Isaiah 7
GOD’S WORD Translation
The Virgin Will Have a Child
7 When Ahaz, son of Jotham and grandson of Uzziah, was king of Judah, Aram’s King Rezin and Israel’s King Pekah, son of Remaliah, went to Jerusalem to attack it, but they couldn’t defeat it. 2 When word reached David’s family that the Arameans had made an alliance with Ephraim, the hearts of the king and his people were shaken as the trees of the forest are shaken by the wind.
3 Then the Lord said to Isaiah, “Go out with your son Shear Jashub to meet Ahaz at the end of the ditch of the Upper Pool on the road to the Laundryman’s Field. 4 Say to him, ‘Be careful, stay calm, and don’t be afraid. Don’t lose heart because of the fierce anger of Rezin from Aram and Remaliah’s son. These two are smoldering logs.’ 5 Aram, Ephraim, and Remaliah’s son have planned evil against you, saying, 6 ‘Let’s march against Judah, tear it apart, divide it among ourselves, and set up Tabeel’s son as its king.’ 7 This is what the Almighty Lord says:
“It won’t take place; it won’t happen.
8 The capital of Aram is Damascus,
and the leader of Damascus is Rezin.
Ephraim will be shattered within 65 years
so that it will no longer be a nation.
9 The capital of Ephraim is Samaria,
and the leader of Samaria is Remaliah’s son.
If you don’t remain faithful,
you won’t remain standing.”
10 Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, 11 “Ask the Lord your God for a sign. It can be anything you want.”
12 But Ahaz answered, “I won’t ask; I wouldn’t think of testing the Lord.”
13 “Listen now, descendants of David,” Isaiah said. “Isn’t it enough that you try the patience of mortals? Must you also try the patience of my God? 14 So the Lord himself will give you this sign: A virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and she will name him Immanuel [God Is With Us]. 15 He will eat cheese and honey until he knows how to reject evil and choose good. 16 Indeed, before the boy knows how to reject evil and choose good, the land of the two kings who terrify you will be deserted.
17 “The Lord will bring on you, your people, and your ancestor’s family a time unlike any since Ephraim broke away from Judah. ⌞He will bring⌟ the king of Assyria. 18 On that day the Lord will whistle for the flies that are at the distant branches of the Nile River in Egypt and for the bees that are in Assyria. 19 All of them will come and settle in the deep valleys, in the cracks in the cliffs, on all the thornbushes, and at all the water holes.
20 “On that day the Lord will hire the king of Assyria from beyond the Euphrates River to be a razor to shave the hair on your head, the hair on your legs, and even your beard. 21 On that day a person will keep alive a young cow and two sheep. 22 That person will eat cheese, because they will produce so much milk. Everyone who is left in the land will eat cheese and honey. 23 On that day, in every place where there were 1,000 vines (worth 1,000 pieces of silver), there will be briars and thorns. 24 People will come there with bows and arrows ⌞to hunt⌟ because the whole land will be filled with briars and thorns. 25 And you will no longer be able to go to all the hills which used to be cultivated because they will be filled with briars and thorns. It will be a place for turning oxen loose and letting sheep run.”
Isaiah 7
English Standard Version
Isaiah Sent to King Ahaz
7 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. 2 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.
3 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. 4 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. 5 Because Syria, with Ephraim and (L)the son of Remaliah, has devised evil against you, saying, 6 “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,” 7 thus says the Lord God:
(M)“‘It shall not stand,
and it shall not come to pass.
8 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.
9 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
- Isaiah 7:2 Hebrew Syria has rested upon
- Isaiah 7:2 Hebrew his heart
- Isaiah 7:3 Shear-jashub means A remnant shall return
- Isaiah 7:6 Hebrew let us split it open
- Isaiah 7:9 The Hebrew for you is plural in verses 9, 13, 14
- Isaiah 7:11 The Hebrew for you and your is singular in verses 11, 16, 17
- Isaiah 7:13 That is, Isaiah
- Isaiah 7:14 Immanuel means God is with us
- Isaiah 7:19 Or watering holes, or brambles
- Isaiah 7:20 That is, the Euphrates
- Isaiah 7:23 A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams
Isaiah 7
Holman Christian Standard Bible
The Message to Ahaz
7 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. 2 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.
3 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. 4 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. 5 For Aram, along with Ephraim and the son of Remaliah, has plotted harm against you. They say, 6 ‘Let us go up against Judah, terrorize it, and conquer it for ourselves. Then we can install Tabeel’s son as king in it.’”
7 This is what the Lord God says:
It will not happen; it will not occur.(H)
8 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),
9 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
- Isaiah 7:2 Lit Aram has rested upon Ephraim, his heart
- Isaiah 7:8 Lit For the
- Isaiah 7:14 In Hb, the word you is pl
- Isaiah 7:14 Or virgin is pregnant, will
- Isaiah 7:14 = God With Us
- Isaiah 7:15 Or sour milk
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