¹The people living in darkness

have seen a great light;

upon those living in the land that lies

in the shadow of death, light has dawned.

²You 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.

³For the yoke that weighed them down,

the bar across their shoulders,

and their driver’s goad

you have broken as on the day of Midyan[’s defeat].

⁴For all the boots of soldiers marching

and every cloak rolled in blood

is destined for burning,

fuel for the fire.

⁵For a child is born to us,

a son is given to us;

dominion will rest on his shoulders,

and he will be given the name

Pele-Yo‘etz El Gibbor

Avi-‘Ad Sar-Shalom

[Wonder of a Counselor, Mighty God,

Father of Eternity, Prince of Peace],

⁶in order to extend the dominion

and perpetuate the peace

of the throne and kingdom of David,

to secure it and sustain it

through justice and righteousness

henceforth and forever.

The zeal of Adonai -Tzva’ot

will accomplish this.

⁷Adonai sent a word to Ya‘akov,

and it has fallen on Isra’el.

⁸All the people know it,

Efrayim and the inhabitants of Shomron.

But they say in pride,

in the arrogance of their hearts,

⁹“The bricks have fallen,

but we will rebuild with cut stone;

the sycamore-fig trees have been chopped down,

but we will replace them with cedars.”

¹⁰So Adonai has raised up Retzin’s foes against him

and spurred on his enemies —

¹¹Aram from the east, P’lishtim from the west;

and they devour Isra’el with an open mouth.

Even after all this, his anger remains,

his upraised hand still threatens.

¹²Yet the people do not turn to the one striking them,

they don’t seek Adonai -Tzva’ot .

¹³Therefore Adonai will cut off

Isra’el’s head and tail,

[tall] palm frond and [lowly] reed in a single day.

¹⁴The old and the honored are the head,

while prophets teaching lies are the tail.

¹⁵For those leading this people lead them astray,

and those led by them are destroyed.

¹⁶Therefore Adonai takes no joy in their young men

and has no compassion on their orphans and widows;

for everyone is ungodly and does evil,

every mouth speaks foolishly.

Even after all this, his anger remains,

his upraised hand still threatens.

¹⁷For wickedness burns like fire,

it devours briars and thorns;

it sets the forest underbrush ablaze,

with clouds of smoke whirling upward.

¹⁸The anger of Adonai -Tzva’ot

is burning up the land;

the people, too, are fuel for the fire —

no one spares even his brother.

¹⁹The one on the right grabs but stays hungry,

the one on the left eats but is unfilled.

Everyone devours his own arm’s flesh —

²⁰M’nasheh devours Efrayim;

and Efrayim, M’nasheh;

while together they oppose Y’hudah.

Even after all this, his anger remains,

his upraised hand still threatens.