War against Jerusalem

7 Now it came about in the days of ^(A)Ahaz, the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that ^(B)Rezin the king of Aram and ^(C)Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up to Jerusalem to wage war against it, but ^(D)could not ^[a]conquer it. ² When it was reported to the ^(E)house of David, saying, “The Arameans ^(F)have taken a stand by ^(G)Ephraim,” his heart and the hearts of his people shook as the trees of the forest shake from the wind.

³ Then the Lord said to Isaiah, “Go out now to meet Ahaz, you and your son ^[b]Shear-jashub, at the end of the ^(H)conduit of the upper pool, on the road to the ^[c]fuller’s field, ⁴ and say to him, ‘Take care and be ^(I)calm, have no ^(J)fear and ^(K)do not be fainthearted because of these two stumps of smoldering ^(L)logs, on account of the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram and the ^(M)son of Remaliah. ⁵ Because ^(N)Aram, with Ephraim and the son of Remaliah, has planned evil against you, saying, ⁶ “Let’s go up against Judah and ^[d]terrorize it, and take it for ourselves by assault and set up the son of Tabeel as king in the midst of it,” ⁷ this is what the Lord ^[e]God says: “^(O)It shall not stand nor shall it come to pass. ⁸ For the head of Aram is ^(P)Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin (now within another sixty-five years Ephraim will be broken to pieces, so that it is no longer a people), ⁹ and the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is the son of Remaliah. ^(Q)If you will not believe, you certainly shall not ^[f]last.”’”

The Child Immanuel

¹⁰ Then the Lord spoke again to Ahaz, saying, ¹¹ “Ask for a ^(R)sign for yourself from the Lord your God; ^[g]make it deep as Sheol or high as ^[h]heaven.” ¹² But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, nor will I put the Lord to the test!” ¹³ Then he said, “Listen now, ^(S)house of David! Is it too trivial a thing for you to ^[i]try the patience of men, that you will ^[j](T)try the patience of ^(U)my God as well? ¹⁴ Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, ^(V)the ^[k]virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and she will name Him ^[l](W)Immanuel. ¹⁵ He will eat ^[m](X)curds and honey ^[n]at the time He knows enough to refuse evil and choose good. ^16 (Y)For before the boy knows enough to refuse evil and choose good, ^(Z)the land whose two kings you dread will be abandoned.

Trials to Come for Judah

¹⁷ The Lord will bring on you, on your people, and on your father’s house such days as have not come since the day that ^(AA)Ephraim separated from Judah—the days of the ^(AB)king of Assyria.”

¹⁸ On that day the Lord will ^(AC)whistle for the fly that is in the ^[o](AD)remotest part of the canals of Egypt and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria. ¹⁹ They will all come and settle on the steep ^[p]ravines, on the ^(AE)ledges of the cliffs, ^(AF)on all the thorn bushes, and on all the watering places.

²⁰ On that day the Lord will ^(AG)shave with a ^(AH)razor, ^(AI)hired from regions beyond ^(AJ)the Euphrates River (that is, with the king of Assyria), the head and the hair of the legs; and it will also remove the beard.

²¹ Now on that day a person may keep alive only a ^(AK)heifer and a pair of sheep; ²² and because of the abundance of the milk produced he will eat ^[q]curds, for everyone who is left within the land will eat ^[r](AL)curds and honey.

²³ And it will come about on that day, ^(AM)that every place where there used to be a thousand vines, valued at a thousand shekels of silver, will become ^(AN)briars and thorns. ²⁴ People will come there with bows and arrows, because all the land will be briars and thorns. ²⁵ As for all the hills which used to be cultivated with the plow, you will not go there for fear of briars and thorns; but they will become a place for ^[s](AO)pasturing oxen and for sheep to trample.

The Testing of Your Faith

1 ^[a](A)James, a ^(B)bond-servant of God and ^(C)of the Lord Jesus Christ,

To ^(D)the twelve tribes who are ^[b](E)dispersed abroad: ^(F)Greetings.

^2 (G)Consider it all joy, my brothers and sisters, when you encounter ^(H)various ^[c]trials, ³ knowing that ^(I)the testing of your ^(J)faith produces ^[d](K)endurance. ⁴ And let ^[e](L)endurance have its perfect ^[f]result, so that you may be ^[g](M)perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

⁵ But if any of you ^(N)lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and ^[h]without reproach, and ^(O)it will be given to him. ⁶ But he must ^(P)ask in faith ^(Q)without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, ^(R)driven and tossed by the wind. ⁷ For that person ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, ⁸ being a ^[i](S)double-minded man, ^(T)unstable in all his ways.

^9 (U)Now the brother or sister of humble circumstances is to glory in his high position; ¹⁰ but the rich person is to glory in his ^[j]humiliation, because ^(V)like ^[k]flowering grass he will pass away. ¹¹ For the sun rises with ^(W)its scorching heat and ^(X)withers the grass; and its flower falls off and the beauty of its appearance is destroyed; so also the rich person, in the midst of his pursuits, will die out.

^12 (Y)Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has ^[l]been approved, he will receive ^(Z)the crown of life which the Lord ^(AA)has promised to those who ^(AB)love Him. ¹³ No one is to say when he is tempted, “^(AC)I am being tempted ^[m]by God”; for God cannot be tempted ^[n]by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. ¹⁴ But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. ¹⁵ Then ^(AD)when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and ^(AE)sin, when it has run its course, brings forth death. ^16 (AF)Do not be ^[o]deceived, ^(AG)my beloved brothers and sisters. ¹⁷ Every good thing given and every perfect gift is ^(AH)from above, coming down from ^(AI)the Father of lights, ^(AJ)with whom there is no variation or ^[p]shifting shadow. ¹⁸ In the exercise of ^(AK)His will He ^(AL)gave us birth by ^(AM)the word of truth, so that we would be ^[q]a kind of ^(AN)first fruits ^[r]among His creatures.

^19 [s](AO)You know this, ^(AP)my beloved brothers and sisters. Now everyone must be quick to hear, ^(AQ)slow to speak, and ^(AR)slow to anger; ²⁰ for a man’s ^(AS)anger does not bring about the righteousness of God. ²¹ Therefore, ^(AT)ridding yourselves of all filthiness and all ^[t]that remains of wickedness, in ^[u]humility receive ^(AU)the word implanted, which is able to save your souls. ^22 (AV)But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not just hearers who deceive themselves. ²³ For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his ^[v]natural face ^(AW)in a mirror; ²⁴ for once he has looked at himself and gone away, ^[w]he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. ²⁵ But one who has looked intently at the perfect law, ^(AX)the law of freedom, and has continued in it, not having become a forgetful hearer but ^[x]an active doer, this person will be ^(AY)blessed in ^[y]what he does.

²⁶ If anyone thinks himself to be religious, yet does not ^[z](AZ)bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this person’s religion is worthless. ²⁷ Pure and undefiled religion ^(BA)in the sight of our God and Father is this: to ^(BB)visit ^(BC)orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained ^[aa]by ^(BD)the world.