Isaiah 7-9
Tree of Life Version
Reassurance Regarding a Threat
7 Now it came about in the days of Ahaz son of Jotham, son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that King Rezin of Aram and King Pekah, son of Remaliah of Israel, went up to Jerusalem to war against it, but could not prevail against it. 2 When it was reported to the house of David saying: “Aram is camped in Ephraim,” his heart as well as the heart of his people shook like the trees of the forest shaking with the wind.
3 Then Adonai said to Isaiah: “Go out now to meet Ahaz—you and Shear-jashub your son, at the end of the aqueduct from the upper pool, in the highway of the fullers’ field[a]; 4 and say to him, ‘Keep calm and be quiet. Do not fear nor be faint-hearted because of these two stubs of smoldering firebrands, because of the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram, nor of the son of Remaliah, 5 because Aram has plotted harm against you, along with Ephraim and the son of Remaliah saying, 6 “Let us go up against Judah, terrorize it, divide it for ourselves, and appoint Tabeel’s son as king in the midst of it.”
7 Thus says Adonai Elohim:
“It will not stand, nor will it occur.
8 For the head of Aram is Damascus,
and the head of Damascus is Rezin.
Within 65 years Ephraim will be broken
and not be a people.
9 The head of Ephraim is Samaria,
and the head of Samaria is Remaliah’s son.
If you do not trust, you will not stand.”
The Sign of Immanuel
10 Then Adonai spoke again to Ahaz saying, 11 “Ask for a sign from Adonai your God—from the depths of Sheol or the heights of Heaven.”
12 But Ahaz said, “I won’t ask—I wouldn’t test Adonai!”
13 Then he said, “Hear now, house of David! Is it a small thing for you to weary men? Will you also weary my God? 14 Therefore Adonai Himself will give you a sign:
Behold, the virgin[b] will conceive.
When she is giving birth to a son,
she will call his name Immanuel.[c]
15 He will be eating curds and honey
by the time he knows to refuse evil
and choose good.
16 For before the boy knows to refuse evil and choose good, the land of the two kings you dread will be abandoned. 17 Adonai will bring—on you, on your people and on your father’s house such days as have never come since the day Ephraim separated from Judah—the king of Assyria!
18 In that day Adonai will whistle for the fly at the source of the Nile of Egypt and for the bee in the land of Assyria. 19 Then they will come, all of them—and will settle in the steep wadis and in the clefts of the cliffs and in all the thorn bushes and in all the watering holes. 20 In that day Adonai will shave—with a razor hired beyond the River—with the king of Assyria—the head and the hair of the legs, and even clip off the beard.
21 In that day it will be that a man will rear a calf and two sheep, 22 and from the abundant milk they give, he will eat curds—for anyone left in the land will eat curds and honey.
23 In that day it will be that every place where there were 1,000 vines worth 1,000 silver shekels will become briers and thorns. 24 With arrows and bows one will come there, since all the land will become briers and thorns. 25 As for all the hills that were tilled with the hoe—you will not go there for fear of briers and thorns. Instead it will be for grazing of oxen and roaming of sheep.
Assyria Will Rise to Judah’s Neck
8 Then Adonai said to me: “Take yourself a great tablet, and write on it with a man’s stylus: ‘Maher-shalal-hashbaz[d].’” 2 So I took for myself trustworthy witnesses—Uriah the kohen and Zechariah son of Jeberechiah.
3 Then I went to the prophetess; and she conceived and bore a son. Then Adonai said to me: “Call his name Maher-shalal-hashbaz. 4 For before the child will have knowledge to cry ‘my father!’ or ‘my mother!’ the wealth of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria will be carried away before the king of Assyria.” 5 Then Adonai spoke to me further, saying:
6 “Because these people have refused
the softly flowing waters of Shiloah,
and rejoice with Rezin and Remaliah’s son,
7 therefore behold, Adonai is bringing on them
the waters of the River—mighty and massive—
Assyria’s king with all his glory!
It will rise over all its channels
and spill over all its banks.
8 Then it will sweep through Judah,
overflow as it passes through,
reaching even to the neck!
So the spread of its wings will be
the full breadth of your land!
Immanuel!
9 Make an uproar, O peoples—
but you will be broken in pieces.
Give ear, all you of far countries.
Arm yourselves—yet be shattered!
Arm yourselves—yet be shattered!
10 Take counsel together,
but it will amount to nothing.
Speak a word, but it will not stand.
For God is with us!
11 For thus Adonai spoke to me, with a strong hand, warning me that I should not walk in the way of these people, saying: 12 “Do not say: ‘It’s a conspiracy!’ about everything that these people call a conspiracy. You must not fear or tremble at what they fear.
13 Adonai-Tzva’ot, Him will you sanctify,
and let Him be your fear, trembling at Him.
14 He will be a Sanctuary,
but a stone of stumbling and a rock of offence[e]
to both the houses of Israel,
a trap and a snare
to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
15 Many among them will stumble,
fall, and be broken,
snared and caught.
16 Bind up the testimony,
seal the instruction with My disciples.
17 I will wait for Adonai,
who is hiding His face from the house of Jacob,
and I will look eagerly for Him.
18 Here I am with the children that Adonai has given me as signs and wonders in Israel, from Adonai-Tzva’ot who dwells on Mount Zion. 19 When they say to you: “Consult the mediums and necromancers who chirp and mutter,” shouldn’t a people seek their God? Should a people consult the dead on behalf of the living? 20 To Torah and to the testimony!
If they do not speak according to this word, it is because they have no light. 21 They will pass this way that are hard-pressed and hungry, and it will turn out that when they are hungry, they will become enraged and curse their king and their God. Whether they turn their faces upward 22 or look to the earth, behold, distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish, and they will be driven into darkness.
A Great Light in Galilee
23 But there is no gloom to her[f]
who was in anguish, as in time past.
He treated lightly the land of Zebulun
and the land of Naphtali,
but in the future He will bring glory—
by the way of the sea,
beyond the Jordan—
Galilee of the Gentiles.
9 The people walking in darkness
will see a great light.
Upon those dwelling in the land of the shadow of death,
light will shine.[g]
2 You will multiply the nation.
You will increase the joy.
They will rejoice before You
like the joy in the harvest,
as they revel when they divide spoil.
3 For You will break the burdensome yoke
and the rod on his shoulder—
the war-club of his oppressor—
as in the day of Midian.
4 For every stomping boot quaking
and cloak rolled in blood
will be for burning—
fuel for the fire.
Prince of Peace
5 For to us a child is born,
a son will be given to us,[h]
and the government will be upon His shoulder.[i]
His Name will be called
Wonderful Counselor,[j]
Mighty God
My Father of Eternity,
Prince of Peace.[k]
6 Of the increase of His government
and shalom there will be no end—
on the throne of David and over His kingdom—
to establish it and uphold it
through justice and righteousness
from now until forevermore.[l]
The zeal of Adonai-Tzva’ot
will accomplish this.
Warning About Defiance
7 Adonai sent a word to Jacob,
and it fell upon Israel.
8 All the people will know what Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria
say in pride and in arrogance of heart:
9 “The bricks are fallen,
but we will rebuild with cut stones.
The sycamores are cut down,
but we will replace them with cedars.”
10 Therefore Adonai raises up
Rezin’s adversaries against them,
and spurs on his enemies.
11 The Arameans from the east
and the Philistines from the west—
they will devour Israel with open mouth.
For all this His anger is not turned away,
yet His hand is still outstretched.
12 Yet the people will not turn back
to the One who strikes them,
nor will they seek Adonai-Tzva’ot.
13 So Adonai will cut off from Israel head and tail,
palm branch and bulrush in a single day.
14 The elder and the man of rank—
he is the head.
The prophet who teaches falsehood—
he is the tail.
15 The leaders of this people lead them astray.
Those they mislead are swallowed up.
16 Therefore Adonai will have no joy in their young men,
nor will He have compassion on their orphans and widows,
for everyone is ungodly and an evildoer,
and every mouth speaks foolishness.
For all this His anger is not turned away,
yet His hand is still outstretched.
17 For wickedness burns like a fire
and consumes the briers and thorns
It kindles the thickets of the forest,
so they roll up in a column of smoke.
18 By the wrath of Adonai-Tzva’ot
is the land burnt up;
The people are as fuel for the fire.
No one spares his brother.
19 One grabs with the right hand
but is hungry,
and eats with the left hand
but is not satisfied.
Everyone will eat the flesh of his own arm—
20 Manasseh will devour Ephraim,
and Ephraim, Manasseh,
both are against Judah.
For all this His anger is not turned away,
yet His hand is outstretched.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 7:3 Also, Washer’s Field.
- Isaiah 7:14 Or “maiden,” with the understanding that the maiden is a virgin.
- Isaiah 7:14 Meaning God with us; cf. Matt. 1:23.
- Isaiah 8:1 Lit. The spoil speeds, the prey hastens.
- Isaiah 8:14 cf. Luke 2:34; 20:18; Rom. 9:32-33; 1 Pet. 2:8.
- Isaiah 8:23 Traditional Christian text reads as 9:1-21.
- Isaiah 9:1 cf. Matt. 4:14-16; Luke 1:79.
- Isaiah 9:5 (6a) cf. Luke 2:11; John 3:16.
- Isaiah 9:5 (6b) cf. Matt. 28:18; 1 Cor. 15:24-25.
- Isaiah 9:5 (6c) cf. John 14:26; 15:26.
- Isaiah 9:5 (6e) cf. Luke 2:14; John 14:27.
- Isaiah 9:6 (7a) cf. Luke 1:32-33.
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.