The Message to Ahaz

This took place during the reign of Ahaz, son of Jotham, son of Uzziah king of Judah:(A) Rezin king of Aram, along with Pekah, son of Remaliah, king of Israel, waged war against Jerusalem,(B) but he could not succeed. 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.

Then the Lord said to Isaiah, “Go out with your son Shear-jashub(E) to meet Ahaz at the end of the conduit of the upper pool,(F) by the road to the Fuller’s Field. Say to him: Calm down and be quiet. Don’t be afraid or cowardly(G) because of these two smoldering stubs of firebrands, the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram, and the son of Remaliah. For Aram, along with Ephraim and the son of Remaliah, has plotted harm against you. They say, ‘Let us go up against Judah, terrorize it, and conquer it for ourselves. Then we can install Tabeel’s son as king in it.’”

This is what the Lord God says:

It will not happen; it will not occur.(H)
The[b] head of Aram is Damascus,
the head of Damascus is Rezin
(within 65 years
Ephraim will be too shattered to be a people),
the head of Ephraim is Samaria,
and the head 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—from the depths of Sheol to the heights of 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: 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 butter[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 the house of your father, such a time as has never been since Ephraim separated from Judah(O)—the king of Assyria(P) is coming.”

18 On that day(Q)
the Lord will whistle(R) to the fly
that is at the farthest streams of the Nile
and to the bee that is 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 head, the hair on the legs, and to remove the beard as well.

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 butter,
for every survivor in the land will eat butter and honey.(V)

23 And on that day
every place where there were 1,000 vines,
worth 1,000 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.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 7:2 Lit Aram has rested upon Ephraim, his heart
  2. Isaiah 7:8 Lit For the
  3. Isaiah 7:14 In Hb, the word you is pl
  4. Isaiah 7:14 Or virgin is pregnant, will
  5. Isaiah 7:14 = God With Us
  6. Isaiah 7:15 Or sour milk

The Sign to Ahaz

This happened in the days of Ahaz, son of Jotham, son of Uzziah, king of Judah. Rezin, king of Aram, and Pekah, son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went[a] up to Jerusalem for warfare against it,[b] but he was not able to fight against it.[c] When it was reported to the house of David, saying “Aram stands by Ephraim,” his heart and the heart of his people shook like the shaking of the trees of the forest because of the wind.

Then Yahweh said to Isaiah, “Go out to meet Ahaz, you and Shear-Jashub your son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool on the highway of the washer’s field. And you must say to him, ‘Take heed and be quiet! You must not fear, and your heart must not be faint because of these two stumps of smoldering firebrands, because of the fierce anger of[d] Rezin and Aram and the son of Remaliah. Because Aram has plotted evil against you with Ephraim and the son of Remaliah, saying, “Let us go up against Judah and let us tear her apart, and let us lay it open and so bring it unto ourselves,[e] and let us install the son of Tabeel as king in her midst.” Thus says the Lord Yahweh, “It shall not stand, and it shall not come to pass. For the head of Aram is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin, and in sixty-five years from now Ephraim will be too shattered to be a people. And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is the son of Remaliah. If you do not believe then you will not endure.”’”

10 And Yahweh continued to speak to Ahaz, saying, 11 “Ask for a sign for yourself from Yahweh God; make it deep as Sheol or make it high as above.” 12 But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, and I will not put Yahweh to the test.”

13 Then he said, “Hear, house of David! Is it too little for you to make men weary, that you should also make my God weary? 14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you[f] a sign. Look! the virgin[g] is with child and she is about to give birth to a son, and she shall call his name ‘God with us.’ 15 He shall eat curds and honey until he knows to reject the evil and to choose the good. 16 For before the boy knows to reject the evil and to choose the good, the land whose two kings you dread will be abandoned.[h]

That Day

17 “Yahweh will bring on you and on your people and on the house of your ancestor[i] days that have not come since the day Ephraim departed from Judah: the king of Assyria.” 18 And this shall happen: On that day, Yahweh will whistle for the fly that is at the end of the stream of Egypt and the bee that is in the land of Assyria. 19 And all of them will come and settle in the rivers of the cliffs and in the clefts of the rocks and on all of the thornbushes and watering places. 20 On that day, the Lord will shave the head and the hair of the feet with a razor of the one hired from beyond the river—with the king of Assyria—and it will even take off the beard. 21 And this shall happen: on that day, a young man will keep a young cow of the herd and two sheep alive. 22 And this shall happen: because of the abundance of milk production, he will eat curds, for every one that is left in the midst of the land will eat curds and honey. 23 And this shall happen on that day: Every place where there are a thousand vines[j] for a thousand silver pieces will become briers,[k] and it will be thornbushes.[l] 24 One will go there with arrows and bow, for all of the land will be briers[m] and thornbushes.[n] 25 And as for all of the hills that they hoed with the hoe, you will not go there, for fear of briers[o] and thornbushes.[p] And it will become like pastureland for cattle and overtrodden land for sheep.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 7:1 The Hebrew is singular
  2. Isaiah 7:1 Literally “her”
  3. Isaiah 7:1 Literally “her”
  4. Isaiah 7:4 Literally “because of the fierceness of the anger of”
  5. Isaiah 7:6 Literally “and let us break through her to us”
  6. Isaiah 7:14 The Hebrew is plural
  7. Isaiah 7:14 Or “young woman”
  8. Isaiah 7:16 Literally “the land which you dread will be abandoned because of the face of her two kings”
  9. Isaiah 7:17 Or “father”
  10. Isaiah 7:23 Hebrew “vine”
  11. Isaiah 7:23 Hebrew “brier”
  12. Isaiah 7:23 Hebrew “thornbush”
  13. Isaiah 7:24 Hebrew “brier”
  14. Isaiah 7:24 Hebrew “thornbush”
  15. Isaiah 7:25 Hebrew “brier”
  16. Isaiah 7:25 Hebrew “thornbush”