Isaiah 7:15-8

English Standard Version

¹⁵He shall eat ^(A)curds and honey when he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good. ¹⁶^(B)For before the boy knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land whose two kings you dread will be ^(C)deserted. ¹⁷^(D)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 ^(E)Ephraim departed from Judah—the king of Assyria!”

¹⁸In that day the Lord will ^(F)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. ¹⁹And they will all come and settle in the steep ravines, and ^(G)in the clefts of the rocks, and on all the thornbushes, and on all the pastures.^[a]

²⁰In that day ^(H)the Lord will ^(I)shave with a razor that is ^(J)hired beyond ^(K)the River^[b]—with the king of Assyria—the head and the hair of the feet, and it will sweep away the beard also.

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

²³In that day every place where there used to be a thousand vines, worth a thousand shekels^[c] of silver, will become ^(N)briers and thorns. ²⁴^(O)With bow and arrows a man will come there, for all the land will be briers and thorns. ²⁵^(P)And as for all the hills that used to be hoed with a hoe, you will not come there for fear ^(Q)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 ^(R)and write on it in common characters,^[d] ‘Belonging to Maher-shalal-hash-baz.’^[e] ²And ^(S)I will get reliable witnesses, ^(T)Uriah the priest and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah, to attest for me.”

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

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

⁹Be broken,^[g] you peoples, and ^(AH)be shattered;^[h]
    give ear, all you far countries;
strap on your armor and be shattered;
    strap on your armor and be shattered.
¹⁰Take counsel together, but it will come to nothing;
    speak a word, ^(AI)but it will not stand,
    for God ^(AJ)is with us.^[i]

Fear God, Wait for the Lord

¹¹For the Lord spoke thus to me with his strong hand upon me, and ^(AK)warned me not to walk in the way of this people, saying: ¹²“Do not call ^(AL)conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and ^(AM)do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread. ¹³But the Lord of hosts, ^(AN)him you shall honor as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. ¹⁴And he will become a ^(AO)sanctuary and ^(AP)a stone of offense and a rock of stumbling to both houses of Israel, a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. ¹⁵And many ^(AQ)shall stumble on it. They shall fall and be broken; they shall be snared and taken.”