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ISAIAH CHAPTER 9
OBSERVATION STAGE
The purpose of
the observation stage is to maintain focus on the text at hand within the
normative rules of language, context and logic 
.
.This
limits the observer to the content offered by the book of Isaiah. This
will serve to avoid going on unnecessary tangents elsewhere; and more
importantly, it will provide the framework for a proper and objective
comparison with passages located elsewhere in Scripture.
Remember that something elsewhere may be true, but in the text at hand it may not be in view.
Note that Isaiah chapter 9 continues the context of chapter 8. Note that the Masoretic Text has the first verse of chapter 9 as the last verse of chapter 8.
******* EXCERPT FROM ISAIAH CHAPTER 8 *******
Or
skip to the beginning of chapter 9: 
(Isa 8:16 NKJV) '''[Isaiah said to] Bind up the testimony, Seal up the law among my disciples. (Isa 8:17 YLT) And I have waited for [the LORD], Who is hiding His face from the house of Jacob, And I have looked for Him. (Isa 8:18 NKJV) Here am I and the children whom the Lord has given me! [We] are for signs and wonders in Israel From the Lord of hosts, Who dwells in Mount Zion. (Isa 8:19 NKJV) And when they say to you, 'Seek those who are mediums and wizards, who whisper and mutter,' should not a people seek their God? [Should they seek] the dead on behalf of the living? (Isa 8:20 NKJV) To the law and to the testimony! If they [are not speaking] according to this word, it is because [there is] no light in them. (Isa 8:21 NKJV) They will pass through it hard-pressed and hungry; and it shall happen, when they are hungry, that they will be enraged and curse their king and their God, and look upward. (Isa 8:22 NKJV) Then they will look to the earth, and see trouble and darkness, gloom of anguish; and [they will be] driven into darkness." ''' =
Isaiah's command to his disciples to "Bind up the testimony, Seal up the law among [my] disciples," must be interpreted as the words conveyed the message: literally - because only that kind of interpretation can be maintained in the context of the passage. Any other kind would require an artificial approach outside of the context. So a more detailed account of what Isaiah had inscribed upon a tablet which he had appointed two men to witness to, (Isa 8:1-2), were written on a parchment roll which his disciples - serving as witnesses - bound up and sealed. This was a pattern of the way Isaiah worked. (Isa 8:1-2; cf. Isa 29:11; 30:8). So Isaiah's testimony was bound and sealed up, (1) to secure the integrity of Isaiah's testimony so that it could not be claimed that it was altered; and (2) to prove itself as God's word coming from the mouth of God's prophet Isaiah as the prophecies were fulfilled over the coming years. Consequently, Isaiah's testimony had the force of law, which fortified his position as God's prophet, (Isa 8:15-16).
Isaiah then professed that he had waited for the LORD despite the lack of trust of Judah. The LORD was hiding His face from the house of Jacob - from Judah, those left of His chosen people - in the sense that He was withholding blessing and protection from them and putting them under severe discipline, because of their lack of faith in Him. Despite Judah being separated from fellowship with the LORD, Isaiah remained faithful and professed that faith in the LORD: "And I have looked for Him," (Isa 8:17).
In the next verse, Isaiah declared that he and the children whom the "LORD of hosts Who dwells in Zion" had given him, were "signs and wonders in Israel," in the sense of symbols and reminders of what was in store for God's chosen people Israel, (now principally located in the kingdom of Judah). Isaiah's name which literally meant "Yahweh is salvation," told the people that the LORD would ultimately deliver His people into the eternal kingdom of God. Each child's name was also a symbol of prophecy relative to God's people: Shear-Jashub, "A remnant shall return," reminded Judah that a believing remnant would return from captivity in Babylon, (cf. Isa 10:21-22). Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz, "quick to plunder, swift to the spoil" Isaiah's second son reminded the people of Judah that they would be delivered from the Aram-Israel alliance by the Assyrians who would plunder those nations, (Isa 8:18).
Isaiah admonished the people for not looking to God, but seeking wisdom from mediums and wizards who claimed to conjure up the spirits of the dead in order to influence events. They used ventriliquism to utter low sounds, whispers and muttering, as if the dead were speaking to them from the grave. Isaiah asked rhetorically, "Should not a people seek their God?" or "Should they seek the dead on behalf of the living?"
Isaiah questioned the rationality of God's people when they sought answers from those that were dead who could no longer communicate with the living, instead of looking to the living God Who had all the answers, and Who repeatedly proved Himself through the Law, (Scripture) and the testimony of His prophets, (Isa 8:19).
Isaiah answered his own rhetorical questions by indicating that the people should seek the Law, (Scripture), and the testimony (of God's prophets). He declared that the people, when they did not speak according to the word of the living God, there was no light - no truth - no godliness - in them, (cf. Isa 2:5; 5:20) [Isa 8:20]
The last two verses of chapter 8 point to future Assyrian invasions which would bring hardship to Judah, especially hunger due to an acute food shortage, (cf. 3:1; 7:23-25). The Judahites would react with anger and blame; they would curse not only their apostate king, but God Himself! They would look upward to the LORD for help without faith - hence in vain. Then their gaze would turn downward to the earth. They would see nothing but trouble and darkness coming at them. The gloom of anguish would drive them into further darkness. They had rejected the light of the righteousess of the LORD and would suffer the darkness of His judgment through Assyrian oppression, (Isa 8:21-22).
******* END OF EXCERPT FROM ISAIAH CHAPTER 8 *******
(Isa 9:1 NKJV) "Nevertheless the gloom will not be upon her who is distressed As when at first He [the LORD] [treated with contempt] 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.
(Isa 9:2 NKJV) The people who 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.
(Isa 9:3 KJV) [You have] multiplied the nation. [Have You] not increased the joy? They [rejoice] before [You] according to the joy in harvest, and as men rejoice [to divide] the spoil.
(Isa 9:4 NKJV) 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.
(Isa 9:5 HOLMAN) [For the warrior's trampling sandle] and the garments [rolled in the blood of battle] will be burned as fuel for the fire.
(Isa 9:6 NKJV) For unto us [Israel, Isa 1:1, 8:18] a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
(Isa 9:7 NKJV) Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this."
(Isa 8:16 NKJV) '''[Isaiah said to] Bind up the testimony, Seal up the law among my disciples. (Isa 8:17 YLT) And I have waited for [the LORD], Who is hiding His face from the house of Jacob, And I have looked for Him. (Isa 8:18 NKJV) Here am I and the children whom the Lord has given me! [We] are for signs and wonders in Israel From the Lord of hosts, Who dwells in Mount Zion. (Isa 8:19 NKJV) And when they say to you, 'Seek those who are mediums and wizards, who whisper and mutter,' should not a people seek their God? [Should they seek] the dead on behalf of the living? (Isa 8:20 NKJV) To the law and to the testimony! If they [are not speaking] according to this word, it is because [there is] no light in them. (Isa 8:21 NKJV) They will pass through it hard-pressed and hungry; and it shall happen, when they are hungry, that they will be enraged and curse their king and their God, and look upward. (Isa 8:22 NKJV) Then they will look to the earth, and see trouble and darkness, gloom of anguish; and [they will be] driven into darkness. (Isa 9:1 NKJV) Nevertheless the [darkness] will not be upon her who is distressed As when at first He [the LORD] [treated with contempt] 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. (Isa 9:2 NKJV) The people who [who are walking] in darkness Have seen a great light; Those who dwelt [are dwelling] in the land of the shadow of death, Upon them a light has shined. (Isa 9:3 KJV) [You have] multiplied the nation, [have you] not increased the joy? They [rejoice] before [You] according to the joy in harvest, and as men rejoice [to divide] the spoil. (Isa 9:4 NKJV) 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. (Isa 9:5 HOLMAN) [For the warrior's trampling sandle] and the garments [rolled in the blood of battle] will be burned as fuel for the fire. (Isa 9:6 NKJV) "For unto us [Israel, Isa 1:1, 8:18] a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (Isa 9:7 NKJV) Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this." =
In the Masoretic Text of the Hebrew Bible, Isaiah chapter 8 ends with the verse which most translated versions have indicated as Isa 9:1. In that verse, the ancient Israelite tribal allotments of Zebulun and Naphtali - the lands of Zebulun and Naphtali - which refer to the northern portion of Israel were caused by the LORD to be oppressed and then invaded by Assyria and annexed by Tiglath-pileser III in 733-732 B.C. This included Galilee. The phrase rendered ''The way of the sea" refers to Sharon or Philistia. It describes a major international highway running through this region. This is the only time this phrase appears in Scripture, but it appears often in Assyrian and Egyptian records. The invading Assyrian soldiers took that route when they invaded the Northern Kingdom. The phrase rendered "Galilee of the Gentiles" refers to the area of Gilead and southeast Syria, when it was under Gentile domination. The Assyrians carved out three provinces for themselves from these areas in three campaigns. These lands were the first to feel the distress caused by Assyrian invasion. But there will be a time when darkness of oppression will not be upon Israel, (Isa 9:1).
Past tenses in Isa 9:2 continue to speak of future events, such that the future was described by the prophet as having already occurred. Light stands for God's blessings, presence, and revelation - all characterized by His absolute Righteousness, (cf. Isa 2:5). The phrase rendered "shadow of death," means the darkness of separation from the fellowship of God and His Righteousness. Past generations of the people of Israel had been walking in darkness for centuries; but a future generation of them would see a great light, which the passage will indicate is embodied in His incarnate Son, (Isa 9:2-7).
In the future the LORD will multiply the number of His people. Their joy will be increased as those who rejoiced at harvest time or as men of battle who rejoiced in dividing the spoils of war. In view of the context, Isa 9:3b is best rendered, "[You have] multiplied the nation, [have you] not increased the joy? They [rejoice] before [You] according to the joy in harvest, and as men rejoice [to divide] the spoil," (Isa 9:3).
And the reason for joy being brought upon the Israelites is that the LORD will finally break the yoke of oppression upon His people. For generations, God's chosen people, the Israelites had been dwelling in the land of the shadow of death, (Isa 9:2), experiencing invasions by such as Egypt, Assyria and Babylon. The phrases rendered "the yoke of his burden," "the staff of his shoulder" and "the rod of his oppressor" in Isa 9:4 refer to the oppression of the people of Israel. The word rendered "yoke" referred to that which controlled and caused a burden upon Israel, "the staff" to that which struck the shoulder in punishment, "the rod" to that which oppressed them; and the word rendered "his" to the agent of the LORD used to discipline His people, such as Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, etc.
(Isa 10:24 NKJV) "Therefore thus says the LORD God of hosts: 'O My people, who dwell in Zion, do not be afraid of the Assyrian. He shall strike you with a rod and lift up his staff against you, in the manner of Egypt.
(Isa 10:25 NKJV) For yet a very little while and the indignation will cease, as will My anger in their destruction.'
(Isa 10:26 NKJV) And the LORD of hosts will stir up a scourge for him like the slaughter of Midian at the rock of Oreb; as His rod was on the sea, so will He lift it up in the manner of Egypt.
(Isa 10:27 NKJV) It shall come to pass in that day that his burden will be taken away from your [Israel's] shoulder, And his yoke from your neck, and the yoke will be destroyed because of the anointing oil"
The breaking of oppression which the LORD imposed upon Israel to discipline her was paralleled to "The day of Midian" which referred to the miraculous defeat of the Midianites by Gideon brought about supernaturally by the LORD, (Isa 9:4; cf Jud 7).
The passage in Isaiah chapter 9 goes on to explain that the sandles of the soldier and the garments rolled in blood, (a tactic of war to frighten enemies in an impending battle), would be burned, i.e., the implements of warfare would be destroyed. So the darkness of war will be no more, (Isa 9:5).
Isaiah
9:6-7 explained why the people of Israel would be delivered from its
generations of darkness: It would be accomplished through One Who would be
born of Israel:
(Isa 9:6 NKJV) "For unto us [Israel, Isa 1:1, 8:18] a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (Isa 9:7 NKJV) Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this."
Since it is the LORD Who gives children to man; and since a child was born to Israel, a Son given; then this implied that the LORD had given His Son to be born as a child of Israel - an Israelite - the Son adding Humanity to His eternal essence of Deity. Whereupon, the passage declared that His name would be called Mighty God, Everlasting Father, implying Diety as well as Perfect Humanity. The first person plural "us" referring to Israel in the phrase rendered, "For unto us [Israel, Isa 1:1, 8:18] a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given," in the NKJV, implies a link to the passage of the virgin birth in Isa 7:14:
(Isa 7:14 NKJV) "Therefore the LORD Himself will give you [plural] a sign: 'Behold, [a] virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel,' [which means God is with us]."
****** EXCERPT FROM ISAIAH CHAPTER 7 ******
(Isa 7:10 NKJV) ''''Moreover the LORD spoke again to Ahaz, saying, (Isa 7:11 NKJV) '''Ask a sign for yourself from the LORD your God; ask it either in the depth or in the height above.''' (Isa 7:12 NKJV) But Ahaz said, '''I will not ask, nor will I test the LORD!''' (Isa 7:13 NKJV) Then he said, '''Hear now, O house of David! Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will you weary my God also? (Isa 7:14 YLT) "Therefore the Lord Himself [is giving] to you [plural, i.e., Judah] a sign, [behold], the Virgin [the pregnant one] [the one giving birth to] a son, And she [has called] his name Immanuel. (Isa 7:15 NKJV) Curds and honey He shall eat, that He may know to refuse the evil and choose the good. (Isa 7:16 NKJV) For before the Child shall know to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land that you dread will be forsaken by both her kings.''' '''' =
In order to authenticate His promise to protect Judah from Aram and Ephraim, and test the faith of Ahaz, the LORD asked Ahaz (through Isaiah) to request a sign from "The depth or in the height above" - a figure of speech which has in view any sign that Ahaz might choose for the LORD to perform from the realm of the greatest depths of Sheol to the greatest height of the heavens or from anything in between. With a miracle performed simply for the asking, Ahaz would have had visible confirmation that Isaiah's words were truly from the LORD and then Ahaz could count on the fact that the northern alliance would not defeat Judah. But Ahaz, twisting the words of Scripture, arrogantly declined in unbelief saying, "Nor will I test the LORD!" Ahaz, by rejecting the legitimate offer of a sign from God's messenger, was in effect rejecting the One Who sent the prophet. Furthermore, Ahaz's response questioned the integrity of God's prophet Isaiah for suggesting that Ahaz should test the LORD. Note that Isaiah, the son of Amoz, had already established himself as a prophet of God during the reigns of Uzziah, and his son Jotham, the father of Ahaz; and he would continue to be a prophet of God during the reign of Hezekiah, Ahaz's son, (Isa 1:1). Ahaz refused to accept Isaiah's offer to choose a sign inspite of the fact that if his prophecy were not fulfilled, the king could have had Isaiah put to death. Since the king did not believe in Isaiah's declaration that the LORD would deliver Judah from Aram and Ephraim; and since he was resolved not to do God's will but was determined to negotiate with Assyria, favoring Assyria's power, paganism and idolatry over the LORD, (Isa 10:10, 11 36:18-20); then there would be no sign from the LORD for Judah in Ahaz's time, (Isa 7:10-12).
Isaiah responded to King Ahaz's rejection of the LORD and His prophet: "Hear now, O house of David! [referring to king Ahaz - a descendant from David] Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will you weary my God also?" This conveys Isaiah's exasperation with Ahaz in the sense of asking him 'Is it not enough for you to try the patience of men, but must you try the patience of my God also?' Notice that Isaiah referred to "my God" as if to say that his God was not Ahaz's God. Up to this time, although he had gotten access to king Ahaz which implied that his reputation as a prophet had preceded him, Isaiah had not prophesied a sign personally to Ahaz which would have authenticated the LORD's promise to deliver Judah from Aram and Ephraim; and it would have authenticated that Isaiah was a true prophet of the LORD. Since Ahaz had refused to let this proof be presented, Isaiah was exasperated, (Isa 7:13).
Hence Isaiah announced that the LORD Himself would give a sign of His own choosing. Notice that the word rendered "Himself" in the NKJV is in an emphatic mode in Isa 7:14 emphasizing the LORD's singularly emphatic response to Ahaz's rejection of a sign to provide one Himself without any imput from the arrogant faithless king. The word rendered "Behold" in verse 14 brings attention to an astounding sign of the maiden / virgin's birth of a Son Whom she would call His name Immanuel, meaning God is with us:
(Isa 7:14 YLT) "Therefore the Lord Himself [is giving] to you [plural, i.e., Judah] a sign, [behold], the Virgin [the pregnant one] [the one giving birth to] a son, And she [has called] his name Immanuel.
(Isa 7:14 Hebrew) "lkn ..........ithn ................adni ............eua .l-km ..........auth .ene
..............................."therefore he-shall-give ..my-LORD he ...to-you ......sign .behold
e-olme.................... ere ..................u-ildth .........................bn ..u-grath ................shm-u
the-maiden/virgin .pregnant-one and-one-giving-birth .son and-she-has called .name-of-him
omnu~al
Immanu~El
(Isa 7:15 NKJV) Curds and honey [infant food signifying that He was growing up] He shall eat, that He may know to refuse the evil and choose the good. (Isa 7:16 NKJV) For before the Child shall know to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land that you dread will be forsaken by both her kings."
Note that the Child in the prophecy of Isa 7:14-16 is stipulated as having been given birth to by "the Virgin" with the definite article - the pregnant one, (noun), the one giving birth (participle for noun) to a Son. And she [has called] His name Immanuel, [lit., Immanu~El or God is with us]." The LXX, (Septuagint = Greek version of the Hebrew Text] translators used the unambiguous word 'parthenos' ('virgin') to translate 'almAh' rendered "virgin" in the NKJV. This Hebrew word transliterated "almAh" refers to a young woman of marriagable age implying virginity. It evidently comes from the concept of a young maiden / woman being closely guarded and kept from men's gaze in their parents' custody in the East - which implies virginity. So the verse points to the unique, one of a kind maiden / virgin the pregnant one who gives birth to the Child Whom she would call Immanuel meaning God is with us which excludes sexual intercourse, otherwise she could not be stipulated as the maiden / virgin. There is no clear OT example of the use of 'almAh' for a married woman. In the next two verses, it is stipulated that the Child will grow up on "curds and honey" the normal diet of a weaned child; and reach the point of knowing to refuse evil and do good - from conception to accountability -. after but not necessarily immediately after the kingdoms of Syria and Ephraim have been destroyed by Assyria.
****** END OF EXCERPT FROM ISAIAH CHAPTER 7 ******
(Isa 9:6 NKJV) "For unto us [Israel, Isa 1:1, 8:18] a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (Isa 9:7 NKJV) Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this." =
The phrase rendered "the Government will be on His shoulder" referred to the ensign of office worn upon the shoulder to signify the One Who had the position of ruling the nation, (cf. Isa 22:22-23). Then verse 6 declared, "And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace;" "Wonderful" in the sense of being a marvelous, wondrous being; "Counselor," in the sense of having the godly wisdom to convey to others; "Mighty God," in the sense of being Almighty God; "Everlasting Father," in the sense of being Everlasting God; "Prince of Peace," in the sense of being the One Who will bring to Israel and the world, everlasting peace. The Hebrew text of Isaiah 9:6 rendered "Mighty God" cannot be describing a mighty god as opposed to Almighty God, for Isaiah later indicates that besides Almighty God, there is no other [God] , (cf. Isa 43:10; 45:5). All of the terms in Isa 9:6c are unequivocally descriptive only of the human Israelite child, and not anyone else or any other nation but Israel.
So just as Gideon defeated Midian through the supernatural work of the LORD, (Isa 9:4); so the LORD will lead His people from spiritual darkness into light supernaturally - this time through His Son, the Child born unto the nation Israel. Through Him, there will be everlasting peace for all mankind, (Isa 9:6).
For Isaiah 9:7 said that the increase of His government and peace will be without end. He will sit upon the throne of David and rule over His kingdom and through that kindgom, the world. He will keep order and establish His judgment forever. The phrase rendered "Upon the throne of David" indicates that the God Man will be a Jew and Ruler of Israel. He will rule with an eternal rule of peace and absolute justice. And the zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this, in the sense that it is God Himself alone Who will accomplish this, (Isa 9:7).
(Isa 9:8 NKJV) "The LORD sent a word against Jacob, And it has fallen on Israel.
(Isa 9:9 NASB) And all the people [have known] it, That is, Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria, Asserting in pride and in arrogance of heart:
(Isa 9:10 NKJV) 'The bricks have fallen down, But we [will] build with hewn stones; The sycamore [have been] cut down, But we [will] replace them with cedars.'
(Isa 9:11 NKJV) Therefore the LORD shall make [inaccessible] the adversaries of Rezin... and [protect] his enemies.
(Isa 9:12 HOLMAN) Aram from the east [lit. 'before'] and Philistia [the Philistines] from the west [lit., 'behind'] have consumed Israel with open mouth, And they shall devour Israel with [the whole of the] mouth. In all this, His anger is not removed [lit., turned back], and His hand is still raised [stretched out (to strike again)].
(Isa 9:13 NKJV) For the people [have not turned] to Him Who strikes them, Nor [have they sought] the LORD of hosts.
(Isa 9:14 NKJV) Therefore the LORD will cut off head and tail from Israel, Palm branch and bulrush in one day.
(Isa 9:15 NKJV) The elder and honorable, he is the head: The prophet who teaches lies, he is the tail.
(Isa 9:16 NKJV) For the leaders of this people cause them to err, And those who are led by them are destroyed
(Isa 9:17 HOLMAN) Therefore the LORD does not rejoice over Israel's young men and has no compassion on its fatherless and widows, for everyone is a godless [lit., impious - soiled with sin] evildoer, and every mouth speaks folly. In all this, His anger is not removed [lit., turned back], and His hand is still raised [stretched out (to strike again)].
(Isa 9:18 NKJV) For wickedness [has burned] as the fire; It [devours] the briers and thorns, And [kindles] in the thickets of the forest; They... mount up like rising smoke.
(Isa 9:19 NKJV) Through the wrath of the LORD of hosts The land [has been] burned up, And the people... fuel [for the fire], No man [spares] his brother.
(Isa 9:20 NASB) They slice off what is on the right ..., but still are hungry, And they eat what is on the left ... but they [have not been] satisfied; Each of them eats the flesh of his own arm.
(Isa 9:21 HOLMAN) Manasseh [devours] Ephraim, and Ephraim... Manasseh, Together, both are against Judah. In all this, His anger is not removed [lit., turned back], and His hand is still raised [stretched out (to strike again)].
(Isa 10:1 YLT) Woe to those decreeing decrees of iniquity, And writers who have prescribed perverseness.
(Isa 10:2 YLT) To turn aside from judgment the poor, And to take violently away the judgment Of the afflicted of My people, That widows may be their prey, That the fatherless they may [plunder].
(Isa 10:3 NKJV) What will you do in the day of punishment [lit., reckoning], And in the desolation which will come from afar? To whom will you flee for help? And where will you leave your glory?
(Isa 10:4 HOLMAN) [There will be nothing to do] except [bow down among] the prisoners or fall [among] the slain. In all this, His anger is not removed, and His hand is still [stretched out (to strike again)]."
(Isa 9:8 NKJV) "The LORD sent a word against Jacob, And it has fallen on Israel. (Isa 9:9 NASB) And all the people [have known] it, That is, Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria, Asserting in pride and in arrogance of heart: (Isa 9:10 NKJV) 'The bricks have fallen down, But we [will] build with hewn stones; The sycamore [have been] cut down, But we [will] replace them with cedars.' (Isa 9:11 NKJV) Therefore the LORD shall make [inaccessible] the adversaries of Rezin... and [protect] his enemies. (Isa 9:12 HOLMAN) Aram from the east [lit. 'before'] and Philistia [the Philistines] from the west [lit., 'behind'] have consumed Israel with open mouth, And they shall devour Israel with [the whole of the] mouth. In all this, His anger is not removed [lit., turned back], and His hand is still raised [stretched out (to strike again)]. (Isa 9:13 NKJV) For the people [have not turned] to Him Who strikes them, Nor [have they sought] the LORD of hosts. (Isa 9:14 NKJV) Therefore the LORD will cut off head and tail from Israel, Palm branch and bulrush in one day. (Isa 9:15 NKJV) The elder and honorable, he is the head: The prophet who teaches lies, he is the tail. (Isa 9:16 NKJV) For the leaders of this people cause them to err, And those who are led by them are destroyed. (Isa 9:17 HOLMAN) Therefore the LORD does not rejoice over Israel's young men and has no compassion on its fatherless and widows, for everyone is a godless [lit., impious - soiled with sin] evildoer, and every mouth speaks folly. In all this, His anger is not removed [lit., turned back], and His hand is still raised [stretched out (to strike again)]. (Isa 9:18 NKJV) For wickedness [has burned] as the fire; It [devours] the briers and thorns, And [kindles] in the thickets of the forest; They... mount up like rising smoke. (Isa 9:19 NKJV) Through the wrath of the LORD of hosts The land [has been] burned up, And the people... fuel [for the fire], No man [spares] his brother. (Isa 9:20 NASB) They slice off what is on the right ..., but still are hungry, And they eat what is on the left ... but they [have not been] satisfied; Each of them eats the flesh of his own arm. (Isa 9:21 HOLMAN) Manasseh [devours] Ephraim, and Ephraim... Manasseh, Together, both are against Judah. In all this, His anger is not removed [lit., turned back], and His hand is still raised [stretched out (to strike again)]. (Isa 10:1 YLT) Woe to those decreeing decrees of iniquity, And writers who have prescribed perverseness. (Isa 10:2 YLT) To turn aside from judgment the poor, And to take violently away the judgment Of the afflicted of My people, That widows may be their prey, That the fatherless they may [plunder]. (Isa 10:3 NKJV) What will you do in the day of punishment [lit., reckoning], And in the desolation which will come from afar? To whom will you flee for help? And where will you leave your glory? (Isa 10:4 HOLMAN) [There will be nothing to do] except [bow down among] the prisoners or fall [among] the slain. In all this, His anger is not removed, and His hand is still [stretched out (to strike again)]." =
The context moves from the age of the eternal kingdom of God, (Isa 9:1-7); back in time to the period of the generations of ancient Israel focusing on the Northern Kingdom, but with Judah in sight, which includes the days of Isaiah the prophet.
[Expositor's Bible Commentary, Vol. 6, Zondervan Publishing, Grand Rapids, Michigan, Frank E Gaebelein, Editor, p. 76]:
"Why has an oracle against the northern kingdom been incorporated into the collected prophecies of Isaiah at this point? The threat of Syria [Aram] and Ephraim [Israel] against Judah and the associated Assyrian move against the petty states of the Mediterranean seaboard form the background to everything from the beginning of chapter 7; so such an oracle is not out of place in this setting. Moreover, as some commentators have suggested, the prophecy of the child's universal reign on the throne of David [over all 12 tribes of Israel] (Isa 9:7) would remind the reader of the defection of the northern tribes (cf. 7:17; 11:13)."
Isaiah's statement begins with, "The LORD sent a word against Jacob [which name is used as the father of all the tribes of Israel. Hence all twelve tribes are in view], And it has fallen on Israel [referring to the northern kingdom]." So the message of the LORD to His people - the House of Jacob is directed particulary to the Northern Kingdom of Israel. The message was one of coming judgment upon the North; which at the time, the Northern Kingdom was already on the decline as a result of conflict with other kingdoms as indicated in verse 10. This warning of judgment was to have also been taken to heart by the Kingdom of Judah, who persisted in the same manner toward the LORD as did the Northern Kingdom, especially after the fall of the latter in 722 B.C. But neither the Northern Kingdom nor the Kingdom of Judah would heed the warning, (Isa 9:8).
And all the people of Israel have known this message - this warning that disaster will come upon the people of the Northern Kingdom if they don't turn back to the LORD - that is Ephraim - a reference to the largest tribe of the Northern Kingdom used as a reference to that kingdom, (cf. 7:2); as well as the inhabitants of Samaria, the Kingdom's capital. Note that arrogance and pride are usually greatest in a capital city. For they were asserting in their pride and arrogance of heart: 'The bricks have fallen down, But we [will] build with hewn stones; The sycamore [have been] cut down, But we [will] replace them with cedars.' They were arrogantly confident that despite the desolation caused largely by the Assyrian armies in their northern provinces, (cf. 9:1), which they had experienced for not turning back to the LORD; they nevertheless thought that they would rebuild with their own hands - without His help - even better than before - replacing brick with hewn stones and sycamore trees with cedars, (Isa 9:9-10).
Although some manuscripts do not have the reference to "adversaries of Rezin;" for example, the LXX has "adversaries of Zion;" despite the contention of some, the word "Rezin" is evidently part of the original text: The rule of interpretation is that the more difficult reading, if it fits the context, is usually the correct one. For if Rezin's, the king of Aram's, foes are free to go on the attack, then this makes the Northern Kingdom vulnerable without the aide of it's ally.
So as a result of the Northern Kingdom's unrepentant arrogance toward the LORD; and since Rezin, the king of Aram was an ally of Israel, (cf. Isa 7:2), the LORD would block Aram from waging effective war upon Aram's enemies, leaving the Northern Kingdom vulnerable to attack from those enemies, causing more desolation. Since the LORD would protect those enemies, which included other Arameans from the east who were not under Rezin's rule as well as the Philistines from Philistia in the west, (Isa 9:12); then these enemies would "devour Israel with the whole of the mouth." But in all of this, the LORD's anger was not removed, and His hand was still outstretched to strike again because this was not enough to convince the Israelites to repent and turn back to Him. The timeframe of these events is between 734 and 722 B.C. Verse 12 is the first of four times that a section ends with the phrase rendered, "In all this, His anger is not removed [lit., turned back], and His hand is still raised [stretched out (to strike again)]," (Isa 9:12, 17, 21 & 10:4) in the Holman Version. Each succeeding section conveyed another judgment of the wrath of the LORD upon His people. None of these judgments resulted in the people turning back to the LORD, (Isa 9:11-12).
In the next section, the first verse, (v. 13), summarizes the condition of the people of the LORD up to this point: They have not turned to the LORD Who strikes them with His wrath, nor have they sought the LORD of Hosts. Isaiah then wrote a merism, a figure of speech which gives opposite extremes with the indication that it included everything in the middle: Therefore the LORD would destroy the whole kingdom. He would cut off the head and the tail of Israel, a figure of speech for all the leaders - from palm branch to bulrush - the branch being elevated on the top of the tree, the rush being coarse and low, implying from high to low and everything in between - "in one day," in a single moment. They will all be destroyed, from the elder and honorable in the sense of high ranking - the head; to the false prophet who teaches lies - the tail. Despite their relative standing amongst the people of the Northern Kingdom, they were all ungodly and would all be judged accordingly by the LORD. Although the leaders caused the people to sin, all were guilty and all would be destroyed. The LORD would take no joy in the young men, nor have mercy on the fatherless and the widows, because everyone was a hypocrite and an evil doer. Every mouth spoke folly, i.e., evil. Verse 17 is the second of four times that a section ends with the phrase rendered, "In all this, His anger is not removed [lit., turned back], and His hand is still raised [stretched out (to strike again)]," in the Holman Version, (Isa 9:12, 17, 21 & 10:4). Each succeeding section conveying yet another and more severe judgment via the wrath of the LORD upon His people which still did not result in the people turning back to the LORD, (Isa 9:13-17).
Isaiah goes on to explain the extent of the wickedness of the people in the Northern Kingdom. Unchecked wickedness spreads like wildfire: the wickedness of the people of the Northern Kingdom burned like the fire which devours briers and thorns, and which kindles in the thickets of the forests. Such wickedness mounts up like rising smoke whose pervasiveness contaminates everything it reaches. Verse 19 declared that it would be through the wrath - the fire - of the LORD of hosts, that the land of Israel would be burned up. Its people would be the fuel for that fire. Their wickedness was so great that no Israelite would even spare his own brother. In addition to destruction from the outside, there would be the destruction of civil war and brother against brother as a judgment of their wickedness by the LORD. Isaiah used the language of consuming - of eating things up - to convey the destruction by the LORD that the tribes and the individual people of the Northern Kingdom would cause one another: The people would slice off what was on the right [in the sense of devouring their own people], but still would be hungry; And they would eat what was on the left [devouring their own people], but they would not have been satisfied; and each of them eats the flesh of his own arm. So their evil was so great that they become self-destructive. They would turn on one another - tribe against tribe: The tribe of Manasseh would devour the tribe of Ephraim and Ephraim, Manasseh. And together they were against Judah. Verse 21 is the third of four times that a section ends with the phrase rendered, "In all this, His anger is not removed [lit., turned back], and His hand is still raised [stretched out (to strike again)]," (Isa 9:12, 17, 21 & 10:4) in the Holman Version. Each succeeding section conveying yet another and more severe judgment via the wrath of the LORD upon His people which still did not result in the people turning back to the LORD, (Isa 9:18-21).
The first four verses of Isaiah chapter 10 continue the context of the LORD's judgment upon the Northern Kingdom of Israel which was the subject from verses 9:8 to the end of chapter 9. Furthermore, these four verses comprise the last of four sections all of which end with the phrase, "In all this, His anger is not removed [lit., turned back], and His hand is still raised [stretched out (to strike again)]." Hence an examination of the content of these four verses at the beginning of chapter ten is included here at the end of chapter 9:
Isaiah wrote, "Woe to those decreeing decrees of iniquity," in the sense of writing crooked statutes. The word rendered "Woe" implyng severe judgment from the LORD upon those of the Northern Kingdom as well as anyone, including the people of Judah.
Note that this section is not part of the six woes in chapter 5 which in 5:8-23, or the seventh in Isa 6:5. For it is clear that the context of the sixth woes at the end of Isa 5:30 which are about the LORD's judgment of the Southern Kingdom of Judah does not continue through chapters 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10:4. The chapters following Isa 5:30 introduce a number of themes that depart from the context of those six woes in chapter 5. Hence Isaiah's personal woe in Isa 6:5 before the LORD and the woe in Isa 10:4 relative to the LORD's judgment of the Northern Kingdom are not part of the context of the six woes in chapter 5.
So Isaiah
continued, "Woe to those decreeing decrees of iniquity, And
writers who have prescribed perverseness," [in the sense of having
recorded unjust decisions]. To turn aside from judgment the poor, [in the
sense of keeping the poor from getting justice - a fair trial] And to take
violently away the judgment Of the afflicted of My people [in the sense of
violently depriving, i.e., tearing away justice from those of His people
who are afflicted], That widows may be their prey, That the fatherless
they may [plunder]." Whereupon the LORD, (v. 9:8), asked the leaders,
"What will you do in the day of punishment [lit., reckoning], And in
the desolation which will come from afar? [Evidently referring to the
coming devastation from Assyria, (cf. Isa 8:6-7).].
To whom will you flee for help? And where will you leave your glory [in
the sense of your honor and riches]? [There will be nothing to do] except
[bow down [among] ...prisoners [in the sense of becoming prisoners] or
fall [among] the slain. In all this, His anger is not removed [lit.,
turned back], and His hand is still raised [stretched out (to strike
again)]," (Isa 10:1-4).