palavra a Jacob, e ella caiu em Israel.

9E todo este povo o saberá, Ephraim e os moradores de Samaria, em soberba e altivez de coração, dizendo:

10Os ladrilhos cairam, mas com cantaria tornaremos a edificar; cortaram-se as figueiras bravas, mas em cedros as mudaremos.

11Porque o Senhor exalçará os adversarios de Resin contra elle, e misturará entre si os seus inimigos.

12Porque diante virão os syros, e por detraz os philisteos, e devorarão a Israel á bocca aberta: e nem com tudo isto se apartou a sua ira, mas ainda está estendida a sua mão

13Porque este povo se não torna para quem o fere, nem busca ao Senhor dos Exercitos.

14Pelo que o Senhor cortará a cabeça, e a cauda, o ramo e o junco d'Israel n'um mesmo dia.

15(O ancião e o varão de respeito é a cabeça, e o propheta que ensina a falsidade é a cauda.)

16Porque os guias d'este povo são enganadores, e os guiados por elles serão devorados.

17Pelo que o Senhor não tomará contentamento nos seus mancebos, e não se compadecerá dos seus orphãos e das suas viuvas, porque todos elles são hypocritas e malfazejos, e toda a bocca falla doidices: e nem com tudo isto se apartou a sua ira, mas ainda está estendida a sua mão.

18Porque a impiedade se accende como um fogo, e até as sarças e os espinheiros devorará: e accenderá os confusos troncos da brenha, e subirão em espessas nuvens de fumo

19Pelo furor do Senhor dos Exercitos a terra se escurecerá, e será o povo como pasto do fogo; ninguem poupará ao seu irmão.

20Se cortar da banda direita, ainda terá fome, e se comer da banda esquerda, ainda se não fartará: cada um comerá a carne de seu braço.

21Manassés a Ephraim, e Ephraim a Manassés, e ambos elles serão contra Judah, e nem com tudo isto se apartou a sua ira, mas ainda está estendida a sua mão

📖 Chapter study

Summary

After the announced darkness comes one of the best-known prophecies in the Bible: a child will be born whose name will be called 'Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace,' and his kingdom will have no end. The rest of the chapter returns to announcing judgment on the pride of Ephraim (Israel, the northern kingdom).

Explanation

The opening verses speak of 'Galilee of the nations,' a region that would be marked by suffering under foreign rule — and it is precisely there that, centuries later, Jesus will begin his ministry (quoted in Matthew 4:14-16). The titles given to the promised child ('The Mighty God,' 'The Everlasting Father') are extraordinary for an Old Testament prophecy, pointing to a ruler with divine qualities. The second part of the chapter shifts tone and denounces the arrogance of Ephraim, which trusts in its own strength to rebuild after disasters instead of turning to God. The practical application is that true hope in times of crisis does not come from human optimism, but from trusting God's plan.

Fun facts

  • The phrase about the land 'in the shadow of death' seeing a great light is quoted almost word for word by Matthew when describing the beginning of Jesus' ministry in Galilee.
  • The refrain repeated four times in the chapter, 'for all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still,' is a poetic formula used to show that the announced judgment would continue beyond this chapter.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Isaías 9:1Zebulun and Naphtali were territories in northern Israel, in the region later called Galilee, the first to fall under Assyrian rule and therefore treated as humbled. The verse promises that this very darkened land will one day see a brighter light.
  2. Isaías 9:2The light that appears to those walking in darkness is the same promise from the previous verse about Galilee: a people living in the shadow of death, language for despair and oppression, sees a new hope arise.
  3. Isaías 9:3It describes the size of this joy with two everyday comparisons: the joy of harvest and the joy of dividing the spoil after a victory—the two greatest occasions for celebration in that culture.
  4. Isaías 9:4"Yoke," "staff," and "rod" are images of oppression and forced labor, like those used on pack animals. The verse promises that this burden will be broken as in the day of Midian, a reference to Gideon's victory in Judges.
  5. Isaías 9:5It continues the reference to the victory over Midian: it describes the noise of war and garments stained with blood being burned—but the text suggests the future will bring peace without any more of these violent scenes.
  6. Isaías 9:6Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace is a list of coronation titles. It was the style given to kings of the ancient Near East upon taking the throne, grand names describing the character expected of the government, not necessarily a birth name.
  7. Isaías 9:7It details the government of the child announced in verse 6: an endless kingdom, on the throne of David, upheld by judgment and righteousness forever—and it is the "zeal of the LORD of hosts" itself that guarantees this, not human effort.
  8. Isaías 9:8It shifts to a specific oracle against the northern kingdom: the "word" God sends against Jacob, that is, Israel, will also strike Ephraim, as the next verse makes clear.
  9. Isaías 9:9The people of Ephraim and Samaria will learn of this judgment, but respond with pride, as the confident words of the next verse show.
  10. Isaías 9:10Rebuilding with hewn stone instead of brick, and cedars instead of sycamores, is the talk of someone who believes he can rebuild everything alone, bigger and better, right after a destruction. It is exactly this kind of arrogance the chapter condemns.
  11. Isaías 9:11In response to this arrogance, God will raise up against Israel the very enemies of Rezin, Syria, mixing them in with the other adversaries—a reversal in which former allies become part of the punishment.
  12. Isaías 9:12Syrians in front and Philistines behind surround Israel on both sides, devouring "with open mouth"—but even so, the refrain repeated through the chapter warns that God's anger is not yet finished.
  13. Isaías 9:13It explains why the punishment continues: the people simply do not turn back to the One who struck them, nor do they seek the LORD of hosts—there is no real repentance, only suffering without change.
  14. Isaías 9:14Head and tail is explained right in the text that follows: the head is the honored elder and the tail is the prophet who teaches lies. The image conveys that the judgment reaches both the leaders at the top and those at the bottom, no one is left out.
  15. Isaías 9:15The text itself explains the metaphor from the previous verse: the "head" is the honored elder, and the "tail" is the prophet who teaches lies—making clear who represents each extreme of the corrupted leadership.
  16. Isaías 9:16A direct consequence: because the guides mislead, the people they guide end up destroyed along with them—bad leadership drags everyone down together.
  17. Isaías 9:17Even the young, the orphans, and the widows, normally treated with more compassion, do not escape the judgment, because hypocrisy and wickedness have taken hold of everyone, without exception for age or situation.
  18. Isaías 9:18Wickedness is compared to a fire that spreads on its own, consuming even dry thornbushes and rising in columns of smoke—an image of evil that grows and spreads by itself.
  19. Isaías 9:19God's fury darkens the land, and the people become "fuel of the fire"—no one spares even his own brother, showing the total collapse of social bonds under the pressure of the punishment.
  20. Isaías 9:20An exaggerated image of desperate hunger: even eating from one side and the other, no one is satisfied, to the point that the hunger is compared to eating one's own flesh—describing the chaos and internal violence among the people.
  21. Isaías 9:21It ends with the tribes of Manasseh and Ephraim fighting each other and then turning together against Judah—civil war added to outside war, and the final refrain repeats that God's anger is still stretched out.

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