Isaiah 7-12

American Standard Version

7 And it came to pass in the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin the king of Syria, and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up to Jerusalem to war against it, but could not prevail against it. ² And it was told the house of David, saying, Syria ^[a]is confederate with Ephraim. And his heart trembled, and the heart of his people, as the trees of the forest tremble with the wind.

³ Then said Jehovah unto Isaiah, Go forth now to meet Ahaz, thou, and ^[b]Shear-jashub thy son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool, in the highway of the fuller’s field; ⁴ and say unto him, Take heed, and be quiet; fear not, neither let thy heart be faint, because of these two tails of smoking firebrands, for the fierce anger of Rezin and Syria, and of the son of Remaliah. ⁵ Because Syria, Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah, have purposed evil against thee, saying, ⁶ Let us go up against Judah, and vex it, and let us make a breach therein for us, and set up a king in the midst of it, even the son of Tabeel; ⁷ thus saith the Lord Jehovah, It shall not stand, neither shall it come to pass. ⁸ For the head of Syria is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin; and within threescore and five years shall Ephraim be broken in pieces, so that it shall not be a people: ⁹ and the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is Remaliah’s son. If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established.

¹⁰ And Jehovah spake again unto Ahaz, saying, ¹¹ Ask thee a sign of Jehovah thy God; ask it either in the depth, or in the height above. ¹² But Ahaz said, I will not ask, neither will I tempt Jehovah. ¹³ And he said, Hear ye now, O house of David: Is it a small thing for you to weary men, that ye will weary my God also? ¹⁴ Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: behold, ^[c]a ^[d]virgin ^[e]shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name ^[f]Immanuel. ^15 [g]Butter and honey shall he eat, ^[h]when he knoweth to refuse the evil, and choose the good. ¹⁶ For before the child shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the good, the land whose two kings thou abhorrest shall be forsaken. ¹⁷ Jehovah will bring upon thee, and upon thy people, and upon thy father’s house, days that have not come, from the day that Ephraim departed from Judah—even the king of Assyria.

¹⁸ And it shall come to pass in that day, that Jehovah will hiss for the fly that is in the uttermost part of the rivers of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria. ¹⁹ And they shall come, and shall rest all of them in the ^[i]desolate valleys, and in the clefts of the rocks, and upon all thorn-hedges, and upon all ^[j]pastures.

²⁰ In that day will the Lord shave with a razor that is hired in the parts beyond the River, even with the king of Assyria, the head and the hair of the feet; and it shall also consume the beard.

²¹ And it shall come to pass in that day, that a man shall keep alive a young cow, and two sheep; ²² and it shall come to pass, that because of the abundance of milk which they shall give he shall eat butter: for butter and honey shall every one eat that is left in the midst of the land.

²³ And it shall come to pass in that day, that every place, where there were a thousand vines at a thousand silverlings, shall be for briers and thorns. ²⁴ With arrows and with bow shall one come thither, because all the land shall be briers and thorns. ²⁵ And all the hills that were digged with the mattock, ^[k]thou shalt not come thither for fear of briers and thorns; but it shall be for the sending forth of oxen, and for the treading of sheep.

8 And Jehovah said unto me, Take thee a great tablet, and write upon it ^[l]with the pen of a man, For ^[m]Maher-shalal-hash-baz; ² and I will take unto me faithful witnesses to record, Uriah the priest, and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah. ³ And I went unto the prophetess; and she conceived, and bare a son. Then said Jehovah unto me, Call his name Maher-shalal-hash-baz. ⁴ For before the child shall have knowledge to cry, My father, and, My mother, the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria shall be carried away before the king of Assyria.

⁵ And Jehovah spake unto me yet again, saying, ⁶ Forasmuch as this people have refused the waters of Shiloah that go softly, ^[n]and rejoice ^[o]in Rezin and Remaliah’s son; ⁷ now therefore, behold, the Lord bringeth up upon them the waters of the River, strong and many, even the king of Assyria and all his glory: and it shall come up over all its channels, and go over all its banks; ⁸ and it shall sweep onward into Judah; it shall overflow and pass through; it shall reach even to the neck; and the stretching out of its wings shall fill the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel.

^9 [p]Make an uproar, O ye peoples, and be broken in pieces; and give ear, all ye of far countries: gird yourselves, and be broken in pieces; gird yourselves, and be broken in pieces. ¹⁰ Take counsel together, and it shall be brought to nought; speak the word, and it shall not stand: for ^[q]God is with us. ¹¹ For Jehovah spake thus to me ^[r]with a strong hand, and instructed me not to walk in the way of this people, saying, ¹² Say ye not, A conspiracy, concerning all whereof this people shall say, A conspiracy; neither fear ye their fear, nor be in dread thereof. ¹³ Jehovah of hosts, him shall ye sanctify; and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. ¹⁴ And he shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. ¹⁵ And ^[s]many shall stumble thereon, and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken.

¹⁶ Bind thou up the testimony, seal the ^[t]law among my disciples. ¹⁷ And I will wait for Jehovah, that hideth his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him. ¹⁸ Behold, I and the children whom Jehovah hath given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from Jehovah of hosts, who dwelleth in mount Zion.

¹⁹ And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits and unto the wizards, that chirp and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? on behalf of the living should they seek unto the dead? ²⁰ To the ^[u]law and to the testimony! ^[v]if they speak not according to this word, surely there is no morning for them. ²¹ And they shall pass through it, sore distressed and hungry; and it shall come to pass that, when they shall be hungry, they shall fret themselves, and ^[w]curse by their king and by their God, and turn their faces upward: ²² and they shall look unto the earth, and, behold, distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish; ^[x]and ^[y]into thick darkness they shall be driven away.

9 ^[z]But there shall be no gloom to her that was in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali; but in the latter time hath he made it glorious, by the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, ^[aa]Galilee of the nations. ² The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwelt in the land of the ^[ab]shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined. ³ Thou hast multiplied the nation, ^[ac]thou hast increased their joy: they joy before thee according to the joy in harvest, as men rejoice when they divide the spoil. ⁴ For the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, thou hast broken as in the day of Midian. ⁵ For ^[ad]all the armor of the armed man in the tumult, and the garments rolled in blood, shall be for burning, for fuel of fire. 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 ^[ae]Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, ^[af]Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. ⁷ Of the increase of his government and of peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to establish it, and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of Jehovah of hosts will perform this.

⁸ The Lord sent a word into Jacob, and it hath lighted upon Israel. ⁹ And all the people shall know, even Ephraim and the inhabitant of Samaria, that say in pride and in stoutness of heart, ¹⁰ The bricks are fallen, but we will build with hewn stone; the sycomores are cut down, but we will put cedars in their place. ¹¹ Therefore Jehovah ^[ag]will set up on high against him the adversaries of Rezin, and ^[ah]will ^[ai]stir up his enemies, ¹² the Syrians ^[aj]before, and the Philistines ^[ak]behind; and they ^[al]shall devour Israel with open mouth. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.

¹³ Yet the people have not turned unto him that smote them, neither have they sought Jehovah of hosts. ¹⁴ Therefore Jehovah ^[am]will cut off from Israel head and tail, palm-branch and rush, in one day. ¹⁵ The elder and the honorable man, he is the head; and the prophet that teacheth lies, he is the tail. ¹⁶ For they that lead this people cause them to err; and they that are led of them are ^[an]destroyed. ¹⁷ Therefore the Lord will not rejoice over their young men, neither will he have compassion on their fatherless and widows; for every one is profane and an evil-doer, and every mouth speaketh folly. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.

¹⁸ For wickedness burneth as the fire; it devoureth the briers and thorns; yea, it kindleth in the thickets of the forest, and they roll upward in a column of smoke. ¹⁹ Through the wrath of Jehovah of hosts is the land ^[ao]burnt up; and the people are as the fuel of fire: no man spareth his brother. ²⁰ And one shall snatch on the right hand, and be hungry; and he shall eat on the left hand, and they shall not be satisfied: they shall eat every man the flesh of his own arm: ²¹ Manasseh, Ephraim; and Ephraim, Manasseh; and they together shall be against Judah. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.

10 Woe unto them that decree unrighteous decrees, and to the writers that write perverseness; ² to turn aside the needy from justice, and to rob the poor of my people of their right, that widows may be their spoil, and that they may make the fatherless their prey! ³ And what will ye do in the day of visitation, and in the desolation which shall come from far? to whom will ye flee for help? and where will ye leave your glory? ^4 [ap]They shall only bow down under the prisoners, and shall fall under the slain. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.

^5 [aq]Ho Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, the staff in whose hand is mine indignation! ⁶ I will send him against a profane nation, and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge, to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and ^[ar]to tread them down like the mire of the streets. ⁷ Howbeit he meaneth not so, neither doth his heart think so; but it is in his heart to destroy, and to cut off nations not a few. ⁸ For he saith, Are not my princes all of them kings? ⁹ Is not Calno as Carchemish? is not Hamath as Arpad? is not Samaria as Damascus? ¹⁰ As my hand hath ^[as]found the kingdoms of the idols, whose graven images did excel them of Jerusalem and of Samaria; ¹¹ shall I not, as I have done unto Samaria and her idols, so do to Jerusalem and her idols?

¹² Wherefore it shall come to pass, that, when the Lord hath performed his whole work upon mount Zion and on Jerusalem, I will ^[at]punish the fruit of the stout heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his high looks. ¹³ For he hath said, By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom; for I have understanding: and I have removed the bounds of the peoples, and have robbed their treasures, and like a valiant man I have brought down ^[au]them that sit on thrones: ¹⁴ and my hand hath found as a nest the riches of the peoples; and as one gathereth eggs that are forsaken, have I gathered all the earth: and there was none that moved the wing, or that opened the mouth, or chirped.

¹⁵ Shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth therewith? shall the saw magnify itself against him that wieldeth it? as if a rod should wield them that lift it up, or as if a staff should lift up him that is not wood. ¹⁶ Therefore will the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, send among his fat ones leanness; and ^[av]under his glory there shall be kindled a burning like the burning of fire. ¹⁷ And the light of Israel will be for a fire, and his Holy One for a flame; and it will burn and devour his thorns and his briers in one day. ¹⁸ And he will consume the glory of his forest, and of his fruitful field, both soul and body: and it shall be ^[aw]as when a standard-bearer fainteth. ¹⁹ And the remnant of the trees of his forest shall be few, so that a child may write them.

²⁰ And it shall come to pass in that day, that the remnant of Israel, and they that are escaped of the house of Jacob, shall no more again lean upon him that smote them, but shall lean upon Jehovah, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. ^21 [ax]A remnant shall return, even the remnant of Jacob, unto the mighty God. ²² For though thy people, Israel, be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant ^[ay]of them shall return: a destruction is determined, overflowing with righteousness. ²³ For a full end, and that determined, will the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, make in the midst of all the ^[az]earth.

²⁴ Therefore thus saith the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, O my people that dwellest in Zion, be not afraid of ^[ba]the Assyrian, though he smite thee with the rod, and lift up his staff against thee, after the manner of Egypt. ²⁵ For yet a very little while, and the indignation against thee shall be accomplished, and mine anger shall be directed to his destruction. ²⁶ And Jehovah of hosts will stir up against him a scourge, as in the slaughter of Midian at the rock of Oreb: and ^[bb]his rod will be over the sea, and he will lift it up after the manner of Egypt. ²⁷ And it shall come to pass in that day, that his burden shall depart from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed by reason of ^[bc]fatness.

²⁸ He is come to Aiath, he is passed through Migron; at Michmash he layeth up his baggage; ²⁹ they are gone over the pass; ^[bd]they have taken up their lodging at Geba; Ramah trembleth; Gibeah of Saul is fled. ³⁰ Cry aloud with thy voice, O daughter of Gallim! hearken, O Laishah! O thou poor Anathoth! ³¹ Madmenah is a fugitive; the inhabitants of Gebim ^[be]flee for safety. ³² This very day shall he halt at Nob: he shaketh his hand at the mount of the ^[bf]daughter of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem.

³³ Behold, the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, will lop the boughs with terror: and the high of stature shall be hewn down, and the lofty shall be brought low. ³⁴ And he will cut down the thickets of the forest with iron, and Lebanon shall fall by a mighty one.

11 And there shall come forth a shoot out of the stock of Jesse, and a branch out of his roots shall bear fruit. ² And the Spirit of Jehovah shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of Jehovah. ³ And ^[bg]his ^[bh]delight shall be in the fear of Jehovah; and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither decide after the hearing of his ears; ⁴ but with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the ^[bi]earth; and he shall smite the ^[bj]earth with the rod of his mouth; and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. ⁵ And righteousness shall be the girdle of his waist, and faithfulness the girdle of his loins.

⁶ And the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. ⁷ And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. ⁸ And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den. ⁹ They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of Jehovah, as the waters cover the sea.

¹⁰ And it shall come to pass in that day, that the root of Jesse, that standeth for an ensign of the peoples, unto him shall the nations seek; and his resting-place shall be ^[bk]glorious.

¹¹ And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord ^[bl]will set his hand again the second time to ^[bm]recover the remnant of his people, that shall remain, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the ^[bn]islands of the sea. ¹² And he will set up an ensign for the nations, and will assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. ¹³ The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and they that vex ^[bo]Judah shall be cut off: Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim. ¹⁴ And they shall fly down upon the shoulder of the Philistines on the west; together shall they despoil the children of the east: they shall put forth their hand upon Edom and Moab; and the children of Ammon shall obey them. ¹⁵ And Jehovah will ^[bp]utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and with his scorching wind will he wave his hand over the River, and will smite it into seven streams, and cause men to march over dryshod. ¹⁶ And there shall be a highway for the remnant of his people, that shall remain, from Assyria; like as there was for Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt.

12 And in that day thou shalt say, I will give thanks unto thee, O Jehovah; for though thou wast angry with me, ^[bq]thine anger is turned away and thou comfortest me. ² Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid: for ^[br]Jehovah, even Jehovah, is my strength and song; and he is become my salvation. ³ Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation. ⁴ And in that day shall ye say, Give thanks unto Jehovah, ^[bs]call upon his name, declare his doings among the peoples, make mention that his name is exalted. ⁵ Sing unto Jehovah; for he hath done ^[bt]excellent things: ^[bu]let this be known in all the earth. ⁶ Cry aloud and shout, thou ^[bv]inhabitant of Zion; for great in the midst of thee is the Holy One of Israel.