English · KJV

Isaiah 9:1

“Light Dawns in Galilee”Isaiah 9:1–7

King James Version
Nevertheless the dimness shall not be such as was in her vexation, when at the first he lightly afflicted the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, and afterward did more grievously afflict her by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, in Galilee of the nations.

Bible text: King James Version (1769 Blayney text) · Public domain

KJV (with Strong's)
Nevertheless the dimness H4155 shall not be such as was in her vexation H4164, when H6256 at the first H7223 he lightly afflicted H7043 the land H776 of Zebulun H2074 and the land H776 of Naphtali H5321, and afterward H314 did more grievously afflict H3513 her by the way H1870 of the sea H3220, beyond H5676 Jordan H3383, in Galilee H1551 of the nations H1471.

Bible text: King James Version with Strong's numbers · Public domain

Berean Standard Bible
Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those in distress. In the past He humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future He will honor the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations:

Bible text: Berean Standard Bible · Public domain

American Standard Version
But there shall be no gloom to her that was in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali; but in the latter time hath he made it glorious, by the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

World English Bible Messianic
But there shall be no more gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time, he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali; but in the latter time he has made it glorious, by the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.

Bible text: World English Bible, Messianic edition · Public domain

Geneva Bible (1599)
Yet the darkenesse shall not be according to the affliction that it had when at the first hee touched lightly the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, nor afteward when he was more grieuous by the way of the sea beyond Iorden in Galile of the Gentiles.

Bible text: Geneva Bible (1599) · Public domain

Young's Literal Translation
As the former time made light The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, So the latter hath honoured the way of the sea, Beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.

Bible text: Young's Literal Translation · Public domain

King James Version — Interlinear
21 Hebrew words
  1. כִּיkiforH3588PrtParticle Conditional
  2. לֹאlo'notH3808NegParticle Negative
  3. מוּעָףmu·'AfgloomH4155N-msNoun Singular Masculine Absolute
  4. לַאֲשֶׁרla·'a·Sher[will belong] to [that] whichH834Prep-l ¦ RelParticle Relativeלַ[will belong] toאֲשֶׁר[that] which
  5. מוּצָקmu·TzakdistressH4164N-msNoun Singular Masculine Absolute
  6. לָהּlah[belonged] to itPrep-l ¦ 3fsSuffix Personal 3rd Singular Feminineלָ[belonged] toהּit
  7. כָּעֵתka·'Etlike the timeH6256Prep-k ¦ N-csNoun Singular common gender Absoluteכָּlike theעֵתtime
  8. הָרִאשׁוֹןha·ri·Shon[the] formerH7223Art ¦ Adj-msAdjective Numerical Position Singular Masculine Absoluteהָ[the]רִאשׁוֹןformer
  9. הֵקַלhe·Kalhe treated with contemptH7043V-Hiphil-Perf-3msVerb Hiphil Perfect 3rd Singular Masculine
  10. אַרְצָה'Ar·tzah[the] land of [towards]H776N-fsc ¦ SfxNoun Singular Feminine Constructאַרְצָ[the] land ofה[towards]
  11. זְבֻלוּןze·vu·LunZebulunH2074N-proper-mNoun Proper Masculine
  12. וְאַרְצָהve·'Ar·tzahand [the] land of [towards]H776Conj-w ¦ N-fsc ¦ SfxNoun Singular Feminine Constructוְandאַרְצָ[the] land ofה[towards]
  13. נַפְתָּלִיnaf·ta·LiNaphtaliH5321N-proper-mNoun Proper Masculine
  14. וְהָאַחֲרוֹןve·ha·'a·cha·Ronand the latter [time]H314Conj-w ¦ Art ¦ Adj-msAdjective Singular Masculine Absoluteוְandהָtheאַחֲרוֹןlatter [time]
  15. הִכְבִּידhikh·Bidhe will make honoredH3513V-Hiphil-Perf-3msVerb Hiphil Perfect 3rd Singular Masculine
  16. דֶּרֶךְDe·rekh[the] way ofH1870N-cscNoun Singular common gender Construct
  17. הַיָּםhai·Yamthe seaH3220Art ¦ N-msNoun Singular Masculine Absoluteהַtheיָּםsea
  18. עֵבֶר'E·ver[the] other side ofH5676N-mscNoun Singular Masculine Construct
  19. הַיַּרְדֵּןhai·yar·Denthe JordanH3383Art ¦ N-properNoun Proper LocationהַtheיַּרְדֵּןJordan
  20. גְּלִילge·LilGalilee ofH1551N-mscNoun Singular Masculine Construct
  21. הַגּוֹיִםha·go·Yimthe nationsH1471Art ¦ N-mpNoun Plural Masculine Absoluteהַtheגּוֹיִםnations
English is a literal word-by-word gloss of the Hebrew, not the KJV's wording. Why?

This is the original text the KJV's translators worked from — each Hebrew word with its own literal English meaning in this verse, prepared by scholars at Tyndale House, Cambridge. The KJV translates whole sentences, not word by word, so its wording differs: one Hebrew word can become several English words, and the KJV may choose “the LORD” where the gloss reads “Yahweh”. Both are faithful — they answer different questions. For the KJV's own rendering, switch to the KJV text.

Words in [ ] are added by the English.

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In the KJVVerse 17,831 of 31,102 · 57.3%

Study this verse

Written with AI assistance. Always check it against Scripture.

This verse

After the darkness of Isaiah 8, God promises that the gloom over Zebulun, Naphtali and Galilee of the nations, the lands Assyria struck first and hardest, will lift.

“Nevertheless”

The hinge of the whole passage, turning from the “dimness of anguish” at the end of chapter 8 to the promise of light.

“the dimness shall not be such as was in her vexation,”

The gloom ahead will be lighter than the anguish the land has already suffered, and it will give way.

“when at the first he lightly afflicted the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,”

“He” is God. These two tribal lands in the far north are named first because they were the most exposed and were struck first.

“and afterward did more grievously afflict her”

The later and heavier blows, most likely the Assyrian campaigns of 732 BC.

“by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, in Galilee of the nations.”

The trade route, the lands east of the Jordan, and mixed, despised Galilee. Matthew repeats these very place names when Jesus settles in Capernaum.

Passage studyIsaiah 9:1–7

A Great Light and the Prince of Peace

1Nevertheless the dimness shall not be such as was in her vexation, when at the first he lightly afflicted the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, and afterward did more grievously afflict her by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, in Galilee of the nations. 2The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined. 3Thou 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. 4For thou hast broken the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, as in the day of Midian. 5For every battle of the warrior is with confused noise, and garments rolled in blood; but this shall be with burning and fuel of fire. 6For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. 7Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.

Summary

Isaiah spoke these words while Assyria was overrunning the north of Israel, where the land of Zebulun and Naphtali had suffered first. Into that gloom God promises a great light. He will multiply his people and give them joy like the joy of harvest, break the yoke of their oppressor as he did in the day of Midian, and give the noise and blood of battle over to the fire. At the centre of it all is a child, born to us and given to us, who carries the government on his shoulder and is called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. He will reign on David’s throne with judgment and with justice for ever, and the zeal of the LORD of hosts will see it done. Matthew tells us that this light rose over Galilee when Jesus made his home in Capernaum and began to preach. The child of verse 6 is Jesus Christ, God come in the flesh.

The darkness this promise answers

Isaiah 7 and 8 come from the eighth century BC, most likely the reign of King Ahaz of Judah (735–715 BC). Chapter 7 gives the sign of Immanuel (Isaiah 7) and chapter 8 the sign of Maher-shalal-hash-baz and the warning of an Assyrian invasion (Isaiah 8). Syria and the northern kingdom of Israel had joined forces against Judah, and Ahaz turned to Assyria for help when he should have trusted the LORD, a choice that brought heavy consequences on Judah. Assyria was spreading its power, and its king Tiglath-Pileser III struck the northern lands in campaigns in 734 BC and, far more heavily, in 732 BC. Scripture records that he took Galilee, “all the land of Naphtali, and carried them captive to Assyria” (2 Kings 15:29). Zebulun and Naphtali lay on Israel’s exposed northern edge and bore the brunt of it, with towns destroyed, people deported and heavy tribute laid on those who remained.

Chapter 8 ends in that darkness. The people are “hardly bestead and hungry” (Isaiah 8:21), and when they look to the earth they behold “trouble and darkness, dimness of anguish” (Isaiah 8:22). Then chapter 9 opens with “Nevertheless”. With that one word God turns from judgment to a promise of light, and the dimness and anguish of chapter 8 are the very things he answers in 9:1. The promise carries on to the end of verse 7, and each step is tied to the next by “For”: the joy comes because the yoke is broken, the yoke is broken because war is ended, and all of it comes because a child is born.

Light for the land that suffered most

The dimness and the vexation

Verse 1 promises that “the dimness shall not be such as was in her vexation”. The darkness still to come would be lighter and briefer than the distress the land had already known, and relief was on its way. The word for dimness, mûwʻâph, comes from a root meaning to cover. It describes something covered over and dark, and so obscurity and distress. The gloom it names reached past the eyes to the whole life of the people: oppression, confusion and the loss of hope and of national identity under foreign rule. Vexation, mûwtsaq, means narrowness or straitness, and so anguish. It is the feeling of being hemmed in with nowhere to escape, and that is how Zebulun and Naphtali lived with Assyria pressing on them.

The lighter and the heavier affliction

“He” in this verse is God. Isaiah speaks of even these afflictions as God’s work (“he lightly afflicted ... did more grievously afflict”), so the suffering of the north was in his hand and served his purpose. “At the first” the affliction was light, most likely the early raids, the demands for tribute and the smaller losses of land. “Afterward” it grew heavy, most likely the later and far more destructive Assyrian campaigns around 732 BC, with widespread ruin, great loss of life and mass exile. The verb behind “more grievously afflict”, kâbad, means to be heavy. In a bad sense it means burdensome or severe, and in a good sense numerous, rich or honourable. Here it is the crushing weight that settled on the land.

The way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the nations

Isaiah names the afflicted places precisely. “The way of the sea” is the Via Maris, an international trade route that ran through these northern lands and made them a prize for every invader. “Beyond Jordan” takes in the lands east of the river, which fell victim too. “Galilee of the nations”, in Hebrew G’lil ha-Goyim, is the Galilee of the Gentiles. Lying at a crossroads, it had close dealings with the peoples around it, and invasion and deportation mixed its population further, until Israelites and Gentiles lived side by side. People in Judah to the south tended to look down on it as less pure.

That is the land God chose to see the light first. He turns a place counted as weak and on the margins into the scene of his salvation, and the region “of the nations” points ahead to a Messiah who comes for Jew and Gentile alike. Later in Isaiah, God says he will give his Servant “for a light of the Gentiles” (Isaiah 42:6). Scripture shows the same pattern again and again, from the calling of Abraham to the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem: God begins his greatest work in unlikely and overlooked places.

The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light

“The people that walked in darkness” and “they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death” are one people, described twice so that we feel how deep their need was. The light they “have seen” is the light that “hath ... shined” upon them, and the second line of each pair presses the point harder than the first.

Darkness, chôshek, is literal darkness, and in Scripture it also stands for misery, destruction, death, ignorance, sorrow and wickedness. All of that lay over these people: oppression, despair and moral blindness, a life lived away from God’s presence and guidance. They “walked” in it, and the verb hâlak describes a settled way of life, like people stumbling on with nothing to guide them. They “dwell” there too, and yâshab speaks of a settled home, so the place of peril had become where they lived.

The shadow of death, tsalmâveth, joins the words for shadow (tsel) and death (maveth). It is the deepest gloom, a place of mortal danger close to the grave, and it is the shadow the psalmist walks through in “the valley of the shadow of death” (Psalm 23:4).

Into this the light comes. Light, ʼôwr, is brightness or a source of light, and figuratively happiness, life and the revelation of God. This light is “great”, gâdôwl, far beyond any ordinary or passing relief. The people “have seen” it, and râʼâh is the word for seeing and also for experiencing something, so this is a real meeting with what God has done. The light has “shined” upon them, and nâgahh is a word for light that radiates outward and falls directly on those who were deep in the gloom. The darkness is real, the light is greater, and God is the one who brings it.

Jesus, the great light in Galilee

Matthew tells us how this was fulfilled. After John the Baptist was arrested, Jesus withdrew into Galilee and made his home in Capernaum, in the borders of Zebulun and Naphtali (Matthew 4:12–17). Matthew says this happened to fulfil what Isaiah had spoken, and he quotes these two verses, the land of Zebulun and Naphtali, the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles, and the people who sat in darkness seeing a great light (Matthew 4:15–16). From there Jesus began to preach the gospel of the kingdom of God (Mark 1:14–15). Galilee of the nations, the place of the deepest darkness, became the place where the Light of the world first shone, and from there his light went out to all peoples.

Jesus said, “I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life” (John 8:12). John writes of the Word, “In him was life; and the life was the light of men” (John 1:4). He adds, “And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not” (John 1:5). By his incarnation, life, death and resurrection Christ scatters the ignorance, sin and power of death that held people captive. God “hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son” (Colossians 1:13), and he has called us “out of darkness into his marvellous light” (1 Peter 2:9).

Joy like the joy of harvest

“Thou hast multiplied the nation”

In verse 3 Isaiah speaks to God directly. “Thou” is the LORD, and the growth of the nation is his doing. The verb, râbâh, means to increase in any respect, to make many or great. A people thinned by war and exile grows again in number and strength, a mark of God’s favour and his faithfulness to his covenant. In Christ the nation grows far beyond Israel’s borders, into “a great multitude ... of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues” standing before the throne (Revelation 7:9–10).

Why does the KJV say “and not increased the joy”?

Read as it stands, the KJV line “and not increased the joy” sits oddly in a verse full of rejoicing. The KJV gives a literal rendering of the Hebrew, where the word for “increased” is gâdal, to make great. The context leaves no doubt that God has made their joy great, because the very next words compare it to the joy of harvest and of victory. Two explanations are given. One takes the small Hebrew word lo, usually “not”, as emphatic here, giving “and indeed you have greatly increased their joy” or “you have made their joy great”, which is how many modern translations read it. The other hears a question: “Have you not greatly increased their joy?” On either reading the verse says that God has given his people a great increase of joy.

Harvest and spoil

The word for joy, simchâh, comes from sâmêach, glad, and that from the verb sâmach, to rejoice. It means gladness and mirth, the joy of the festivals, and it comes back again in this verse to fill it. They rejoice “before thee”, in God’s own presence, so their gladness is gratitude to him.

The first picture is the harvest, qâtsîyr. In Israel the harvest came at the end of months of hard work and uncertainty, and it was a celebration shared by everyone, a time to thank God for his provision. “They that sow in tears shall reap in joy” (Psalm 126:5–6). The second picture is men dividing the spoil, shâlâl, after a battle is won. That joy comes suddenly and overwhelms, because the enemy is beaten, the oppression is over, and what he held is now in the hands of the free. The Song of Deborah pictures the victors dividing the prey after battle (Judges 5:30). The word “rejoice” here, gîyl, means to spin round under strong feeling, and it pictures joy that leaps and dances. So the joy of verse 3 is both kinds at once, the settled gladness of God’s provision and the exultation of his deliverance. As Nehemiah told the people, “the joy of the LORD is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10).

Both pictures are fulfilled in Christ. He is the bread of life (John 6:35), the harvest that feeds the soul. His cross was the decisive victory, where, “having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it” (Colossians 2:15). The spoil he shares with his people is the kingdom of God, which is “righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost” (Romans 14:17).

The yoke broken, as in the day of Midian

Verse 4 gives the reason for the joy: “For thou hast broken the yoke of his burden”. Isaiah names three tools of oppression, and God breaks them all.

The yoke, ʻôl, is the wooden beam laid on the neck of an animal to harness it for work, and so any burden or servitude laid on a people. For Israel it meant forced labour, heavy taxation and subjection to Assyria. The staff of his shoulder is the pole a taskmaster used to prod, drive or beat those carrying loads on their shoulders. The rod belongs to the oppressor, and the word nâgas means to drive an animal, a workman or a debtor, and so to tax, harass and tyrannize. These were everyday tools of farm work and discipline, so everyone who heard Isaiah knew what they meant for a people groaning under foreign rule. The verb “broken”, châthath, means to break down or lay flat, to shatter by force or by confusion and fear. God breaks these tools so thoroughly that they are useless, and the subjection is over for good.

“As in the day of Midian” recalls Gideon. With three hundred men against the vast army of Midian, he saw God give the victory by his own hand (Judges 7, Judges 7:15–22). The comparison tells us that the coming freedom will be God’s work in the same way, won against overwhelming odds and just as complete. His ways are higher than ours (Isaiah 55:8–9). He had promised Israel in Egypt, “I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage” (Exodus 6:6), and a psalm praises him because “he brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and brake their bands in sunder” (Psalm 107:14).

Jesus took up this work. He announced that he had been sent to preach deliverance to the captives and to set at liberty them that are bruised (Luke 4:18). Through his cross he broke the yoke of sin and the rod of the oppressor, Satan and death. And he gives us a yoke of his own: “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. ... For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28–30).

The noise and blood of battle given to the fire

“For every battle of the warrior is with confused noise, and garments rolled in blood.” The confused noise, raʻash, is vibration, uproar, commotion, quaking and rattling, the shouting, the clash of weapons and the cries of the wounded and dying. The blood, dâm, comes from a root meaning to be still or silent, and it is the blood whose shedding brings death. The people of the north knew all this from Assyria’s campaigns, the din of battle and the clothing soaked in blood.

“But this shall be with burning and fuel of fire.” The word for fuel, maʼăkôleth, means something eaten, and here it is what the fire eats. Some modern translations bring out the sense, with “every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult and garments rolled in blood” being “burned as fuel for the fire”. The gear and leftovers of war go into the flames, and the victory is so complete that the means of war is itself consumed. Fire in Scripture also speaks of God’s judgment and of purifying, and this fire brings a final end to the cycle of human conflict, where each battle only prepares the next.

So the verse prepares for the Prince of Peace in verse 6. Isaiah has already seen the day when “they shall beat their swords into plowshares” (Isaiah 2:4), and Zechariah’s king “shall speak peace unto the heathen” (Zechariah 9:10). Christ won the decisive battle at the cross (Colossians 2:15), against sin, death and the powers of darkness, though it looked like defeat. When he returns as the triumphant King he will overthrow all that opposes God’s peace (Revelation 19:11–21), and in the new heaven and new earth “there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain” (Revelation 21:4).

Unto us a child is born

Verse 6 opens with the third “For”, and it gives the reason behind all the rest. The light, the joy, the broken yoke and the fire that ends war all come because a child is born.

The word for child, yeled, means something born, a boy or offspring, and “born” is yâlad. He is truly a child, born into human life, so the mighty names that follow belong to a real person in history. “Unto us a son is given” adds that God gives him. He comes by God’s will as God’s gift, and “unto us”, said twice, tells us that the gift is for God’s people.

The angel told the shepherds, “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:11). Jesus, born of a virgin, was truly a human child, and his miraculous conception and his existence before his birth show that he is the Son. “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). Israel had long looked for a king from David’s line, because God had promised David an heir whose throne would last (2 Samuel 7:12–16), and this child is that King.

The government upon his shoulder

Government, misrâh, means rule or empire. The shoulder is where a burden is carried, a picture of strength and responsibility, and it was where the marks of authority were worn. So the whole weight of ruling rests on him, and he carries and directs his kingdom himself. After his resurrection Jesus said, “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth” (Matthew 28:18), and since his ascension he reigns at the right hand of God.

Wonderful, Counsellor

The names tell us who he is. Wonderful, peleʼ, is the word for a miracle or a marvellous thing, something beyond explanation. Joined with Counsellor it describes his wisdom. His counsel is itself a wonder and leads to marvellous ends, and his very person is a wonder that sets him apart from every earthly ruler. In him “are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Colossians 2:3).

The mighty God

In Hebrew this is El Gibbor, a name used elsewhere of God himself, and it plainly calls this child God. Thomas confessed the same of the risen Jesus: “My Lord and my God” (John 20:28). John says that the Word was God and that all things were made by him (John 1:1–3), and Paul says that it pleased the Father “that in him should all fulness dwell” (Colossians 1:19–20). Here is the mystery of the incarnation: a child is born who is the mighty God.

Does “The everlasting Father” mean the Messiah is God the Father?

The Hebrew Abi-Ad means “Father of Eternity”, and it describes the Son’s own character rather than naming him God the Father. He is eternal, and to his people he is for ever what a good father is, the source of lasting care, protection, guidance and provision. The Father and the Son remain distinct persons, and this name speaks of the Son’s fatherly care for his people through every age. “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever” (Hebrews 13:8).

The Prince of Peace

The last name crowns the rest. Peace, shalom, is wholeness, well-being, harmony and flourishing as well as the end of fighting. The Prince of Peace brings that peace and is himself its source: reconciliation with God, reconciliation between people, and in the end the restoration of all creation. Paul writes, “For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us” (Ephesians 2:14–16), and he says that Christ made peace through the blood of his cross, to reconcile all things to God (Colossians 1:20).

A kingdom of peace without end on David’s throne

“Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end.” The word for government is misrâh again, and both his rule and his peace keep growing, in reach and in depth, for all time. Every human empire rises and declines, Assyria and Babylon among them, and his alone endures. Peace, shâlôwm, means completeness, welfare, health, prosperity and security, a peace that fills every part of life, spiritual, social and personal, far deeper than any treaty can make. Isaiah goes on to speak of this righteous King again as the Branch from Jesse (Isaiah 11).

Upon the throne of David

He reigns “upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom”. This ties him to God’s covenant with David (2 Samuel 7), where God promised, “thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever” (2 Samuel 7:16). He is David’s rightful heir, and his authority rests on God’s choice and God’s faithfulness to his word. Matthew opens his Gospel by calling Jesus “the son of David” (Matthew 1:1), and the angel Gabriel told Mary, “the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end” (Luke 1:32–33). Daniel saw the same: “the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed” (Daniel 2:44).

With judgment and with justice

He comes “to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice”. To order, kûwn, is to arrange, set in place and prepare, and to establish, çâʻad, is to support, make firm and uphold. Judgment, mishpâṭ, is right verdicts and the fair administration of law, and justice, tsᵉdâqâh, is righteousness in action, in each person’s conduct and in the life of the whole people. Israel had known corrupt and faithless kings, and the empires around it ruled by oppression. This King rules with perfect equity and truth, and God has ordained him to be “the Judge of quick and dead” (Acts 10:42).

His kingdom began with his birth, life, death, resurrection and ascension. It is present now in a spiritual form (Luke 17:21) and keeps growing, and it will be fully established in power and glory when he comes again. Then voices in heaven will say, “The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever” (Revelation 11:15). “From henceforth even for ever” means that this reign goes on for ever, without decline.

The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this

The prophecy ends with its guarantee. Zeal, qinʼâh, is the word for jealousy, and when it is used of God it is holy: his fierce, burning determination to guard his honour, keep his covenant and finish what he has begun. The LORD of hosts, Yᵉhôvâh tsâbâʼ, is the commander of the armies of heaven, with all power and authority. So the coming of this kingdom rests on God’s own passion and might, and he will bring it about whatever the nations do. Every promise in these seven verses stands on that.

Living under the child who reigns

The God who said “Nevertheless” over a land in ruins is the God we trust today. He chose the most overlooked corner of Israel for the first light of his Son’s ministry, so his light reaches the forgotten and the far gone. Afflictions are real and can be heavy, and the last word over them belongs to him. The light we have came to us from outside ourselves, from God, and the people who have seen it carry it on, bringing hope and the message of salvation to those still walking in darkness.

The yokes people carry today are many: injustice, personal sin, fear and anxiety, addiction. Christ breaks the yoke of sin and death, and you can bring every burden to him and take up his yoke, which is easy. The government is on his shoulder, so you can seek his counsel in every decision, rest in his everlasting care, and live as a citizen of his kingdom by pursuing justice and making peace where you are. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this, and so we wait for his return with confidence and joy.

Last revised

Public-domain commentary

Matthew Henry

From his Commentary on the Whole Bible. Henry wrote on whole passages, and this entry covers Isaiah 9:1–7. He set out his notes in a four-level outline, kept here as he numbered it.

1662–1714 · 7 verses
Passage under commentIsaiah 9:1–7
I. II. Main points1. 2. Sub-points(1.) (2.) Details[1.] [2.] Fine details

The first words of this chapter plainly refer to the close of the foregoing chapter, where every thing looked black and melancholy: Behold, trouble, and darkness, and dimness - very bad, yet not so bad but that to the upright there shall arise light in the darkness (Psalm 112:4) and at evening time it shall be light, Zechariah 14:7. Nevertheless it shall not be such dimness (either not such for kind or not such for degree) as sometimes there has been. Note, In the worst of times God's people have a nevertheless to comfort themselves with, something to allay and balance their troubles; they are persecuted, but not forsaken (2 Corinthians 4:9), sorrowful yet always rejoicing, 2 Corinthians 6:10. And it is matter of comfort to us, when things are at the darkest, that he who forms the light and creates the darkness (Isaiah 45:7) has appointed to both their bounds and set the one over against the other, Genesis 4:4. He can say, "Hitherto the dimness shall go, so long it shall last, and no further, no longer."

I.Three things are here promised, and they all point ultimately at the grace of the gospel, which the saints then were to comfort themselves with the hopes of in every cloudy and dark day, as we now are to comfort ourselves in time of trouble with the hopes of Christ's second coming, though that be now, as his first coming then was, a thing at a great distance. The mercy likewise which God has in store for his church in the latter days may be a support to those that are mourning with her for her present calamities. We have here the promise,

1.Of a glorious light, which shall so qualify, and by degrees dispel, the dimness, that it shall not be as it sometimes has been: Not such as was in her vexation; there shall not be such dark times as were formerly, when at first he lightly afflicted the land of Zebulun and Naphtali (which lay remote and most exposed to the inroads of the neighbouring enemies), and afterwards he more grievously afflicted the land by the way of the sea and beyond Jordan (Isaiah 9:1), referring probably to those days when God began to cut Israel short and to smite them in all their coasts, 2 Kings 10:32. Note, God tries what less judgments will do with a people before he brings greater; but if a light affliction do not do its work with us, to humble and reform us, we must expect to be afflicted more grievously; for when God judges he will overcome. Well, those were dark times with the land of Zebulun and Naphtali, and there was dimness of anguish in Galilee of the Gentiles, both in respect of ignorance (they did not speak according to the law and the testimony, and then there was no light in them, Isaiah 8:20) and in respect of trouble, and the desperate posture of their outward affairs; we have both together, 2 Chronicles 15:3, 2 Chronicles 15:5. Israel has been without the true God and a teaching priest, and in those times there was no peace. But the dimness threatened (Isaiah 8:22) shall not prevail to such a degree; for (Isaiah 9:2) the people that walked in darkness have seen a great light.

(1.)At this time when the prophet lived, there were many prophets in Judah and Israel, whose prophecies were a great light both for direction and comfort to the people of God, who adhered to the law and the testimony. Besides the written word, they had prophecy; there were those that had shown them how long (Psalm 74:9), which was a great satisfaction to them, when in respect of their outward troubles they sat in darkness, and dwelt in the land of the shadow of death.

(2.)This was to have its full accomplishment when our Lord Jesus began to appear as a prophet, and to preach the gospel in the land of Zebulun and Naphtali, and in Galilee of the Gentiles. And the Old Testament prophets, as they were witnesses to him, so they were types of him. When he came and dwelt in the borders of Zebulun and Naphtali, then this prophecy is said to have been fulfilled, Matthew 4:13-16. Note,

[1.]Those that want the gospel walk in darkness, and know not what they do nor whither they go; and they dwell in the land of the shadow of death, in thick darkness, and in the utmost danger.

[2.]When the gospel comes to any place, to any soul, light comes, a great light, a shining light, which will shine more and more. It should be welcome to us, as light is to those that sit in darkness, and we should readily entertain it, both because if is of such sovereign use to us and because it brings its own evidence with it. Truly this light is sweet.

2.Of a glorious increase, and a universal joy arising from it, (Isaiah 9:3) "Thou, O God! hast multiplied the nation, the Jewish nation which thou hast mercy in store for; though it has been diminished by one sore judgment after another, yet now thou hast begun to multiply it again." The numbers of a nation are its strength and wealth if the numerous be industrious; and it is God that increases nations, Job 12:23. Yet it follows, "Thou hast not increased the joy - the carnal joy and mirth, and those things that are commonly the matter and occasion thereof. But, notwithstanding that, they joy before thee; there is a great deal of serious spiritual joy among them, joy in the presence of God, with an eye to him." This is very applicable to the times of gospel light, spoken of Isaiah 9:2. Then God multiplied the nation, the gospel Israel. "And to him" (so the Masorites read it) "thou hast magnified the joy, to every one that receives the light." The following words favour this reading: "They joy before thee; they come before thee in holy ordinances with great joy'; their mirth is not like that of Israel under their vines and fig-trees (thou hast not increased that joy), but it is in the favour of God and in the tokens of his grace." Note, The gospel, when it comes in its light and power, brings joy along with it, and those who receive it aright do therein rejoice, yea, and will rejoice; therefor the conversion of the nations is prophesied of by this (Psalm 67:4), Let the nations be glad, and sin for joy. See Psalm 96:11.

(1.)It is holy joy: They joy before thee; they rejoice in spirit (as Christ did, Luke 10:21), and that is before God. In the eye of the world they are always as sorrowful, and yet, in God's sight, always rejoicing, 2 Corinthians 6:10.

(2.)It is great joy; it is according to the joy in harvest, when those who sowed in tears, and have with long patience waited for the precious fruits of the earth, reap in joy; and as in war men rejoice when, after a hazardous battle, they divide the spoil. The gospel brings with it plenty and victory; but those that would have the joy of it must expect to go through a hard work, as the husbandman before he has the joy of harvest, and a hard conflict, as the soldier before he has the joy of dividing the spoil; but the joy, when it comes, will be an abundant recompence for the toil. See Acts 8:8, Acts 8:39.

3.Of a glorious liberty and enlargement (Isaiah 9:4, Isaiah 9:5): "They shall rejoice before thee, and with good reason, for thou hast broken the yoke of his burden, and made him easy, for he shall no longer be in servitude; and thou hast broken the staff of his shoulder and the rod of his oppressor, that rod of the wicked which rested long on the lot of the righteous," as the Midianites' yoke was broken from off the neck of Israel by the agency of Gideon. If God makes former deliverances his patterns in working for us, we ought to make them our encouragements to hope in him and to seek to him, Psalm 83:9. Do unto them as to the Midianites. What temporal deliverance this refers to is not clear, probably the preventing of Sennacherib from making himself master of Jerusalem, which was done, as in the day of Midian, by the immediate hand of God; and, whereas other battles were usually won with a great deal of noise and by the expense of much blood, this shall be done silently and without noise. Under his glory God shall kindle a burning (Isaiah 10:16); a fire not blown shall consume him, Job 20:26. But doubtless it looks further, to the blessed fruits and effects of that great light which should visit those that sat in darkness; it would bring liberty along with it, deliverance to the captives, Luke 4:18.

(1.)The design of the gospel, and the grace of it, is to break the yoke of sin and Satan, to remove the burden of guilt and corruption, and to free us from the rod of those oppressors, that we might be brought into the glorious liberty of the children of God. Christ broke the yoke of the ceremonial law (Acts 15:10; Galatians 5:1), and delivered us out of the hand of our enemies, that we might serve him without fear, Luke 1:74, Luke 1:75.

(2.)This is done by the Spirit working like fire (Matthew 3:11), not as the battle of the warrior is fought, with confused noise; no, the weapons of our warfare are not carnal; but it is done with the Spirit of judgment and the Spirit of burning, Isaiah 4:4. It is done as in the day of Midian, by a work of God upon the hearts of men. Christ is our Gideon; it is his sword that doeth wonders.

II.But who, where, is he that shall undertake and accomplish these great things for the church? The prophet tells us (Isaiah 9:6, Isaiah 9:7) they shall be done by the Messiah, Immanuel, that son of a virgin whose birth he had foretold (Isaiah 7:14), and now speaks of, in the prophetic style, as a thing already done: the child is born, not only because it was as certain, and he was as certain of it as if it had been done already, but because the church before his incarnation reaped great benefit and advantage by his undertaking in virtue of that first promise concerning the seed of the woman, Genesis 3:15. As he was the Lamb slain, so he was the child born, from the foundation of the world, Revelation 13:8. All the great things that God did for the Old Testament church were done by him as the eternal Word, and for his sake as the Mediator. He was the Anointed, to whom God had respect (Psalm 84:9), and it was for the Lord's sake, for the Lord Christ's sake, that God caused his face to shine upon his sanctuary, Daniel 9:17. The Jewish nation, and particularly the house of David, were preserved many a time from imminent ruin only because that blessing was in them. What greater security therefore could be given to the church of God then that it should be preserved, and be the special care of the divine Providence, than this, that God had so great a mercy in reserve for it? The Chaldee paraphrast understands it of the man that shall endure for ever, even Christ. And it is an illustrious prophecy of him and of his kingdom, which doubtless those that waited for the consolation of Israel built much upon, often turned to, and read with pleasure.

1.See him in his humiliation. The same that is the mighty God is a child born; the ancient of days becomes an infant of a span long; the everlasting Father is a Son given. Such was his condescension in taking our nature upon him; thus did he humble and empty himself, to exalt and fill us. He is born into our world. The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us. He is given, freely given, to be all that to us which our case, in our fallen state, calls for. God so loved the world that he gave him. He is born to us, he is given to us, us men, and not to the angels that sinned. It is spoken with an air of triumph, and the angel seems to refer to these words in the notice he gives to the shepherds of the Messiah's having come (Luke 2:11), Unto you is born, this day, a Saviour. Note, Christ's being born and given to us is the great foundation of our hopes, and fountain of our joys, in times of greatest grief and fear.

2.See him in his exaltation. This child, this son, this Son of God, this Son of man, that is given to us, is in a capacity to do us a great deal of kindness; for he is invested with the highest honour and power, so that we cannot but be happy if he be our friend.

(1.)See the dignity he is advanced to, and the name he has above every name. He shall be called (and therefore we are sure he is and shall be) Wonderful, Counsellor, etc. His people shall know him and worship him by these names; and, as one that fully answers them, they shall submit to him and depend upon him.

[1.]He is wonderful, counsellor. Justly is he called wonderful, for he is both God and man. His love is the wonder of angels and glorified saints; in his birth, life, death, resurrection, and ascension, he was wonderful. A constant series of wonders attended him, and, without controversy, great was the mystery of godliness concerning him. He is the counsellor, for he was intimately acquainted with the counsels of God from eternity, and he gives counsel to the children of men, in which he consults our welfare. It is by him that God has given us counsel, Psalm 16:7; Revelation 3:18. He is the wisdom of the Father, and is made of God to us wisdom. Some join these together: He is the wonderful counsellor, a wonder or miracle of a counsellor; in this, as in other things, he has the pre-eminence; none teaches like him.

[2.]He is the mighty God - God, the mighty One. As he has wisdom, so he has strength, to go through with his undertaking: he is able to save to the utmost; and such is the work of the Mediator that no less a power than that of the mighty God could accomplish it.

[3.]He is the everlasting Father, or the Father of eternity; he is God, one with the Father, who is from everlasting to everlasting. He is the author of everlasting life and happiness to them, and so is the Father of a blessed eternity to them. He is the Father of the world to come (so the Septuagint reads it), the father of the gospel-state, which is put in subjection to him, not to the angels, Hebrews 2:5. He was, from eternity, Father of the great work of redemption: his heart was upon it; it was the product of his wisdom as the counsellor, of his love as the everlasting Father.

[4.]He is the prince of peace. As a King, he preserves the peace, commands peace, nay, he creates peace, in his kingdom. He is our peace, and it is his peace that both keeps the hearts of his people and rules in them. He is not only a peaceable prince, and his reign peaceable, but he is the author and giver of all good, all that peace which is the present and future bliss of his subjects.

(2.)See the dominion he is advanced to, and the throne he has above every throne (Isaiah 9:6): The government shall be upon his shoulder - his only. He shall not only wear the badge of it upon his shoulder (the key of the house of David, Isaiah 22:22), but he shall bear the burden of it. The Father shall devolve it upon him, so that he shall have an incontestable right to govern; and he shall undertake it, so that no doubt can be made of his governing well, for he shall set his shoulder to it, and will never complain, as Moses did, of his being overcharged. I am not able to bear all this people, Numbers 11:11, Numbers 11:14. Glorious things are here spoken of Christ's government, Isaiah 9:7.

[1.]That it shall be an increasing government. It shall be multiplied; the bounds of his kingdom shall be more and more enlarged, and many shall be added to it daily. The lustre of it shall increase, and it shall shine more and more brightly in the world. The monarchies of the earth were each less illustrious than the other, so that what began in gold ended in iron and clay, and every monarchy dwindled by degrees; but the kingdom of Christ is a growing kingdom, and will come to perfection at last.

[2.]That it shall be a peaceable government, agreeable to his character as the prince of peace. He shall rule by love, shall rule in men's hearts; so that wherever his government is there shall be peace, and as his government increases the peace shall increase. The more we are subject to Christ the more easy and safe we are.

[3.]That it shall be a rightful government. He that is the Son of David shall reign upon the throne of David and over his kingdom, which he is entitled to. God shall give him the throne of his father David, Luke 1:32, Luke 1:33. The gospel church, in which Jew and Gentile are incorporated, is the holy hill of Zion, on which Christ reigns, Psalm 2:6.

[4.]That it shall be administered with prudence and equity, and so as to answer the great end of government, which is the establishment of the kingdom: He shall order it, and settle it, with justice and judgment. Every thing is, and shall be, well managed, in the kingdom of Christ, and none of his subjects shall ever have cause to complain.

[5.]That it shall be an everlasting kingdom: There shall be no end of the increase of his government (it shall be still growing), no end of the increase of the peace of it, for the happiness of the subjects of this kingdom shall last to eternity and perhaps shall be progressive in infinitum - for ever. He shall reign henceforth even for ever; not only throughout all generations of time, but, even when the kingdom shall be delivered up to God even the Father, the glory both of the Redeemer and the redeemed shall continue eternally.

[6.]That God himself has undertaken to bring all this about: "The Lord of hosts, who has all power in his hand and all creatures at his beck, shall perform this, shall preserve the throne of David till this prince of peace is settled in it; his zeal shall do it, his jealousy for his own honour, and the truth of his promise, and the good of his church." Note, The heart of God is much upon the advancement of the kingdom of Christ among men, which is very comfortable to all those that wish well to it; the zeal of the Lord of hosts will overcome all opposition.

Historical interpretation

Four Centuries of Reception

2 surviving comments on this verse. Each one is dated, so this reads as a timeline rather than a list.

2 quotes · AD 60–420
Ante-NicenePost-Nicene
100200300400

Select a marker to jump to its quote. Markers stagger vertically where authors wrote within a few decades of each other.

d. AD 60Matthewon 4:12-17Ante-Nicene
Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he departed into Galilee; And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles; The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up. [Isaiah 9:1-2] From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
d. AD 420JeromePost-NiceneSourceCommentary on Isaiah
(Chapter 9, verses 1 and following) In the first time, the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali were relieved, and in the last time the way of the sea beyond the Jordan of the Galilee of the Gentiles was made heavy. The people 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 shone. LXX: Drink this first, quickly make it for the region of Zebulun, the land of Naphtali, and the rest of you who are near the sea beyond the Jordan of the Galilee of the Gentiles. The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone. We have made two editions, because the testimony has been spread and used by the evangelist Matthew, so that either the diversity of interpretation or the similarity may be known. First, it should be noted that the evangelist Matthew placed this testimony not according to the Septuagint, but according to the Hebrews. For the Gospel narration says: When Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. He left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali, to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: 'Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles: the people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, upon them a light has dawned.' From that time Jesus began to preach and say: 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand' (Matt. 4:13 et seqq.). And John the Evangelist reports that Jesus, with his disciples, was invited to a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and there he performed his first sign by turning water into wine. This Jesus did, the beginning of his signs in Cana of Galilee, and he manifested his glory, and his disciples believed in him (John 2:11). And in the Septuagint it is said: Drink this first, do it quickly, for the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali will see the first miracles of Christ, so that they may be the first to drink the potion of faith, which they first saw the Lord performing signs. And, according to the Hebrew, it is said to have been relieved of the burden of sins in the first time: because in the regions of the two tribes, the Savior first preached the Gospel. Therefore, in the sixty-seventh Psalm it is said: Bless the Lord from the fountains of Israel. There Benjamin, the youngest (Psalm 67:27-28; Acts 9); Paul the Apostle, in the excess of his mind, who also elsewhere speaks: or when we are out of our minds, we are out of our minds for God (2 Corinthians 5:13): the princes of Zebulun, the princes of Naphtali, their leaders; because in these tribes there were villages, from which our Apostles believed their leaders. And they believed quickly according to Symmachus when they heard: Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men (Matthew 4:19), and immediately they left their father and the boat behind. But in the most recent times their faith was worsened by many Jews who remained in error. This sea is called the Sea of Galilee, which is formed by the flow of the Jordan River; on its shores are located Capernaum, Tiberias, Bethsaida, and Chorazin: in this particular region the Lord stayed the most, so that the people who were sitting or walking in darkness could see a great light, not small like the other prophets, but great like the one who speaks in the Gospel: I am the light of the world (John 8:12). And those who dwelt in the region of the shadow of death, a light has arisen for them. Between death and the shadow of death, I believe this refers to the death of those who have descended to the underworld with dead works: For the soul that sins shall die (Ezek. XVIII, 20); but the shadow of death belongs to those who sin, yet have not yet departed from this life: for they can, if they wish, repent. For Galilee of the Gentiles, Aquila understands the borders of the Gentiles, Symmachus interprets as the borders of the Gentiles; we understand "tumulos arenarum" to mean the hills of sand, which are either on the shores or on the banks. The Hebrews who believed in Christ explained this passage as follows. In the first place, during the time of Elia, two tribes, Zabulon and Nephthali, were captured by the Assyrians and taken to a hostile land; and Galilee became desolate (2 Kings 15), which the prophet now says has been restored, because it bore the sins of the people. But afterwards, not only two tribes, but also the remaining tribes, which lived beyond the Jordan and in Samaria, were taken into captivity (2 Kings 17 and 18). And this, they say, Scripture now declares, that the region whose people were first led into captivity and began to serve the Babylonians, and which previously was in the darkness of error, saw for the first time the light of Christ proclaiming, and from there the Gospel was sown into all nations. The Nazarenes, whose opinion I have presented above, attempt to explain this passage in the following way: When Christ came and his preaching shone forth, the first land to be freed from the errors of the Scribes and Pharisees was the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, and it shook off the heaviest yoke of Jewish traditions from its neck. Afterwards, through the Gospel of the Apostle Paul, who was the last of all the Apostles, the preaching became heavier, that is, multiplied: and the Gospel of Christ shone forth unto the ends of the earth and the way of the whole sea. Finally, the whole world, which had previously walked or sat in darkness and was held bound by idolatry and the chains of death, beheld the clear light of the Gospel.
Source: Quotations drawn from early Church Fathers and historical Christian theologians (AD 100–1500). Some quotes address the surrounding passage context rather than this verse alone.

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