Isaiah 9:3

Isaiah 9:3 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Thou hast multiplied the nation, and not increased the joy: they joy before thee according to the joy in harvest, and as men rejoice when they divide the spoil.
• New International Version (NIV)You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy; they rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest, as warriors rejoice when dividing the plunder.
• English Standard Version (ESV)You have multiplied the nation; you have increased its joy; they rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as they are glad when they divide the spoil.
• New King James Version (NKJV)You have multiplied the nation And increased its joy; They rejoice before You According to the joy of harvest, As men rejoice when they divide the spoil.

Context of Isaiah 9:3

1But the darkness will not continue for ever. Those who had no hope will no longer be afraid. In past times, God let trouble happen to the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali. But in future years, he will cause the people of that region to be great. Those are the places near the sea, and those beyond the Jordan River, and Galilee region where people from other nations live. 2The people who walk in the dark now see a bright light! Light is shining on those people who live in a land of complete darkness. You, Lord, will make your nation stronger. You will cause your people to be very happy. They will be happy because you are with them. They will be like people who are happy at the time of harvest. They will be happy like soldiers who have won a battle, and who share their enemy's valuable things among themselves. 4They are happy because you have removed the power of their cruel enemies. They no longer have to carry a heavy load, as slaves. You have rescued them from their enemies, in the same way that you won against Midian's army. 5Fire will destroy every shoe that the soldiers wore to march into the battle. Their clothes which have the blood of war on them will also go into the fire.

Isaiah 9:3 word by word

הִרְבִּ֣יתָ הַגּ֔וֹי ל֖וֹ הִגְדַּ֣לְתָּ הַשִּׂמְחָ֑ה שָׂמְח֤וּ לְפָנֶ֙יךָ֙ כְּשִׂמְחַ֣ת בַּקָּצִ֔יר כַּאֲשֶׁ֥ר יָגִ֖ילוּ בְּחַלְּקָ֥ם שָׁלָֽל׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Thou hast multipliedרָבָהrâbâh · to multiplyH7235
• the nationגּוֹיgôy gôy · nationH1471
• not increasedגָּדַלgâdal · to magnifyH1431
• the joyשִׂמְחָהώimchâh · joyH8057
• they joyשָׂמַחώâmach · to rejoiceH8055
• beforeפָּנֶהpânîym · face: beforeH6440
• in harvestקָצִירqâtsîyr · harvestH7105
• rejoiceגִּילgîyl gûl · to rejoiceH1523
• when they divideחָלַקchâlaq · to divideH2505
• the spoilשָׁלָלshâlâl · spoilH7998

Cross-references for Isaiah 9:3

• Isaiah 26:15Lord, you have made our nation larger. You have made our nation larger and you have shown how great you are. You have made all the borders of our land grow bigger.
• Isaiah 49:20The children who were born in a foreign land will return to you. You will hear them say, “This place is too small for us. Find more room for us to live in.”
• Nehemiah 9:23You caused your people to have many descendants, as many as the stars in the sky. You brought them to the land that you had promised to their ancestors. You had told them to go and live in it.
• Psalms 107:38He blesses them, so that they have many children. Their animals also grow in number.
• Hosea 4:7The more priests that there are among you, the more sins they do against me. They should have received honour as priests, but I will make them ashamed.
• Zechariah 2:11‘On that day, the people from many countries will come to me, the Lord, and they will become my people. I will live among you. You will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me.
• Zechariah 8:23‘Then, ten men from foreign countries will hold the coat of one Jew,’ says the Lord Almighty. ‘They will say, “People have told us that the Lord is with you. So we want to go with you.” ’
• Zechariah 10:8I will cause my people to come to me and I will bring them all together. I will buy them and I will make them free people. And there will be as many people as there were before.
• Isaiah 12:1At that time, you will say, ‘I praise you, Lord. You were angry with me. But now, you are no longer angry. Now you have been kind to me.
• Isaiah 25:9At that time, people will say, ‘Look! This is our God! We trusted him to keep us safe, and he rescued us. Yes, this is the Lord! We trusted him to keep us safe. We will sing with joy, because he has saved us.’
• Isaiah 35:2Yes, there will be lots of flowers! The land will sing and shout with joy! The desert will be as beautiful as Lebanon. It will seem like lovely places in Carmel and in Sharon. In those places, people will see the Lord's glory. They will see that our God is very great.
• Isaiah 54:1‘Sing with joy, you woman who could not give birth to any children. You have never known the pain of a child's birth, but now shout loudly with joy. Be happy, because the woman who is alone will have many children. She will have more children than the woman who has a husband.’ That is what the Lord says.
• Isaiah 55:12You will leave that foreign land with joy! You will travel home with peace in your minds. The mountains and the hills will sing with joy as you travel past. The trees in the fields will clap their hands together!
• Isaiah 61:7You will not be ashamed any more. Instead, you will receive twice as much blessing. People will not say that you are useless. Instead, you will live happily on your own land. Yes, my people will have twice the crops from their land, And so they will always be very happy.
• Isaiah 65:18But be happy about what I will create! Be happy for ever! I will create Jerusalem as a happy place. The people who live there will be full of joy.
• Isaiah 66:10All you people who love Jerusalem, join together with its people and be happy. You have been sad to see what has happened to the city, but now you should shout with joy!

Commentaries on Isaiah 9:3

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3And not increased the joy "Thou hast increased their joy" - Eleven MSS. of Kennicott's and six of De Ross's, two ancient, read לו lo, it, according to the Masoretical correction, instead of לא lo, not. To the same purpose the Targum and Syriac. The joy in harvest - בקציר כשמחת kesimchath bakkatsir . For בקציר bakkatsir one MS. of Kennicott's and one of De Rossi's have קציר katsir, and another הקציר hakkatsir, "the harvest;" one of which seems to be the…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3Thou hast multiplied the nation - Thou hast rendered the nation strong, powerful, mighty. Several interpreters, as Calvin, Vitringa, and Le Clerc, suppose that the prophet here, and in the two following verses, speaks in the first instance of the prosperity near at hand, and of the rapid increase of the Israelites after the return from the Babylonian exile, in which the inhabitants of Galilee must have participated, as may be inferred from the accounts of…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-7After judgment and destruction, there would still be hope. God promised that the Messiah (God’s chosen one) would come and rule. In the Messiah’s kingdom, darkness would end and great light would begin. This light would first appear in Galilee. Then it would spread to the whole nation of Israel and finally to the whole world. The Messiah would defend those who suffer and are treated unfairly. He would bring an end to cruelty and injustice. He would rule…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 33. multiplied ... nation--primarily, the rapid increase of Israelites after the return from Babylon; more fully and exhaustively the rapid spread of Christianity at first. not increased the joy--By a slight change in the Hebrew, its (joy) is substituted by some for not, because "not increased the joy" seems opposite to what immediately follows, "the joy," &c. Hengstenberg, retains not thus: "Whose joy thou hadst not increased," (that is, hadst…Read the comment

Topics related to Isaiah 9:3

• Church
• Gentiles
• Harvest
• Isaiah
• Joy

In the dictionaries

• Ahaz
• Harvest
• Increase
• Kindle
• Prince
• Snatch
• Criticism of the Bible
• Ezekiel
• Isaiah
• Jesus Christ

Commentaries on Isaiah 9

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings