Yet the darkenesse shall not be according to the affliction that it had when at the first hee touched lightly the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, nor afteward when he was more grieuous by the way of the sea beyond Iorden in Galile of the Gentiles.
Isaiah 9:1 Yet the darkenesse shall not be according to the affliction that it had when at the first hee touched lightly the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, nor afteward when he was more grieuous by the way of the sea beyond Iorden in Galile of the Gentiles.
Isaiah 9:2 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.
Isaiah 9:3 Thou hast multiplied the nation, and not increased their ioye: they haue reioyced before thee according to the ioye in haruest, and as men reioyce when they deuide a spoyle.
The verse centers on "light", "darkenesse", "shall", "affliction", "first", "touched", "lightly", and "land". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "light" and "darkenesse", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.
The next verse adds "The people that walked in darkenes haue...", so "light" and "darkenesse" should be read forward into that movement. In Isaiah context, the local focus is the Holy One of Israel, judgment and restoration, the servant of the LORD, and Zion's hope.
A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "light" and "darkenesse" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.