What does Isaiah 9:6 mean?

For 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.
Isaiah 9:6, King James Version

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The verse in its chapter

Isaiah 9:4-8

  1. 4 For 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.
  2. 5 For every battle of the warrior is with confused noise, and garments rolled in blood; but this shall be with burning and fuel of fire.
  3. 6 For 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.
  4. 7 Of 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.
  5. 8 The Lord sent a word into Jacob, and it hath lighted upon Israel.

Study note

Tyndale Open Study Notes (CC BY-SA 4.0).

9:6 a child is born to us, a son is given to us: This child, the Messiah, would be David’s descendant (11:1). • he will be called: These names can be read as four throne names, signifying the nature of the child’s rule: (1) The Wonderful Counselor conforms to God’s wisdom (11:1; 25:1; 28:29; 40:13), unlike the counselors of Judah (1:26; 3:3). (2) Mighty God is an affirmation of the Messiah’s divine nature. (3) He cares for his children as the Everlasting Father, the father whose care continues forever (cp. 22:21; 63:16). (4) The Prince of Peace is a leader who brings peace.

Cross references

Other Bible passages linked to this one, most cited first.

About the book of Isaiah

Author
Isaiah son of Amoz (the book's unity is debated) (Isaiah 1:1)
When
prophesied c. 740 to 700 BC
Period
Reino dividido, c. 930 a 586 a.C. (in Portuguese)

Authorship: the book itself or Christian tradition. Approximate dates, as in Carson and Moo, An Introduction to the New Testament, and Longman and Dillard, An Introduction to the Old Testament.

In the Mercy Bible Atlas (in Portuguese)

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