The Sign of Immanuel

¹⁰ Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz: ¹¹ “Ask ^(A)a sign of the Lord your^[a] God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven.” ¹² But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test.” ¹³ And he^[b] said, “Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary men, that you ^(B)weary my God also? ¹⁴ Therefore the ^(C)Lord himself will give you a sign. ^(D)Behold, the ^(E)virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name ^(F)Immanuel.^{[c] 15} He shall eat ^(G)curds and honey when he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good. ^16 (H)For before the boy knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land whose two kings you dread will be ^(I)deserted. ^17 (J)The Lord will bring upon you and upon your people and upon your father's house such days as have not come since the day that ^(K)Ephraim departed from Judah—the king of Assyria!”

¹⁸ In that day the Lord will ^(L)whistle for the fly that is at the end of the streams of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria. ¹⁹ And they will all come and settle in the steep ravines, and ^(M)in the clefts of the rocks, and on all the thornbushes, and on all the pastures.^[d]

²⁰ In that day ^(N)the Lord will ^(O)shave with a razor that is ^(P)hired beyond ^(Q)the River^[e]—with the king of Assyria—the head and the hair of the feet, and it will sweep away the beard also.

^21 (R)In that day a man will keep alive a young cow and two sheep, ²² and because of the abundance of milk that they give, he will eat curds, for everyone who is left in the land will eat ^(S)curds and honey.

²³ In that day every place where there used to be a thousand vines, worth a thousand shekels^[f] of silver, will become ^(T)briers and thorns. ^24 (U)With bow and arrows a man will come there, for all the land will be briers and thorns. ^25 (V)And as for all the hills that used to be hoed with a hoe, you will not come there for fear ^(W)of briers and thorns, but they will become a place where cattle are let loose and where sheep tread.

The Coming Assyrian Invasion

8 Then the Lord said to me, “Take a large tablet ^(X)and write on it in common characters,^[g] ‘Belonging to Maher-shalal-hash-baz.’^{[h] 2} And ^(Y)I will get reliable witnesses, ^(Z)Uriah the priest and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah, to attest for me.”

³ And I went to the prophetess, and she conceived and bore a son. Then the Lord said to me, ^(AA)“Call his name Maher-shalal-hash-baz; ^4 (AB)for before the boy knows how to cry ‘My father’ or ‘My mother,’ the ^(AC)wealth of ^(AD)Damascus and the spoil of ^(AE)Samaria will be carried away before the king of Assyria.”

⁵ The Lord spoke to me again: ⁶ “Because this people has refused the waters of ^(AF)Shiloah that flow gently, and rejoice over ^(AG)Rezin and the son of Remaliah, ⁷ therefore, behold, the Lord is bringing up against them ^(AH)the waters of ^(AI)the River,^[i] mighty and many, the king of Assyria and all his glory. And it ^(AJ)will rise over all its channels and go over all its banks, ⁸ and it will sweep on into Judah, it will overflow and pass on, ^(AK)reaching even to the neck, and its ^(AL)outspread wings will fill the breadth of your land, ^(AM)O Immanuel.”

The Law and the Promise

^15 (A)To give a human example, brothers:^{[a] (B)}even with a man-made covenant, no one annuls it or adds to it once it has been ratified. ¹⁶ Now ^(C)the promises were made ^(D)to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, ^(E)“And to your offspring,” who is Christ. ¹⁷ This is what I mean: the law, which came ^(F)430 years afterward, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as ^(G)to make the promise void. ¹⁸ For if the inheritance comes by the law, it no longer comes by promise; but ^(H)God gave it to Abraham by a promise.

¹⁹ Why then the law? ^(I)It was added because of transgressions, ^(J)until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made, and it was ^(K)put in place through angels ^(L)by an intermediary. ²⁰ Now ^(M)an intermediary implies more than one, but ^(N)God is one.

²¹ Is the law then contrary to the promises of God? Certainly not! For ^(O)if a law had been given that could give life, then righteousness would indeed be by the law. ²² But the Scripture ^(P)imprisoned everything under sin, so that ^(Q)the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given ^(R)to those who believe.

²³ Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, ^(S)imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. ²⁴ So then, ^(T)the law was our ^(U)guardian until Christ came, ^(V)in order that we might be justified by faith. ²⁵ But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, ²⁶ for in Christ Jesus ^(W)you are all sons of God, through faith. ²⁷ For as many of you as ^(X)were baptized ^(Y)into Christ have ^(Z)put on Christ. ^28 (AA)There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave^[b] nor free, ^(AB)there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. ²⁹ And ^(AC)if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, ^(AD)heirs according to promise.