the Week of Proper 12 / Ordinary 17
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Isaiah 9:2
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The people walking in darknesshave seen a great light;a light has dawnedon those living in the land of darkness.
The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light: those who lived in the land of the shadow of death, on them has the light shined.
The 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.
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.
The people who walk in darkness Will see a great light; Those who live in a dark land, The light will shine on them.
Before those people lived in darkness, but now they have seen a great light. They lived in a dark land, but a light has shined on them.
The people who walk in [spiritual] darkness Will see a great Light; Those who live in the dark land, The Light will shine on them.
The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light: those who lived in the land of the shadow of death, on them has the light shined.
The people that walked in darkenes haue seene a great light: they that dwelled in the land of the shadowe of death, vpon them hath the light shined.
The people who walk in darknessWill see a great light;Those who live in the land of the shadow of death,The light will shine on them.
The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death, a light has dawned.
Those who walked in the dark have seen a bright light. And it shines upon everyone who lives in the land of darkest shadows.
You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy; they rejoice in your presence as if rejoicing at harvest time, the way men rejoice when dividing up the spoil.
the people that walked in darkness have seen a great light; they that dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them light hath shone.
Those people lived in darkness, but they will see a great light. They lived in a place as dark as death, but a great light will shine on them.
The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them has the light shined.
The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. They lived in a land of shadows, but now light is shining on them.
The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; light has shined on those who lived in a land of darkness.
The people who walk in darkness have seen a great light. The ones who dwell in the land of the shadow of death, light has shone on them.
Neuertheles ye people that haue dwelt in darcknesse, shal se a greate light. As for them that dwel in the londe of the shadowe of death, vpon them shal the light shyne.
The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.
Thou hast multiplied the nation, Thou hast increased their joy; they joy before Thee according to the joy in harvest, as men rejoice when they divide the spoil.
The people that walked in darknesse, haue seene a great light: they that dwel in the land of the shadow of death, vpon them hath the light shined.
The people that walked in darknesse, haue seene a great light: As for them that dwell in the lande of the shadowe of death, vpon them hath the light shined.
O people walking in darkness, behold a great light: ye that dwell in the region and shadow of death, a light shall shine upon you.
The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.
The puple that yede in derknessis siy a greet liyt; whanne men dwelliden in the cuntre of schadewe of deth, liyt roos vp to hem.
The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: those that dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, on them has the light shined.
The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shades of death, upon them hath the light shined.
The people walking in darkness see a bright light; light shines on those who live in a land of deep darkness.
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 shined.
The people who walk in darkness will see a great light. For those who live in a land of deep darkness, a light will shine.
The people who walk in darkness will see a great light. The light will shine on those living in the land of dark shadows.
The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness— on them light has shined.
the people who were walking in darkness, Have seen a great light, - The dwellers in a land death-shadowed, A light, hath shined upon them.
The people that walked in darkness, have seen a great light: to them that dwelt in the region of the shadow of death, light is risen.
The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined.
The people who are walking in darkness Have seen a great light, Dwellers in a land of death-shade, Light hath shone upon them.
The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. For those who lived in a land of deep shadows— light! sunbursts of light! You repopulated the nation, you expanded its joy. Oh, they're so glad in your presence! Festival joy! The joy of a great celebration, sharing rich gifts and warm greetings. The abuse of oppressors and cruelty of tyrants— all their whips and cudgels and curses— Is gone, done away with, a deliverance as surprising and sudden as Gideon's old victory over Midian. The boots of all those invading troops, along with their shirts soaked with innocent blood, Will be piled in a heap and burned, a fire that will burn for days! For a child has been born—for us! the gift of a son—for us! He'll take over the running of the world. His names will be: Amazing Counselor, Strong God, Eternal Father, Prince of Wholeness. His ruling authority will grow, and there'll be no limits to the wholeness he brings. He'll rule from the historic David throne over that promised kingdom. He'll put that kingdom on a firm footing and keep it going With fair dealing and right living, beginning now and lasting always. The zeal of God -of-the-Angel-Armies will do all this.
The people who walk in darkness Will see a great light; Those who live in a dark land, The light will shine on them.
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
walked: Isaiah 50:10, Isaiah 60:1-3, Isaiah 60:19, Micah 7:8, Micah 7:9, Matthew 4:16, Luke 1:78, Luke 1:79, Luke 2:32, John 8:12, John 12:35, John 12:46, Ephesians 5:8, Ephesians 5:13, Ephesians 5:14, 1 Peter 2:9, 1 John 1:5-7
in the land: Job 10:21, Psalms 23:4, Psalms 107:10, Psalms 107:14, Amos 5:8
Reciprocal: Deuteronomy 33:23 - O 2 Kings 15:29 - Galilee Job 3:5 - the shadow Job 33:28 - see Job 34:22 - nor Psalms 118:27 - showed Psalms 126:6 - shall doubtless Isaiah 42:7 - to bring Isaiah 49:9 - to them Malachi 4:2 - the Sun Matthew 4:14 - saying Luke 4:44 - Galilee John 7:52 - Search Acts 26:18 - and to 2 Peter 1:19 - a light 1 John 2:8 - the darkness
Cross-References
And God gave them his blessing and said to them, Be fertile and have increase, and make the earth full and be masters of it; be rulers over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing moving on the earth.
And from the earth the Lord God made every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and took them to the man to see what names he would give them: and whatever name he gave to any living thing, that was its name.
But flesh with the life-blood in it you may not take for food.
And God said to Noah and to his sons,
In those days Noah became a farmer, and he made a vine-garden.
And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father unclothed, and gave news of it to his two brothers outside.
And Shem and Japheth took a robe, and putting it on their backs went in with their faces turned away, and put it over their father so that they might not see him unclothed.
So they went on their journey: and the fear of God was on the towns round about, so that they made no attack on the sons of Jacob.
And I will give you peace in the land, and you will take your rest and no one will give you cause for fear; and I will put an end to all evil beasts in the land, and no sword of war will go through your land.
I will let loose the beasts of the field among you, and they will take away your children and send destruction on your cattle, so that your numbers will become small and your roads become waste.
Gill's Notes on the Bible
The people that walked in darkness,.... Meaning not the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem, in the times of Hezekiah, when Sennacherib besieged them, as Jarchi and Kimchi interpret it; and much less the people of Israel in Egypt, as the Targum paraphrases it; but the inhabitants of Galilee in the times of Christ; see Matthew 4:16 John 1:48 and is a true character of all the people of God before conversion, who are in a state of darkness, under the power of sin, shut up in unbelief; are in gross ignorance of themselves, and their condition; of sin, and the danger they are exposed to by it; of divine and spiritual things; of the grace of God; of the way of peace, life, and salvation by Christ; and of the work of the blessed Spirit; and of the truths of the Gospel; they are in the dark, and can see no objects in a spiritual sense; not to read the word, so as to understand it; or to work that which is good; and they "walk" on in darkness, not knowing where they are, and whither they are going; and yet of these it is said, they
have seen a great light; Christ himself, who conversed among the Galilaeans, preached unto them, and caused the light of his glorious Gospel to shine into many of their hearts; by which their darkness was removed, so that they not only saw Christ, this great light, with their bodily eyes, but with the eyes of their understanding; who may be called the "light", because he is the author and giver of all light, even of nature, grace, and glory; and a "great" one, because he is the sun, the greatest light, the sun of righteousness, the light of the world, both of Jews and Gentiles; he is the true light, in distinction from all typical ones, and in opposition to all false ones, and who in his person is God over all.
They that dwell in the land of the shadow of death; as Galilee might be called, because it was a poor, miserable, and uncomfortable place, from whence no good came; and this character fitly describes God's people in a state of nature and unregeneracy, who are dead in Adam, dead in law, and dead in trespasses and sins, dead as to the spiritual use of the powers and faculties of their souls; they have no spiritual life in them, nor any spiritual sense, feeling, or motion; and they "dwell", continue, and abide in this state, till grace brings them out of it; see John 12:46:
upon them hath the light shined: Christ in human nature, through the ministration of his Gospel, by his spirit, so as to enlighten them who walk in darkness, and to quicken them who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, and to comfort them in their desolate estate; and this light not only shone upon them in the external ministration of the word, as it did "upon" the inhabitants in general, but it shone "into" the hearts of many of them in particular, so that in this light they saw light.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
The people that walked in darkness - The inhabitants of the region of Galilee. They were represented as walking in darkness, because they were far from the capital, and from the temple; they had few religious privileges; they were intermingled with the pagan, and were comparatively rude and uncultivated in their manners and in their language. Allusion to this is several times made in the New Testament; John 1:46 : ‘Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?’ John 7:52 : ‘Search and look, for out of Galilee ariseth no prophet;’ Matthew 26:69; Mark 14:70. The word walked here is synonymous with lived, and denotes that thick darkness brooded over the country, so that they lived, or walked amidst it.
Have seen a great light - Light is not only an emblem of knowledge in the Scriptures, but of joy, rejoicing, and deliverance. It stands opposed to moral darkness, and to times of judgment and calamity. What is the particular reference here, is not agreed by expositors. The immediate connection seems to require us to understand it of deliverance from the calamities that were impending over the nation then. They would be afflicted, but they would be delivered. The tribes of Israel would be carried captive away; and Judah would also be removed. This calamity would particularly affect the ten tribes of Israel - the northern part of the land, the regions of Galilee - “for those tribes would be carried away not to return.” Yet this region also would be favored with a especially striking manifestation of light. I see no reason to doubt that the language of the prophet here is adapted to extend into that future period when the Messiah should come to that dark region, and become both its light and its deliverer. Isaiah may have referred to the immediate deliverance of the nation from impending calamities, but there is a fullness and richness of the language that seems to be applicable only to the Messiah. So it is evidently understood in Matthew 4:13-16.
They that dwell - The same people are referred to here as in the former member of the verse.
In the land of the shadow of death - This is a most beautiful expression, and is special to the Hebrew poets. The word צלמות tsalmâveth, is exceedingly poetical. The idea is that of death, as a dark substance or being, casting a long and chilly shade over the land - standing between the land and the light - and thus becoming the image of ignorance, misery, and calamity. It is often used, in the Scriptures, to describe those regions that were lying as it were in the penumbra of this gloomy object, and exposed to all the chills and sorrows of this melancholy darkness. Death, by the Hebrews, was especially represented as extending his long and baleful shadow ever the regions of departed spirits; Job 38:17 :
Have the gates of death been opened to thee?
Hast thou seen the gates of the shadow of death?
Before I go - I shall not return -
To the land of darkness
And of the shadow of death.
Job 10:21
It is thus an image of chills, and gloom, and night - of anything that resembles the still and mournful regions of the dead. The Chaldee renders these two verses thus: ‘In a former time Zebulun and Naphtali emigrated; and those who remained after them a strong king shall carry into captivity, because they did not remember the power which was shown in the Red Sea, and the miracles which were done in Jordan, and the wars of the people of the cities. The people of the house of Israel who walked in Egypt as in the midst of shades, came out that they might see a great light.’
