1 Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honor Galilee of the nations, by the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan—

2 The people walking in darkness

have seen a great light;

on those living in the land of deep darkness

a light has dawned.

3 You have enlarged the nation

and increased their joy;

they rejoice before you

as people rejoice at the harvest,

as warriors rejoice

when dividing the plunder.

4 For as in the day of Midian’s defeat,

you have shattered

the yoke that burdens them,

the bar across their shoulders,

the rod of their oppressor.

1 Nevertheless the dimness shall not be such as was in her vexation, When at the first he lightly afflicted the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, And afterward did more grievously afflict her by the way of the sea, Beyond Jordan, in Galilee of the nations. 2 The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: They that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined. 3 Thou hast multiplied the nation, and not increased the joy: They joy before thee according to the joy in harvest, And as men rejoice when they divide the spoil. 4 For thou hast broken the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, The rod of his oppressor, as in the day of Midian.

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.

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.

3 You 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.

4 For 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.

1 Nevertheless the gloom will not be upon her who is distressed,

As when at first He lightly esteemed

The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,

And afterward more heavily oppressed her,

By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan,

In Galilee of the Gentiles.

2 The people who walked in darkness

Have seen a great light;

Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death,

Upon them a light has shined.

3 You have multiplied the nation

And increased its joy;

They rejoice before You

According to the joy of harvest,

As men rejoice when they divide the spoil.

4 For You have broken the yoke of his burden

And the staff of his shoulder,

The rod of his oppressor,

As in the day of Midian.

1 But suddenly there will be no more gloom for the land that suffered. In the past God made the lands of Zebulun and Naphtali hang their heads in shame, but in the future those lands will be made great. They will stretch from the road along the Mediterranean Sea to the land beyond the Jordan River and north to Galilee, the land of people who are not Israelites.

2 Before those people lived in darkness,

but now they have seen a great light.

They lived in a dark land,

but a light has shined on them.

3 God, you have caused the nation to grow

and made the people happy.

And they have shown their happiness to you,

like the joy during harvest time,

like the joy of people

taking what they have won in war.

4 Like the time you defeated Midian,

you have taken away their heavy load

and the heavy pole from their backs

and the rod the enemy used to punish them.

1 But there shall be no gloom to her that 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 hath he made it glorious, by the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations. 2 The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined. 3 Thou hast multiplied the nation, thou hast increased their joy: they joy before thee according to the joy in harvest, as men rejoice when they divide the spoil. 4 For the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, thou hast broken as in the day of Midian.

1 Nevertheless the darkness shall not be as when the distress was in the land, at the time he at first lightly, and afterwards heavily, visited the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, —the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations: 2 the people that walked in darkness have seen a great light; they that dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them light hath shone. 3 Thou hast multiplied the nation, hast increased its joy: they joy before thee like to the joy in harvest; as men rejoice when they divide the spoil. 4 For thou hast broken the yoke of his burden and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, as in the day of Midian.

1 But there will be no more gloom 

for the land that is in distress. 

God humbled the lands of Zebulun and Naphtali in earlier times. 

But in the future he will bring glory to the road by the sea, 

to the land across the Jordan River, 

to Galilee, where foreigners live. 

2 The people who walk in darkness will see a bright light. 

The light will shine on those who live in the land of death’s shadow. 

3 You will expand the nation and increase its happiness. 

It will be happy in your presence 

like those who celebrate the harvest 

or rejoice when dividing loot. 

4 You will break the yokethat burdens them, 

the bar that is across their shoulders, 

and the stick used by their oppressor, 

as ⸤you did in the battle against⸥ Midian. 

1 Nevertheless, 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.

2 The people walking in darkness

have seen a great light;

a light has dawned

on those living in the land of darkness.

3 You 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.

4 For 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.

1 But there will be no gloom for those who were 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 will make glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.

2 The people who walked in darkness

have seen a great light;

those who lived in a land of deep darkness—

on them light has shined.

3 You have multiplied the nation,

you have increased its joy;

they rejoice before you

as with joy at the harvest,

as people exult when dividing plunder.

4 For the yoke of their burden,

and the bar across their shoulders,

the rod of their oppressor,

you have broken as on the day of Midian.

1  But there will be no gloom for those who were in distress.

In former times he treated the land of Zebulun and Naphtali with contempt, but in the future he will honor the way of the sea beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.

2 The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light;

light has shined on those who lived in a land of darkness.

3 You have made the nation numerous;

you have not made the joy great.

They rejoice in your presence as with joy at the harvest,

as they rejoice when they divide plunder.

4 For you have shattered the yoke of its burden

and the stick of its shoulder,

the rod of its oppressor, on the day of Midian.

1 But there won’t be any more sadness for those who were suffering. In the past the Lord brought shame on the land of Zebulun. He also brought shame on the land of Naphtali. But in days to come he will honor Galilee, where people from other nations live. He will honor the land along the Mediterranean Sea. And he will honor the territory east of the Jordan River.

2 The people who are now living in darkness

will see a great light.

They are now living in a very dark land.

But a light will shine on them.

3 Lord, you will make our nation larger.

You will increase their joy.

They will show you how glad they are.

They will be as glad as people are at harvest time.

They will be as glad as soldiers are

when they share the things they’ve taken after a battle.

4 You set Israel free from Midian long ago.

In the same way, you will break

the heavy yoke that weighs Israel down.

You will break the wooden beams that are on their shoulders.

You will break the rods of those who strike them down.

1 But there will be no more gloom for her who was in anguish; in earlier times He treated the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali with contempt, but later on He shall make it glorious, by the way of the sea, on the other side of Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles.

2 The people who walk in darkness

Will see a great light;

Those who live in a dark land,

The light will shine on them.

3 You shall multiply the nation,

You shall increase their gladness;

They will be glad in Your presence

As with the gladness of harvest,

As men rejoice when they divide the spoil.

4 For You shall break the yoke of their burden and the staff on their shoulders,

The rod of their oppressor, as at the battle of Midian.