The Birth and Reign of the Prince of Peace

91 In earlier times he made the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali of small value, but after that he gave it glory, by the way of the sea, on the other side of Jordan, Galilee of the nations. 2 The people who went in the dark have seen a great light, and for those who were living in the land of the deepest night, the light is shining. 3 You have made them very glad, increasing their joy. They are glad before you as men are glad in the time of getting in the grain, or when they make division of the goods taken in war. 4 For by your hand the yoke on his neck and the rod on his back, even the rod of his cruel master, have been broken, as in the day of Midian. 5 For every boot of the man of war with his sounding step, and the clothing rolled in blood, will be for burning, food for the fire. 6 For to us a child has come, to us a son is given; and the government has been placed in his hands; and he has been named Wise Guide, Strong God, Father for ever, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his rule and of peace there will be no end, on the seat of David, and in his kingdom; to make it strong, supporting it with wise decision and righteousness, now and for ever. By the fixed purpose of the Lord of armies this will be done.

The LORD's Anger against Israel

8 The Lord has sent a word to Jacob, and it has come on Israel; 9 And all the people will have experience of it, even Ephraim and the men of Samaria, who say in the pride of their uplifted hearts, 10 The bricks have come down, but we will put up buildings of cut stone in their place: the sycamores are cut down, but they will be changed to cedars. 11 For this cause the Lord has made strong the haters of Israel, driving them on to make war against him; 12 Aram on the east, and the Philistines on the west, who have come against Israel with open mouths. For all this his wrath is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still. 13 But the heart of the people was not turned to him who sent punishment on them, and they made no prayer to the Lord of armies. 14 For this cause the Lord took away from Israel head and tail, high and low, in one day. 15 The man who is honoured and responsible is the head, and the prophet who gives false teaching is the tail. 16 For the guides of this people are the cause of their wandering from the right way, and those who are guided by them come to destruction. 17 For this cause the Lord will have no pleasure in their young men, and no pity on their widows and the children without fathers: for they are all haters of God and evil-doers, and foolish words come from every mouth. For all this his wrath is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still. 18 For evil was burning like a fire; the blackberries and thorns were burned up; the thick woods took fire, rolling up in dark clouds of smoke. 19 The land was dark with the wrath of the Lord of armies: the people were like those who take men's flesh for food. 20 On the right a man was cutting off bits and was still in need; on the left a man took a meal but had not enough; no man had pity on his brother; every man was making a meal of the flesh of his neighbour. 21 Manasseh was making a meal of Ephraim, and Ephraim of Manasseh; and together they were attacking Judah. For all this his wrath is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.

101 Cursed are those who make evil decisions, and the writers who make the records of their cruel acts: 2 Who do wrong to the poor in their cause, and take away the right of the crushed among my people, so that they may have the property of widows, and get under their power those who have no father. 3 And what will you do in the day of punishment, and in the destruction which is coming from far? to whom will you go for help, and what will become of your glory? 4 ... For all this his wrath is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.

The LORD's Use of Assyria

5 Ho! Assyrian, the rod of my wrath, the instrument of my punishment! 6 I will send him against a nation of wrongdoers, and against the people of my wrath I will give him orders, to take their wealth in war, crushing them down like the dust in the streets. 7 But this is not what is in his mind, and this is not his design; but his purpose is destruction, and the cutting off of more and more nations. 8 For he says, Are not all my captains kings? 9 Will not the fate of Calno be like that of Carchemish? is not Hamath as Arpad? is not Samaria as Damascus? 10 As my hand has come on the kingdoms of the images, whose pictured images were more in number than those of Jerusalem and Samaria; 11 So, as I have done to Samaria and her images, I will do to Jerusalem and her images. 12 For this cause it will be that, when the purpose of the Lord against Mount Zion and Jerusalem is complete, I will send punishment on the pride of the heart of the king of Assyria, and on the glory of his uplifted eyes. 13 For he has said, By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my knowledge, for I am wise: and I have taken away the limits of the peoples' lands, and the stores of their wealth have become mine; and I have made towns low in the dust, sending destruction on those living in them; 14 And I have put my hands on the wealth of the peoples, as on the place where a bird has put her eggs; and as a man may take the eggs from which a bird has gone, so I have taken all the earth for myself: and not a wing was moved, and not a mouth gave out a sound. 15 Will the axe say high-sounding words against him who is using it, or the blade be full of pride against him who is cutting with it? As if a rod had the power of shaking him who is using it, or as if a stick might take up him who is not wood. 16 For this cause the Lord, the Lord of armies, will make his fat become wasted; and in his inner parts a fire will be lighted like a burning flame. 17 And the light of Israel will be for a fire, and his Holy One for a flame: wasting and burning up his thorns in one day. 18 And he will put an end to the glory of his woods and of his planted fields, soul and body together; and it will be as when a man is wasted by disease. 19 And the rest of the trees of his wood will be small in number, so that a child may put them down in writing.

20 And it will be in that day that the rest of Israel, and those of Jacob who have come safely through these troubles, will no longer go for help to him whose rod was on their back, but their faith will be in the Lord, the Holy One of Israel. 21 The rest, even the rest of Jacob, will come back to the Strong God. 22 For though your people, O Israel, are as the sand of the sea, only a small number will come back: for the destruction is fixed, overflowing in righteousness. 23 For the Lord, the Lord of armies, is about to make destruction complete in all the land.

24 For this cause the Lord, the Lord of armies, says, O my people living in Zion, have no fear of the Assyrian, even if his rod comes on your back, and his stick is lifted up as in Egypt. 25 For in a very short time my passion will be over, and my wrath will be turned to their destruction. 26 And the Lord of armies will be shaking a whip against him, as when he overcame Midian at the rock of Oreb: and his rod will be lifted up against them as it was against the Egyptians. 27 And in that day the weight which he put on your back will be taken away, and his yoke broken from off your neck. 28 He has gone up from Pene-Rimmon, he has come to Aiath; he has gone past Migron, at Michmash he puts his forces in order. 29 They have gone across the mountain; Geba will be our resting-place tonight, they say: Ramah is shaking with fear; Gibeah of Saul has gone in flight. 30 Give a loud cry, daughter of Gallim; let Laishah give ear; let Anathoth give answer to her. 31 Madmenah has gone; the men of Gebim are putting their goods in a safe place. 32 This very day he is stopping at Nob; he is shaking his hand against the mountain of the daughter of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem. 33 See, the Lord, the Lord of armies, is cutting off his branches with a great noise, and his strong ones are falling and his high ones are coming down. 34 And he is cutting down the thick places of the wood with an axe, and Lebanon with its tall trees is coming down.

The Righteous Reign of the Branch of Jesse

111 And there will come a rod out of the broken tree of Jesse, and a branch out of his roots will give fruit. 2 And the spirit of the Lord will be resting on him, the spirit of wisdom and good sense, the spirit of wise guiding and strength, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord; 3 And he will not be guided in his judging by what he sees, or give decisions by the hearing of his ears: 4 But he will do right in the cause of the poor, and give wise decisions for those in the land who are in need; and the rod of his mouth will come down on the cruel, and with the breath of his lips he will put an end to the evil-doer. 5 And righteousness will be the cord of his robe, and good faith the band round his breast. 6 And the wolf will be living with the lamb, and the leopard will take his rest with the young goat; and the lion will take grass for food like the ox; and the young lion will go with the young ones of the herd; and a little child will be their guide. 7 And the cow and the bear will be friends while their young ones are sleeping together. 8 And the child at the breast will be playing by the hole of the snake, and the older child will put his hand on the bright eye of the poison-snake. 9 There will be no cause of pain or destruction in all my holy mountain: for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the sea is covered by the waters.

10 And in that day, the eyes of the nations will be turned to the root of Jesse which will be lifted up as the flag of the peoples; and his resting-place will be glory. 11 And in that day the hand of the Lord will be stretched out the second time to get back the rest of his people, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the sea-lands. 12 And he will put up a flag as a sign to the nations, and he will get together those of Israel who had been sent away, and the wandering ones of Judah, from the four ends of the earth. 13 And the envy of Ephraim will be gone, and those who make trouble for Judah will come to an end: Ephraim will have no more envy of Judah, and there will be an end of Judah's hate for Ephraim. 14 And they will be united in attacking the Philistines on the west, and together they will take the goods of the children of the east: their hand will be on Edom and Moab; and the children of Ammon will be under their rule. 15 And the Lord will make the tongue of the Egyptian sea completely dry; and with his burning wind his hand will be stretched out over the River, and it will be parted into seven streams, so that men may go over it with dry feet. 16 And there will be a highway for the rest of his people from Assyria; as there was for Israel in the day when he came up out of the land of Egypt.

The LORD to Be Praised in That Day

121 And in that day you will say I will give praise to you, O Lord; for though you were angry with me, your wrath is turned away, and I am comforted. 2 See, God is my salvation; I will have faith in the Lord, without fear: for the Lord Jah is my strength and song; and he has become my salvation. 3 So with joy will you get water out of the springs of salvation.

4 And in that day you will say, Give praise to the Lord, let his name be honoured, give word of his doings among the peoples, say that his name is lifted up. 5 Make a song to the Lord; for he has done noble things: give news of them through all the earth. 6 Let your voice be sounding in a cry of joy, O daughter of Zion, for great is the Holy One of Israel among you.