Isaiah 7
The Message
A Virgin Will Bear a Son
7 1-2 During the time that Ahaz son of Jotham, son of Uzziah, was king of Judah, King Rezin of Aram and King Pekah son of Remaliah of Israel attacked Jerusalem, but the attack sputtered out. When the Davidic government learned that Aram had joined forces with Ephraim (that is, Israel), Ahaz and his people were badly shaken. They shook like trees in the wind.
3-6 Then God told Isaiah, “Go and meet Ahaz. Take your son Shear-jashub (A-Remnant-Will-Return) with you. Meet him south of the city at the end of the aqueduct where it empties into the upper pool on the road to the public laundry. Tell him, Listen, calm down. Don’t be afraid. And don’t panic over these two burnt-out cases, Rezin of Aram and the son of Remaliah. They talk big but there’s nothing to them. Aram, along with Ephraim’s son of Remaliah, have plotted to do you harm. They’ve conspired against you, saying, ‘Let’s go to war against Judah, dismember it, take it for ourselves, and set the son of Tabeel up as a puppet king over it.’
7-9 But God, the Master, says,
“It won’t happen.
Nothing will come of it
Because the capital of Aram is Damascus
and the king of Damascus is a mere man, Rezin.
As for Ephraim, in sixty-five years
it will be rubble, nothing left of it.
The capital of Ephraim is Samaria,
and the king of Samaria is the mere son of Remaliah.
If you don’t take your stand in faith,
you won’t have a leg to stand on.”
* * *
10-11 God spoke again to Ahaz. This time he said, “Ask for a sign from your God. Ask anything. Be extravagant. Ask for the moon!”
12 But Ahaz said, “I’d never do that. I’d never make demands like that on God!”
13-17 So Isaiah told him, “Then listen to this, government of David! It’s bad enough that you make people tired with your pious, timid hypocrisies, but now you’re making God tired. So the Master is going to give you a sign anyway. Watch for this: A girl who is presently a virgin will get pregnant. She’ll bear a son and name him Immanuel (God-With-Us). By the time the child is twelve years old, able to make moral decisions, the threat of war will be over. Relax, those two kings that have you so worried will be out of the picture. But also be warned: God will bring on you and your people and your government a judgment worse than anything since the time the kingdom split, when Ephraim left Judah. The king of Assyria is coming!”
18-19 That’s when God will whistle for the flies at the headwaters of Egypt’s Nile, and whistle for the bees in the land of Assyria. They’ll come and infest every nook and cranny of this country. There’ll be no getting away from them.
20 And that’s when the Master will take the razor rented from across the Euphrates—the king of Assyria no less!—and shave the hair off your heads and genitals, leaving you shamed, exposed, and denuded. He’ll shave off your beards while he’s at it.
21-22 It will be a time when survivors will count themselves lucky to have a cow and a couple of sheep. At least they’ll have plenty of milk! Whoever’s left in the land will learn to make do with the simplest foods—curds, whey, and honey.
23-25 But that’s not the end of it. This country that used to be covered with fine vineyards—thousands of them, worth millions!—will revert to a weed patch. Weeds and thornbushes everywhere! Good for nothing except, perhaps, hunting rabbits. Cattle and sheep will forage as best they can in the fields of weeds—but there won’t be a trace of all those fertile and well-tended gardens and fields.
* * *
Isaías 7
La Biblia de las Américas
Mensaje a Acaz
7 Y aconteció que en los días de Acaz, hijo de Jotam, hijo de Uzías, rey de Judá(A), subió Rezín, rey de Aram(B), con Peka, hijo de Remalías(C), rey de Israel, a Jerusalén para combatir contra ella, pero no pudieron tomarla[a](D). 2 Y se dio aviso a la casa de David(E), diciendo: Los arameos han acampado en[b] Efraín(F). Y se estremeció el corazón del rey[c] y el corazón de su pueblo como se estremecen los árboles del bosque ante el viento(G).
3 Entonces el Señor dijo a Isaías: Sal ahora al encuentro de Acaz, tú, y tu hijo Sear-jasub[d], al extremo del acueducto del estanque superior, en la calzada del campo del Batanero[e](H), 4 y dile: «Estate alerta, y ten calma(I); no temas(J) ni desmaye tu corazón(K) ante estos dos cabos de tizones humeantes(L), a causa de la ira encendida de Rezín de Aram y del hijo de Remalías(M). 5 Porque Aram(N) ha tramado mal contra ti, junto con Efraín y el hijo de Remalías, diciendo: 6 “Subamos contra Judá y aterroricémosla[f], hagamos una brecha en sus murallas[g] y pongamos por rey en medio de ella al hijo de Tabeel”. 7 Por tanto, así dice el Señor Dios[h]: “No prevalecerá ni se cumplirá(O). 8 Porque la cabeza de Aram es Damasco(P), y la cabeza de Damasco es Rezín (y dentro de otros sesenta y cinco años Efraín será destrozado, dejando de ser pueblo), 9 y la cabeza de Efraín es Samaria, y la cabeza de Samaria es el hijo de Remalías. Si no creéis, de cierto no permaneceréis[i](Q)”».
10 El Señor habló de nuevo a Acaz, diciendo: 11 Pide para ti una señal(R) del Señor tu Dios que sea tan profunda como el Seol[j] o tan alta[k] como el cielo[l]. 12 Pero Acaz respondió: No pediré, ni tentaré al Señor. 13 Entonces Isaías dijo: Oíd ahora, casa de David(S): ¿Os parece poco cansar a los hombres(T), que también cansaréis a mi Dios(U)? 14 Por tanto, el Señor mismo os dará una señal: He aquí, una virgen[m] concebirá y dará a luz un hijo, y le pondrá por nombre Emmanuel[n](V). 15 Comerá cuajada y miel(W) hasta que sepa lo suficiente[o] para desechar lo malo y escoger lo bueno. 16 Porque antes que el niño sepa desechar lo malo y escoger lo bueno(X), será abandonada la tierra cuyos dos reyes tú temes(Y). 17 El Señor hará venir sobre ti, sobre tu pueblo y sobre la casa de tu padre(Z), días como nunca han venido desde el día en que Efraín se apartó de Judá, es decir, al rey de Asiria(AA). 18 Y sucederá en aquel día que el Señor silbará(AB) a la mosca que está en lo más remoto(AC) de los ríos[p] de Egipto, y a la abeja que está en la tierra de Asiria; 19 y todas ellas vendrán y se posarán en los precipicios de las barrancas[q], en las hendiduras de las peñas(AD), en todos los espinos(AE) y en todos los abrevaderos[r].
20 En aquel día, con navaja(AF) alquilada(AG) en las regiones más allá del Eufrates[s], es decir, con el rey de Asiria(AH), el Señor afeitará(AI) a Israel la cabeza y el pelo de las piernas, y también le quitará la barba.
21 En[t] aquel día cada uno criará una novilla y un par de ovejas(AJ); 22 y[u] por la abundancia de leche que darán, comerá cuajada, porque todo el que quede en[v] la tierra comerá cuajada y miel(AK). 23 En[w] aquel día, en todo lugar donde había mil vides(AL) valoradas en mil siclos de plata, habrá zarzas y espinos(AM). 24 Se irá allá con arcos y flechas, porque toda la tierra será zarzas y espinos. 25 Y en cuanto a todas las colinas que eran cultivadas con la azada, no irás allá por temor de las zarzas y espinos; se convertirán en lugar para soltar[x] los bueyes y para ser hollado por las ovejas(AN).
Footnotes
- Isaías 7:1 Lit., pelear contra ella
- Isaías 7:2 Lit., Aram se ha asentado sobre
- Isaías 7:2 Lit., su corazón
- Isaías 7:3 I.e., un remanente volverá
- Isaías 7:3 O, Lavandero
- Isaías 7:6 Lit., causémosle un terror pánico
- Isaías 7:6 Lit., en ella
- Isaías 7:7 Heb., YHWH, generalmente traducido Señor
- Isaías 7:9 O, seréis afirmados
- Isaías 7:11 I.e., región de los muertos
- Isaías 7:11 Así en algunas versiones antiguas; en el T.M., haz la petición profunda o alta
- Isaías 7:11 Lit., las alturas
- Isaías 7:14 O, doncella
- Isaías 7:14 I.e., Dios con nosotros
- Isaías 7:15 Lit., miel conforme a su conocimiento
- Isaías 7:18 I.e., el delta del Nilo
- Isaías 7:19 O, de los torrentes
- Isaías 7:19 O, pastos
- Isaías 7:20 Lit., río
- Isaías 7:21 Lit., Y sucederá en
- Isaías 7:22 Lit., y sucederá que
- Isaías 7:22 Lit., en medio de
- Isaías 7:23 Lit., Y sucederá en
- Isaías 7:25 Lit., enviar
Isaiah 7
New King James Version
Isaiah Sent to King Ahaz(A)
7 Now it came to pass in the days of (B)Ahaz the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin king of Syria and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up to Jerusalem to make war against (C)it, but could not [a]prevail against it. 2 And it was told to the house of David, saying, “Syria’s forces are [b]deployed in Ephraim.” So his heart and the heart of his people were moved as the trees of the woods are moved with the wind.
3 Then the Lord said to Isaiah, “Go out now to meet Ahaz, you and [c]Shear-Jashub your son, at the end of the aqueduct from the upper pool, on the highway to the Fuller’s Field, 4 and say to him: [d]‘Take heed, and [e]be (D)quiet; do not fear or be fainthearted for these two stubs of smoking firebrands, for the fierce anger of Rezin and Syria, and the son of Remaliah. 5 Because Syria, Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah have plotted evil against you, saying, 6 “Let us go up against Judah and [f]trouble it, and let us make a gap in its wall for ourselves, and set a king over them, the son of Tabel”— 7 thus says the Lord God:
(E)“It shall not stand,
Nor shall it come to pass.
8 (F)For the head of Syria is Damascus,
And the head of Damascus is Rezin.
Within sixty-five years Ephraim will be [g]broken,
So that it will not be a people.
9 The head of Ephraim is Samaria,
And the head of Samaria is Remaliah’s son.
(G)If you will not believe,
Surely you shall not be established.” ’ ”
The Immanuel Prophecy
10 Moreover the Lord spoke again to Ahaz, saying, 11 (H)“Ask a sign for yourself from the Lord your God; [h]ask it either in the depth or in the height above.”
12 But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, nor will I test the Lord!”
13 Then he said, “Hear now, O house of David! Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will you weary my God also? 14 Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: (I)Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear (J)a Son, and shall call His name (K)Immanuel.[i] 15 Curds and honey He shall eat, that He may know to refuse the evil and choose the good. 16 (L)For before the Child shall know to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land that you dread will be forsaken by (M)both her kings. 17 (N)The Lord will bring the king of Assyria upon you and your people and your father’s house—days that have not come since the day that (O)Ephraim departed from Judah.”
18 And it shall come to pass in that day
That the Lord (P)will whistle for the fly
That is in the farthest part of the rivers of Egypt,
And for the bee that is in the land of Assyria.
19 They will come, and all of them will rest
In the desolate valleys and in (Q)the clefts of the rocks,
And on all thorns and in all pastures.
20 In the same day the Lord will shave with a (R)hired (S)razor,
With those from beyond [j]the River, with the king of Assyria,
The head and the hair of the legs,
And will also remove the beard.
21 It shall be in that day
That a man will keep alive a young cow and two sheep;
22 So it shall be, from the abundance of milk they give,
That he will eat curds;
For curds and honey everyone will eat who is left in the land.
23 It shall happen in that day,
That wherever there could be a thousand vines
Worth a thousand shekels of silver,
(T)It will be for briers and thorns.
24 With arrows and bows men will come there,
Because all the land will become briers and thorns.
25 And to any hill which could be dug with the hoe,
You will not go there for fear of briers and thorns;
But it will become a range for oxen
And a place for sheep to roam.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 7:1 conquer it
- Isaiah 7:2 Lit. settled upon
- Isaiah 7:3 Lit. A Remnant Shall Return
- Isaiah 7:4 Be careful
- Isaiah 7:4 be calm
- Isaiah 7:6 cause a sickening dread
- Isaiah 7:8 Lit. shattered
- Isaiah 7:11 Lit. make the request deep or make it high above
- Isaiah 7:14 Lit. God-With-Us
- Isaiah 7:20 The Euphrates
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
