Isaiah 7
Christian Standard Bible
The Message to Ahaz
7 This took place during the reign of Ahaz, son of Jotham, son of Uzziah king of Judah:(A) Aram’s King Rezin and Israel’s King Pekah son of Remaliah went to fight against Jerusalem,(B) but they were not able to conquer it.
2 When it became known to the house of David(C) that Aram had occupied Ephraim,(D) the heart of Ahaz[a] and the hearts of his people trembled like trees of a forest shaking in the wind.
3 The Lord said to Isaiah, “Go out with your son Shear-jashub[b](E) to meet Ahaz at the end of the conduit of the upper pool,(F) by the road to the Launderer’s Field. 4 Say to him: Calm down and be quiet. Don’t be afraid or cowardly(G) because of these two smoldering sticks, the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram, and the son of Remaliah. 5 For Aram, along with Ephraim and the son of Remaliah, has plotted harm against you. They say, 6 ‘Let’s go up against Judah, terrorize it, and conquer it for ourselves. Then we can install Tabeel’s son as king in it.’”
7 This is what the Lord God says:
It will not happen; it will not occur.(H)
8 The chief city of Aram is Damascus,
the chief of Damascus is Rezin
(within sixty-five years
Ephraim will be too shattered to be a people),
9 the chief city of Ephraim is Samaria,
and the chief of Samaria is the son of Remaliah.
If you do not stand firm in your faith,
then you will not stand at all.
The Immanuel Prophecy
10 Then the Lord spoke again to Ahaz: 11 “Ask for a sign(I) from the Lord your God—it can be as deep as Sheol or as high as heaven.”
12 But Ahaz replied, “I will not ask. I will not test the Lord.”
13 Isaiah(J) said, “Listen, house of David! Is it not enough for you to try the patience of men? Will you also try the patience of my God?(K) 14 Therefore, the Lord himself will give you[c] a sign: See, the virgin will conceive,[d] have a son, and name him Immanuel.[e](L) 15 By the time he learns to reject what is bad and choose what is good,(M) he will be eating curds[f] and honey.(N) 16 For before the boy knows to reject what is bad and choose what is good, the land of the two kings you dread will be abandoned. 17 The Lord will bring on you, your people, and your father’s house such a time as has never been since Ephraim separated from Judah:(O) He will bring the king of Assyria.”(P)
18 On that day(Q)
the Lord will whistle(R) to flies
at the farthest streams of the Nile
and to bees in the land of Assyria.
19 All of them will come and settle
in the steep ravines, in the clefts of the rocks,(S)
in all the thornbushes, and in all the water holes.
20 On that day the Lord will use a razor(T) hired from beyond the Euphrates River—the king of Assyria(U)—to shave the hair on your heads, the hair on your legs, and even your beards.
21 On that day
a man will raise a young cow and two sheep,
22 and from the abundant milk they give
he will eat curds,
for every survivor in the land will eat curds and honey.(V)
23 And on that day
every place where there were a thousand vines,
worth a thousand pieces of silver,
will become thorns and briers.(W)
24 A man will go there with bow and arrows
because the whole land will be thorns and briers.
25 You will not go to all the hills
that were once tilled with a hoe,
for fear of the thorns and briers.
Those hills will be places for oxen to graze
and for sheep to trample.
Isaiah 7
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Isaiah Reassures King Ahaz
7 In the days of Ahaz son of Jotham son of Uzziah, king of Judah, King Rezin of Aram and King Pekah son of Remaliah of Israel went up to attack Jerusalem but could not conquer it.(A) 2 When the house of David heard that Aram had allied itself with Ephraim, the heart of Ahaz[a] and the heart of his people shook as the trees of the forest shake before the wind.(B)
3 Then the Lord said to Isaiah, “Go out to meet Ahaz, you and your son Shear-jashub,[b] at the end of the conduit of the upper pool on the highway to the fuller’s field,(C) 4 and say to him: Take heed, be quiet, do not fear, and do not let your heart be faint because of these two smoldering stumps of firebrands, because of the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram and the son of Remaliah.(D) 5 Because Aram—with Ephraim and the son of Remaliah—has plotted evil against you, saying, 6 ‘Let us go up against Judah and terrify it[c] and conquer it for ourselves and make the son of Tabeel king in it’; 7 therefore thus says the Lord God:
It shall not stand,
and it shall not come to pass.(E)
8 For the head of Aram is Damascus,
and the head of Damascus is Rezin.
(Within sixty-five years Ephraim will be shattered, no longer a people.)(F)
9 The head of Ephraim is Samaria,
and the head of Samaria is the son of Remaliah.
If you do not stand firm in faith,
you shall not stand at all.”(G)
Isaiah Gives Ahaz the Sign of Immanuel
10 Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, saying, 11 “Ask a sign of the Lord your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven.”(H) 12 But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test.” 13 Then Isaiah[d] said, “Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary mortals that you weary my God also? 14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son and shall name him Immanuel.[e](I) 15 He shall eat curds and honey by the time he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good.(J) 16 For before the child knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land before whose two kings you are in dread will be deserted.(K) 17 The Lord will bring on you and on your people and on your ancestral house such days as have not come since the day that Ephraim departed from Judah—the king of Assyria.”(L)
18 On that day the Lord will whistle for the fly that is at the sources of the streams of Egypt and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria.(M) 19 And they will all come and settle in the steep ravines and in the clefts of the rocks and on all the thornbushes and on all the watering holes.[f](N)
20 On that day the Lord will shave with a razor hired beyond the River—with the king of Assyria—the head and the hair of the feet, and it will take off the beard as well.(O)
21 On that day one will keep alive a young cow and two sheep 22 and will eat curds because of the abundance of milk that they give, for everyone left in the land shall eat curds and honey.
23 On that day every place where there used to be a thousand vines, worth a thousand shekels of silver, will become briers and thorns. 24 With bow and arrows one will go there, for all the land will be briers and thorns, 25 and as for all the hills that used to be hoed with a hoe, you will not go there for fear of briers and thorns, but they will become a place where cattle are let loose and where sheep tread.
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.