Isaiah 9:8-21

8The Lord sends a word (message) against Jacob, And it falls on Israel [the ten northern tribes, the kingdom of Ephraim].

9And all the people know it, That is, Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria [its capital], Who say in pride and arrogance of heart:

10“The bricks have fallen down, But we will rebuild [all the better] with ashlar (hewed stones); The sycamores have been cut down, But we will replace them with [expensive] cedars.”

11Therefore the Lord raises against Ephraim adversaries from Rezin [king of Aram] And spurs their enemies on,

12The Arameans on the east and the Philistines on the west; And they devour Israel with gaping jaws. In spite of all this, God’s anger does not turn away But His hand is still stretched out [in judgment].

13Yet the people do not turn back [in repentance] to Him who struck them, Nor do they seek the Lord of hosts [as their most essential need].

14Therefore the Lord cuts off head and tail [the highest and the lowest] from Israel, Both [the high] palm branch and [the low] bulrush in one day.

15The elderly and honorable man, he is the head; And the prophet who teaches lies, he is the tail.

16For those who lead this people are causing them to go astray; And those who are led [astray] by them are swallowed up.

17Therefore the Lord does not rejoice over their young men, Nor does He have compassion on their fatherless or their widows; For every one of them is godless and an evildoer, And every mouth is speaking foolishness. In spite of all this, God’s anger does not turn away But His hand is still stretched out [in judgment].

18For wickedness burns like a fire; It consumes briars and thorns, It even sets the forest thickets ablaze; And it swirls upward in a column of smoke.

19By the wrath of the Lord of hosts the land is burned up, And the people are like fuel for the fire; No man spares his brother.

20They slice off [in discord] what is on the right hand but are still hungry, And they eat what is on the left hand but they are not satisfied; Each eats the flesh of his own arm.

21[The tribe of] Manasseh devours [the tribe of his brother] Ephraim, and Ephraim Manasseh, And together they are against Judah (the southern kingdom, the house of David). In spite of all this, God’s anger does not turn away But His hand is still stretched out [in judgment].