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there will be no gloom for those who were in anguish. In the former times He humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali. But in the future He will make glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—
2The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light;
for those living in the land of the shadow of death,
a light has shined on them.
3 You have enlarged the nation,
and increased its joy;
they rejoice before You,
as they rejoice at the harvest,
and as men rejoice
when they divide the plunder.
4 For You have broken the yolk of their burden,
and the bar across their shoulders,
the rod of their oppressor,
just as on the day of Midian.
5 For the trampling boot of the warrior used in battle,
and all the garments rolled in blood
will be burned
as fuel for the fire.
6 For to us a Child is born,
to us a Son will be given;
and the Government will rest on His shoulders.
And He will be called
Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 Of the increase of His government and peace
there will be no end.
He will reign on the throne of David
and over his kingdom,
establishing it and upholding it
with justice and with righteousness
from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the Lord of Hosts
will accomplish this.
8 The Lord has sent a message against Jacob,
and it will come upon Israel.
9 All the people will know it—
Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria.
They will say with pride
and arrogance of heart:
10 “The bricks have fallen down,
but we will rebuild with dressed stones;
the sycamores have been cut down,
but we will replace them with cedars.”
11 But the Lord has raised up
Rezin’s adversaries against him,
and stirred up his enemies.
12 The Arameans from the east and the Philistines from the west;
they devoured Israel with an open mouth.
Yet for all this His anger has not turned away;
His hand is still raised to strike.
13 The people have not returned to Him who struck them;
nor do they seek the Lord of Hosts.
14 So the Lord cut off head and tail from Israel,
palm branch and reed in a single day.
15 The elders and the dignitaries are the head;
the prophets who teach lies are the tail.
16 For the leaders of this people mislead them,
and those they mislead are destroyed.
17 Therefore the Lord will not rejoice in their young men,
nor have compassion on their fatherless and widows.
For everyone is godless and an evildoer,
and every mouth speaks folly.
Yet for all this, His anger has not turned away;
His hand is still stretched out to strike.
18 For wickedness burns like a fire;
that consumes briers and thorns,
it kindles the forest thickets;
so they go up in a column of smoke.
19 Through the wrath of the Lord of Hosts
the land is burned up,
and the people are like fuel for the fire.
No man has compassion on his brother.
20 They devour on the right,
but they are still hungry;
they gorged on the left,
but they were not satisfied;
every man will eat the flesh of his own fellow;
21 Manasseh will devour Ephraim, and Ephraim Manasseh;
together both will be against Judah.
Yet for all this, His anger is not turned away,
His hand is still stretched out to strike.