Isaiah 9:12 - Printer Friendly

ESV: The Syrians on the east and the Philistines on the west devour Israel with open mouth. For all this his anger has not turned away, and his hand is stretched out still.

NIV: Arameans from the east and Philistines from the west have devoured Israel with open mouth. Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away, his hand is still upraised.

NASB: The Arameans from the east and the Philistines from the west; And they devour Israel with gaping jaws. In spite of all this, His anger does not turn away, And His hand is still stretched out.

CSB: Aram from the east and Philistia from the west have consumed Israel with open mouths. In all this, his anger has not turned away, and his hand is still raised to strike.

NLT: The Syrians from the east and the Philistines from the west will bare their fangs and devour Israel. But even then the Lord’s anger will not be satisfied. His fist is still poised to strike.

KJV: The Syrians before, and the Philistines behind; and they shall devour Israel with open mouth. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.

NKJV: The Syrians before and the Philistines behind; And they shall devour Israel with an open mouth. For all this His anger is not turned away, But His hand is stretched out still.

Isaiah described the misplaced confidence of the people of the northern ten tribes of Israel. They are proud and arrogant about their own self-reliance. As well as convinced in their ability to survive and rebuild following any attack from outside enemies. They do not trust the Lord or turn to Him for help. Instead, they trust themselves and their allies, the Syrians. The Syrians were also known as Arameans (Isaiah 9:9–11).

Because of this arrogance, the Lord will multiply Israel's enemies to include the enemies of the Syrians. Those enemies would include other Syrians from their divided nation. These would come from the east. Israel's old enemies the Philistines, would become their enemies once more and attack from the west. Between them, these two nations will devour Israel. They will eagerly and greedily defeat Israel's forces and destroy its people.

At that point (Isaiah 9:9), the people of Israel will finally understand that they cannot overcome what is happening to them. They will come to know that they are being judged by the Lord for their faithlessness to Him. That judgment will not yet be at an end, because the Lord's anger has not been satisfied. He still has work to do to make Israel's judgment complete.

Isaiah 9:8–21 returns to describing the judgment coming upon Israel in Isaiah's time. Despite the arrogance of the people, the enemies of their allies will devour them. When the people do not repent, the Lord will wipe out their leaders. He will have no compassion for the sinful people in every level of society. Wickedness burns through the people like a wildfire, turning human lives into fuel. Sinfulness causes people to devour each other and even themselves in trying to satisfy sin's appetite. The Lord will judge Israel for all of it.

Isaiah 9 begins prophecy about a future when darkness will be lifted from Israel. The nation will be free, prosperous, and at permanent peace. This will happen because God will send a child who will become a king on David's throne. More than a man, this king will be called Mighty God and Prince of Peace and will rule forever. In Isaiah's day, though, God's judgment will soon fall on Israel. He will wipe out their leaders. Wickedness burns through the nation like fire.

Isaiah 9 begins with what may be the conclusion of the previous chapter. Isaiah 8 ended with the description of the darkness experienced by those in Israel who reject the Lord. The prophet describes a day in Israel's far future when the gloom will lift and glory will return. A child will become king of Israel, but He will also be the Everlasting Father who will rule forever. However, In Isaiah's time, the Lord will judge Israel with destruction from other nations. The following chapter pronounces disaster for the people who persist in sin.

Isaiah is among the most important prophetic books in the entire Bible. The first segment details God's impending judgment against ancient peoples for sin and idolatry (Isaiah 1—35). The second part of Isaiah briefly explains a failed assault on Jerusalem during the rule of Hezekiah (Isaiah 36—39). The final chapters predict Israel's rescue from Babylonian captivity (Isaiah 40—48), the promised Messiah (Isaiah 49—57), and the final glory of Jerusalem and God's people (Isaiah 58—66).