9 a Nevertheless, there will be no more gloomw for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,x 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 darknessy

have seen a great light;z

on those living in the land of deep darknessa

a light has dawned.b

3 You have enlarged the nationc

and increased their joy;d

they rejoice before you

as people rejoice at the harvest,

as warriors rejoice

when dividing the plunder.e

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

you have shatteredg

the yokeh that burdens them,

the bar across their shoulders,i

the rod of their oppressor.j

5 Every warrior’s boot used in battle

and every garment rolled in blood

will be destined for burning,k

will be fuel for the fire.

6 For to us a child is born,l

to us a son is given,m

and the governmentn will be on his shoulders.o

And he will be called

Wonderful Counselor,p Mighty God,q

Everlastingr Father,s Prince of Peace.t

7 Of the greatness of his governmentu and peacev

there will be no end.w

He will reignx on David’s throne

and over his kingdom,

establishing and upholding it

with justicey and righteousnessz

from that time on and forever.a

The zealb of the Lord Almighty

will accomplish this.

The Lord’s Anger Against Israel

8 The Lord has sent a messagec against Jacob;

it will fall on Israel.

9 All the people will know it—

Ephraimd and the inhabitants of Samariae—

who say with pride

and arrogancef of heart,

10 “The bricks have fallen down,

but we will rebuild with dressed stone;g

the figh trees have been felled,

but we will replace them with cedars.i”

11 But the Lord has strengthened Rezin’sj foes against them

and has spurred their enemies on.

12 Arameansk from the east and Philistinesl from the west

have devouredm Israel with open mouth.

Yet for all this, his angern is not turned away,

his hand is still upraised.o

13 But the people have not returnedp to him who struckq them,

nor have they soughtr the Lord Almighty.

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

both palm branch and reeds in a single day;t

15 the eldersu and dignitariesv are the head,

the prophetsw who teach liesx are the tail.

16 Those who guidey this people mislead them,

and those who are guided are led astray.z

17 Therefore the Lord will take no pleasure in the young men,a

nor will he pityb the fatherless and widows,

for everyone is ungodlyc and wicked,d

every mouth speaks folly.e

Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away,

his hand is still upraised.f

18 Surely wickedness burns like a fire;g

it consumes briers and thorns,h

it sets the forest thickets ablaze,i

so that it rolls upward in a column of smoke.

19 By the wrathj of the Lord Almighty

the land will be scorchedk

and the people will be fuel for the fire;l

they will not spare one another.m

20 On the right they will devour,

but still be hungry;n

on the left they will eat,o

but not be satisfied.

Each will feed on the flesh of their own offspringb:

21 Manasseh will feed on Ephraim, and Ephraim on Manasseh;p

together they will turn against Judah.q

Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away,

his hand is still upraised.r

10 Woes to those who make unjust laws,

to those who issue oppressive decrees,t

2 to depriveu the poor of their rights

and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people,v

making widows their prey

and robbing the fatherless.w

3 What will you do on the day of reckoning,x

when disastery comes from afar?

To whom will you run for help?z

Where will you leave your riches?

4 Nothing will remain but to cringe among the captivesa

or fall among the slain.b

Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away,c

his hand is still upraised.

God’s Judgment on Assyria

5 “Woed to the Assyrian,e the rodf of my anger,

in whose hand is the clubg of my wrath!h

6 I send him against a godlessi nation,

I dispatchj him against a people who anger me,k

to seize loot and snatch plunder,l

and to tramplem them down like mud in the streets.

7 But this is not what he intends,n

this is not what he has in mind;

his purpose is to destroy,

to put an end to many nations.

8 ‘Are not my commanderso all kings?’ he says.

9 ‘Has not Kalnop fared like Carchemish?q

Is not Hamathr like Arpad,s

and Samariat like Damascus?u

10 As my hand seized the kingdoms of the idols,v

kingdoms whose images excelled those of Jerusalem and Samaria—

11 shall I not deal with Jerusalem and her images

as I dealt with Samaria and her idols?w’ ”

12 When the Lord has finished all his workx against Mount Ziony and Jerusalem, he will say, “I will punish the king of Assyriaz for the willful pridea of his heart and the haughty lookb in his eyes. 13 For he says:

“ ‘By the strength of my handc I have done this,d

and by my wisdom, because I have understanding.

I removed the boundaries of nations,

I plundered their treasures;e

like a mighty one I subdueda their kings.f

14 As one reaches into a nest,g

so my hand reached for the wealthh of the nations;

as people gather abandoned eggs,

so I gathered all the countries;i

not one flapped a wing,

or opened its mouth to chirp.j’ ”

15 Does the ax raise itself above the person who swings it,

or the saw boast against the one who uses it?k

As if a rod were to wield the person who lifts it up,

or a clubl brandish the one who is not wood!

16 Therefore, the Lord, the Lord Almighty,

will send a wasting diseasem upon his sturdy warriors;n

under his pompo a firep will be kindled

like a blazing flame.

17 The Light of Israel will become a fire,q

their Holy Oner a flame;

in a single day it will burn and consume

his thornss and his briers.t

18 The splendor of his forestsu and fertile fields

it will completely destroy,v

as when a sick person wastes away.

19 And the remaining trees of his forestsw will be so fewx

that a child could write them down.

The Remnant of Israel

20 In that dayy the remnant of Israel,

the survivorsz of Jacob,

will no longer relya on him

who struck them downb

but will truly relyc on the Lord,

the Holy One of Israel.d

21 A remnante will return,b f a remnant of Jacob

will return to the Mighty God.g

22 Though your people be like the sandh by the sea, Israel,

only a remnant will return.i

Destruction has been decreed,j

overwhelming and righteous.

23 The Lord, the Lord Almighty, will carry out

the destruction decreedk upon the whole land.l

24 Therefore this is what the Lord, the Lord Almighty, says:

“My people who live in Zion,m

do not be afraidn of the Assyrians,

who beato you with a rodp

and lift up a club against you, as Egypt did.

25 Very soonq my anger against you will end

and my wrathr will be directed to their destruction.s”

26 The Lord Almighty will lasht them with a whip,

as when he struck down Midianu at the rock of Oreb;

and he will raise his staffv over the waters,w

as he did in Egypt.

27 In that dayx their burdeny will be lifted from your shoulders,

their yokez from your neck;a

the yokeb will be broken

because you have grown so fat.c

28 They enter Aiath;

they pass through Migron;c

they store suppliesd at Mikmash.e

29 They go over the pass, and say,

“We will camp overnight at Geba.f”

Ramahg trembles;

Gibeahh of Saul flees.i

30 Cry out, Daughter Gallim!j

Listen, Laishah!

Poor Anathoth!k

31 Madmenah is in flight;

the people of Gebim take cover.

32 This day they will halt at Nob;l

they will shake their fistm

at the mount of Daughter Zion,n

at the hill of Jerusalem.

33 See, the Lord, the Lord Almighty,

will lop offo the boughs with great power.

The lofty trees will be felled,p

the tallq ones will be brought low.r

34 He will cut downs the forest thickets with an ax;

Lebanont will fall before the Mighty One.u