Isaiah 9:12–16

12 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.

13 But the people have not returned to him who struck them,

nor have they sought the Lord Almighty.

14 So the Lord will cut off from Israel both head and tail,

both palm branch and reed in a single day;

15 the elders and dignitaries are the head,

the prophets who teach lies are the tail.

16 Those who guide this people mislead them,

and those who are guided are led astray.

12 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.

13 For the people turneth not unto him that smiteth them,

Neither do they seek the Lord of hosts.

14 Therefore the Lord will cut off from Israel head and tail,

Branch and rush, in one day.

15 The ancient and honourable, he is the head;

And the prophet that teacheth lies, he is the tail.

16 For the leaders of this people cause them to err;

And they that are led of them are destroyed.

12 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.

13 For after all this punishment, the people will still not repent.

They will not seek the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.

14 Therefore, in a single day the Lord will destroy both the head and the tail,

the noble palm branch and the lowly reed.

15 The leaders of Israel are the head,

and the lying prophets are the tail.

16 For the leaders of the people have misled them.

They have led them down the path of destruction.

12 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.

13 For the people do not turn to Him who strikes them,

Nor do they seek the Lord of hosts.

14 Therefore the Lord will cut off head and tail from Israel,

Palm branch and bulrush in one day.

15 The elder and honorable, he is the head;

The prophet who teaches lies, he is the tail.

16 For the leaders of this people cause them to err,

And those who are led by them are destroyed.

12 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.

13 But the people did not return to the one who had struck them;

they did not follow the Lord All-Powerful.

14 So the Lord cut off Israel’s head and tail,

taking away both the branch and stalk in one day.

15 The elders and important men were the head,

and the prophets who speak lies were the tail.

16 Those who led the people led them in the wrong direction,

and those who followed them were destroyed.

12 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.

13 Yet the people have not turned unto him that smote them, neither have they sought Jehovah of hosts. 14 Therefore Jehovah will cut off from Israel head and tail, palm-branch and rush, in one day. 15 The elder and the honorable man, he is the head; and the prophet that teacheth lies, he is the tail. 16 For they that lead this people cause them to err; and they that are led of them are destroyed.

12 the Syrians on the east, and the Philistines on the west; and they shall devour Israel with open mouth. For all this his anger is not turned away, and his hand is stretched out still. 13 But the people turneth not unto him that smiteth them, and they do not seek Jehovah of hosts. 14 And Jehovah will cut off from Israel head and tail, palm-branch and rush, in one day: 15 the ancient and honourable, he is the head; and the prophet that teacheth lies, he is the tail. 16 For the guides of this people mislead them; and they that are guided by them are swallowed up.

12 the Arameans from the east and the Philistines from the west. 

They will devour Israel with open mouths. 

Even after all this, his anger will not disappear, 

and he is still ready to use his power. 

13 But the people have not returned to the one who struck them, 

nor have they sought the Lord of Armies. 

14 So in one day the Lord will cut off from Israel 

both head and tail, 

both palm branches and cattails. 

15 Respected and honored leaders are the head. 

Prophets who teach lies are the tail. 

16 Those who guide these people lead them astray. 

Those who are guided by them will be destroyed. 

12 Aram 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.

13 The people did not turn to Him who struck them;

they did not seek the Lord of Hosts.

14 So the Lord cut off Israel’s head and tail,

palm branch and reed in a single day.

15 The head is the elder, the honored one;

the tail is the prophet, the lying teacher.

16 The leaders of the people mislead them,

and those they mislead are swallowed up.

12 the Arameans on the east and the Philistines on the west,

and they devoured Israel with open mouth.

For all this his anger has not turned away;

his hand is stretched out still.

13 The people did not turn to him who struck them

or seek the Lord of hosts.

14 So the Lord cut off from Israel head and tail,

palm branch and reed in one day—

15 elders and dignitaries are the head,

and prophets who teach lies are the tail,

16 for those who led this people led them astray,

and those who were led by them were left in confusion.

12 Aram from the east

and Philistines from the west—

and they devoured Israel with the whole mouth.

He has not turned away his anger in all of this,

and his hand is still stretched out.

13 And the people did not turn to the one who struck it,

and they did not seek Yahweh of hosts.

14 So Yahweh cut off head and tail from Israel,

palm branch and reed in one day.

15 Elders and the respectable are the head,

and prophets who teach lies are the tail.

16 And the leaders of this people were misleading them,

and those who were led were confused.

12 Arameans from the east

have opened their mouths and swallowed Israel up.

So have Philistines from the west.

Even then, the Lord is still angry.

His hand is still raised against them.

13 But his people have not returned

to the One who struck them down.

They haven’t turned for help

to the Lord who rules over all.

14 So he will cut off from Israel heads and tails alike.

In a single day he will cut off palm branches and tall grass alike.

The palm branches are the people who rule over others.

The tall grass is the people who bow down to them.

15 The elders and important leaders are the heads.

The prophets who teach lies are the tails.

16 Those who guide the people of Israel are leading them down the wrong path.

So those who follow them aren’t on the right road.

12 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.

13 Yet the people do not turn back to Him who struck them,

Nor do they seek the Lord of hosts.

14 So the Lord cuts off head and tail from Israel,

Both palm branch and bulrush in a single day.

15 The head is the elder and honorable man,

And the prophet who teaches falsehood is the tail.

16 For those who guide this people are leading them astray;

And those who are guided by them are brought to confusion.