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.”

Wives and Husbands

3 Likewise, wives, ^(A)be subject to your own husbands, so that ^(B)even if some do not obey the word, ^(C)they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives, ² when they see your ^(D)respectful and pure conduct. ^3 (E)Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— ⁴ but let your adorning be ^(F)the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious. ⁵ For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their own husbands, ⁶ as Sarah obeyed Abraham, ^(G)calling him lord. And you are her children, if you do good and ^(H)do not fear anything that is frightening.

⁷ Likewise, ^(I)husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker ^(J)vessel, since they are heirs with you^[a] of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.

Suffering for Righteousness' Sake

⁸ Finally, all of you, ^(K)have unity of mind, sympathy, ^(L)brotherly love, ^(M)a tender heart, and ^(N)a humble mind. ^9 (O)Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, ^(P)bless, for ^(Q)to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing. ¹⁰ For

¹³ Now ^(S)who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? ^14 (T)But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you will be blessed. ^(U)Have no fear of them, ^(V)nor be troubled, ¹⁵ but ^(W)in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, ^(X)always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and ^(Y)respect, ^16 (Z)having a good conscience, so that, ^(AA)when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. ¹⁷ For ^(AB)it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God's will, than for doing evil.

¹⁸ For Christ also ^(AC)suffered^{[b] (AD)}once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, ^(AE)that he might bring us to God, being put to death ^(AF)in the flesh but made alive ^(AG)in the spirit, ¹⁹ in which^[c] he went and ^(AH)proclaimed^[d] to the spirits in prison, ²⁰ because^[e] they formerly did not obey, ^(AI)when God's patience waited in the days of Noah, ^(AJ)while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, ^(AK)eight persons, were brought safely through water. ²¹ Baptism, which corresponds to this, ^(AL)now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but ^(AM)as an appeal to God for a good conscience, ^(AN)through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, ²² who has gone into heaven and ^(AO)is at the right hand of God, ^(AP)with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.