Trouble With Aram

7 Ahaz was the son of Jotham, who was the son of Uzziah. Rezin was the king of Aram, Pekah son of Remaliah^[a] was the king of Israel. When Ahaz was king of Judah, Rezin and Pekah went up to Jerusalem to attack it, but they were not able to defeat the city.^[b]

² The family of David received a message that said, “The armies of Aram and Ephraim have joined together in one camp.” When King Ahaz heard this message, he and the people became frightened. They shook with fear like trees of the forest blowing in the wind.

³ Then the Lord told Isaiah, “You and your son Shear Jashub^[c] should go out and talk to Ahaz. Go to the place where the water flows into the Upper Pool,^[d] on the street that leads up to Laundryman’s Field.

⁴ “Tell Ahaz, ‘Be careful, but be calm. Don’t be afraid. Don’t let those two men, Rezin and Remaliah’s son,^[e] frighten you! They are like two burning sticks. They might be hot now, but soon they will be nothing but smoke. Rezin, Aram, and Remaliah’s son became angry ⁵ and made plans against you. They said, ⁶ “Let’s go fight against Judah and divide it among ourselves. Then we will make Tabeel’s son the new king of Judah.”’”

⁷ But the Lord God says, “Their plan will not succeed. It will not happen ⁸ because Aram depends on its capital Damascus, and Damascus is led by its weak king Rezin. And don’t worry about Ephraim. Within 65 years it will be crushed, no longer a nation. ⁹ Ephraim depends on its capital Samaria, and Samaria is led by Remaliah’s son. So you have no reason to fear. Believe this, or you will not survive.”

Immanuel—God Is With Us

¹⁰ Then the Lord spoke to Ahaz again ¹¹ and said, “Ask for a sign from the Lord your God to prove to yourself that this is true. You can ask for any sign you want. The sign can come from a place as deep as Sheol^[f] or as high as the skies.^[g]”

¹² But Ahaz said, “I will not ask for a sign as proof. I will not test the Lord.”

¹³ Then Isaiah said, “Family of David, listen very carefully! Is it not enough that you would test the patience of humans? Will you now test the patience of my God? ¹⁴ But the Lord will still show you this sign:

¹⁷ “But the Lord will bring troubled times to you. These troubles will be worse than anything that has happened since the time Israel separated from Judah. This will happen to your people and to your father’s family when God brings the king of Assyria to fight against you.

¹⁸ “At that time the Lord will call for the ‘Fly’ that is now near the streams of Egypt, and he will call for the ‘Bee’ that is now in the country of Assyria. Those enemies will come to your country. ¹⁹ They will settle in the deep valleys and in the caves, by the thornbushes and watering holes. ²⁰ The Lord will use Assyria to punish Judah. Assyria will be hired and used like a razor to shave off Judah’s beard and to remove the hair from his head and body.^[k]

²¹ “At that time someone might keep only one young cow and two sheep alive. ²² But there will be enough milk for them to eat milk curds. In fact, everyone left in the country will eat milk curds and honey. ²³ There are now fields that have 1000 grapevines, and each grapevine is worth 1000 pieces of silver. But those fields will be covered with weeds and thorns. ²⁴ That land will be wild and used only as a hunting ground where people go with bows and arrows. ²⁵ People once worked the soil and grew food on these hills, but at that time they will not go there, because the fields will be covered with weeds and thorns. It will be a place where cattle graze and sheep wander.”

Assyria Is Coming Soon

8 The Lord told me, “Get a large scroll,^[l] and use an ordinary pen^[m] to write these words: ‘This is for Maher Shalal Hash Baz.’^[n]”

² I found some men who could be trusted to serve as witnesses: Uriah the priest and Zechariah son of Jeberekiah. They watched me write those words. ³ Then I went to my wife, the woman prophet. She became pregnant and had a son. The Lord told me, “Name the boy Maher Shalal Hash Baz.” ⁴ He said that because before the boy learns to say “Mama” and “Daddy,” God will take all the wealth and riches from Damascus^[o] and Samaria and give them to the king of Assyria.

⁵ The Lord spoke to me again. ⁶ He said, “These people^[p] refuse to accept the slow-moving waters of Shiloah.^[q] They prefer Rezin and Remaliah’s son.” ⁷ But the Lord will bring the king of Assyria and all his power against them. The Assyrians will come like their swift moving river, like water that rises and spills over its banks. ⁸ This water will be like a flash flood as it passes through Judah. It will rise to Judah’s throat and almost drown him.

But he will spread his wings over your whole country, Immanuel.^[r]

Warnings to Isaiah

¹¹ The Lord spoke to me with his great power and warned^[t] me not to be like these people. He said, ¹² “Don’t think there is a plan against you just because the people say there is. Don’t be afraid of what they fear. Don’t let them frighten you!”

¹³ The Lord All-Powerful is the one you should fear. He is the one you should respect.^[u] He is the one who should frighten you. ¹⁴ If you people would respect him, he would be a safe place^[v] for you. But you don’t respect him, so he is like a stone that you stumble over. He is a rock that makes both families of Israel fall. He has become a trap that all the people of Jerusalem will fall into. ¹⁵ (Many people will trip over this rock. They will fall and be broken. They will be caught in the trap.)

¹⁶ The Lord said, “Write this agreement.^[w] Tie it up and seal it so that it cannot be changed. Give these teachings to my followers for safekeeping.”

¹⁸ Here I am with the children the Lord has given me. We are here as signs from the Lord All-Powerful, who lives on Mount Zion. He is using us to show his plans for the people of Israel.

¹⁹ The people will say, “Go to the fortunetellers and wizards who mumble and chirp like birds. Ask them what to do.” But I say, “Shouldn’t people go to their God for help? Why go to the dead to get help for the living?” ²⁰ You should follow the teachings and the agreement.^[x] I swear, if you follow those other things, there is no future for you. ²¹ When the enemy comes, there will be hard times and hunger. And when he becomes hungry, he will become angry. He will say curses in the name of his king and his gods. Then he will lift his head upwards like a roaring lion. ²² And when the captives turn their faces to the ground, there is only a depressing darkness closing in—the dark sadness of people forced to leave their country.

A New Day Is Coming

9 But there will be an end to the gloom those people suffered. In the past, people thought the land of Zebulun and Naphtali was not important. But later, that land will be honored—the land along the sea, the land east of the Jordan River, and Galilee where people from other nations live.

Israel Has Forgotten the Lord

⁵ “The Israelites will not go back to Egypt. The king of Assyria will become their king, because they refused to turn back to God. ⁶ The sword will swing against their cities and kill their strong men. It will destroy their leaders.

⁷ “My people expect me to come back. They will call to God above, but he will not help them.”^[e]

The Lord Will Not Destroy Israel