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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”

Isaiah Sent to King Ahaz

In the days of (A)Ahaz the son of Jotham, son of Uzziah, king of Judah, (B)Rezin the king of Syria and (C)Pekah the son of Remaliah the king of Israel came up to Jerusalem to wage war against it, but could not yet mount an attack against it. When the house of David was told, (D)“Syria is in league with[a] (E)Ephraim,” the heart of Ahaz[b] and the heart of his people shook as the trees of the forest shake before the wind.

And the Lord said to Isaiah, “Go out to meet Ahaz, you and (F)Shear-jashub[c] your son, at the end of (G)the conduit of the upper pool on the highway to the Washer's Field. And say to him, (H)‘Be careful, (I)be quiet, do not fear, and do not let your heart be faint because of these two (J)smoldering stumps of firebrands, at the fierce anger of Rezin and Syria and (K)the son of Remaliah. Because Syria, with Ephraim and (L)the son of Remaliah, has devised evil against you, saying, “Let us go up against Judah and terrify it, and let us conquer it[d] for ourselves, and set up the son of Tabeel as king in the midst of it,” thus says the Lord God:

(M)“‘It shall not stand,
    and it shall not come to pass.
For the head of Syria is (N)Damascus,
    and the head of Damascus is Rezin.
And within sixty-five years
    Ephraim will be shattered from being a people.
And the head of Ephraim is Samaria,
    and the head of Samaria is (O)the son of Remaliah.
(P)If you[e] are not firm in faith,
    you will not be firm at all.’”

The Sign of Immanuel

10 Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz: 11 “Ask (Q)a sign of the Lord your[f] 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[g] said, “Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary men, that you (R)weary my God also? 14 Therefore the (S)Lord himself will give you a sign. (T)Behold, the (U)virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name (V)Immanuel.[h] 15 He shall eat (W)curds and honey when he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good. 16 (X)For before the boy knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land whose two kings you dread will be (Y)deserted. 17 (Z)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 (AA)Ephraim departed from Judah—the king of Assyria!”

18 In that day the Lord will (AB)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 (AC)in the clefts of the rocks, and on all the thornbushes, and on all the pastures.[i]

20 In that day (AD)the Lord will (AE)shave with a razor that is (AF)hired beyond (AG)the River[j]—with the king of Assyria—the head and the hair of the feet, and it will sweep away the beard also.

21 (AH)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 (AI)curds and honey.

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

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 7:2 Hebrew Syria has rested upon
  2. Isaiah 7:2 Hebrew his heart
  3. Isaiah 7:3 Shear-jashub means A remnant shall return
  4. Isaiah 7:6 Hebrew let us split it open
  5. Isaiah 7:9 The Hebrew for you is plural in verses 9, 13, 14
  6. Isaiah 7:11 The Hebrew for you and your is singular in verses 11, 16, 17
  7. Isaiah 7:13 That is, Isaiah
  8. Isaiah 7:14 Immanuel means God is with us
  9. Isaiah 7:19 Or watering holes, or brambles
  10. Isaiah 7:20 That is, the Euphrates
  11. Isaiah 7:23 A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams