Isaiah 9:6 — Bible Verse Meaning & Context

Isaiah 9:6 reads: "For to us a child is born. To us a son is given; and the government will be on his shoulders. His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." — from the Old Testament, Isaiah (Major prophet). The full verse is shown above with both the World English Bible (WEB) and King James Version (KJV) translations side by side.

Isaiah 9:6 is in the book of Isaiah, traditionally attributed to Isaiah son of Amoz and written around c. 740–680 BC. Isaiah is major prophet in the Old Testament, originally addressed to Judah during the Assyrian crisis. Best known for the Suffering Servant of Isaiah 53.

Isaiah 9:6 is primarily a Bible verse about Hope. Within Isaiah, Isaiah is the longest prophetic book and is sometimes called "the fifth Gospel" for its detailed Messianic prophecies — the virgin's child (7:14), the government on his shoulder (9:6), and the Suffering Servant of chapter 53 who would be "wounded for our transgressions. Read the full passage above with surrounding context.

Isaiah 9:6 in the World English Bible (WEB) reads: "For to us a child is born. To us a son is given; and the government will be on his shoulders. His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.". The King James Version (KJV) reads: "For unto us a child3206 is born3205, unto us a son1121 is given5414: and the government4951 shall be upon his shoulder7926: and his name8034 shall be called7121 Wonderful6382, Counsellor3289, The mighty1368 God410, The everlasting5703 Father1, The Prince8269 of Peace7965.". The WEB is a modern public-domain translation that updates the KJV's 1611 English while keeping a similar formal-equivalence style. Both render the same underlying Greek or Hebrew text.

Isaiah 9:6 is 35 words in the WEB translation (188 characters), broken into 8 clauses. It is a longer verse, often broken into smaller phrases for memorisation. Estimated reading time is about 11 seconds.

To memorise Isaiah 9:6, split it into its 8 natural clauses and learn one at a time. Repeat the full verse out loud five times, then write it from memory. Saving the verse as a photo wallpaper using our verse image studio helps daily review — the visual association with a memorable background dramatically improves recall.

Isaiah is the longest prophetic book and is sometimes called "the fifth Gospel" for its detailed Messianic prophecies — the virgin's child (7:14), the government on his shoulder (9:6), and the Suffering Servant of chapter 53 who would be "wounded for our transgressions." It opens with judgment and ends with the promise of new heavens and a new earth (66:22). Isaiah 9:6 sits within this larger story — Isaiah as a whole emphasises holiness, judgment, salvation.

Many readers use Isaiah 9:6 as a daily reminder verse — saving it as a phone wallpaper, sharing it on Pinterest, or memorising it for prayer. The verse studio on this page lets you download Isaiah 9:6 on 52 different backgrounds for free. Pair the verse with the surrounding chapter context shown above to understand its full meaning before applying it.