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And it came to pass in the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin the king of Syria, and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up to Jerusalem to war against it, but could not prevail against it. And it was told the house of David, saying, Syria [a]is confederate with Ephraim. And his heart trembled, and the heart of his people, as the trees of the forest tremble with the wind.

Then said Jehovah unto Isaiah, Go forth now to meet Ahaz, thou, and [b]Shear-jashub thy son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool, in the highway of the fuller’s field; and say unto him, Take heed, and be quiet; fear not, neither let thy heart be faint, because of these two tails of smoking firebrands, for the fierce anger of Rezin and Syria, and of the son of Remaliah. Because Syria, Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah, have purposed evil against thee, saying, Let us go up against Judah, and vex it, and let us make a breach therein for us, and set up a king in the midst of it, even the son of Tabeel; thus saith the Lord Jehovah, It shall not stand, neither shall it come to pass. For the head of Syria is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin; and within threescore and five years shall Ephraim be broken in pieces, so that it shall not be a people: and the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is Remaliah’s son. If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established.

10 And Jehovah spake again unto Ahaz, saying, 11 Ask thee a sign of Jehovah thy God; ask it either in the depth, or in the height above. 12 But Ahaz said, I will not ask, neither will I tempt Jehovah. 13 And he said, Hear ye now, O house of David: Is it a small thing for you to weary men, that ye will weary my God also? 14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: behold, [c]a [d]virgin [e]shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name [f]Immanuel. 15 [g]Butter and honey shall he eat, [h]when he knoweth to refuse the evil, and choose the good. 16 For before the child shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the good, the land whose two kings thou abhorrest shall be forsaken. 17 Jehovah will bring upon thee, and upon thy people, and upon thy father’s house, days that have not come, from the day that Ephraim departed from Judah—even the king of Assyria.

18 And it shall come to pass in that day, that Jehovah will hiss for the fly that is in the uttermost part of the rivers of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria. 19 And they shall come, and shall rest all of them in the [i]desolate valleys, and in the clefts of the rocks, and upon all thorn-hedges, and upon all [j]pastures.

20 In that day will the Lord shave with a razor that is hired in the parts beyond the River, even with the king of Assyria, the head and the hair of the feet; and it shall also consume the beard.

21 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a man shall keep alive a young cow, and two sheep; 22 and it shall come to pass, that because of the abundance of milk which they shall give he shall eat butter: for butter and honey shall every one eat that is left in the midst of the land.

23 And it shall come to pass in that day, that every place, where there were a thousand vines at a thousand silverlings, shall be for briers and thorns. 24 With arrows and with bow shall one come thither, because all the land shall be briers and thorns. 25 And all the hills that were digged with the mattock, [k]thou shalt not come thither for fear of briers and thorns; but it shall be for the sending forth of oxen, and for the treading of sheep.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 7:2 Hebrew resteth on Ephraim.
  2. Isaiah 7:3 That is, A remnant shall return.
  3. Isaiah 7:14 Or, the
  4. Isaiah 7:14 Or, maiden
  5. Isaiah 7:14 Or, is with child, and beareth
  6. Isaiah 7:14 That is, God is with us.
  7. Isaiah 7:15 Or, Curds
  8. Isaiah 7:15 Or, that he may know. Or, till he know
  9. Isaiah 7:19 Or, rugged
  10. Isaiah 7:19 Or, bushes
  11. Isaiah 7:25 Or, where never came the fear of briers and thorns, shall be etc. Or, there shall not come thither the fear . . . but it shall be etc.

War against Jerusalem

Now it came about in the days of (A)Ahaz, the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that (B)Rezin the king of Aram and (C)Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up to Jerusalem to wage war against it, but (D)could not [a]conquer it. When it was reported to the (E)house of David, saying, “The Arameans [b](F)have camped in (G)Ephraim,” his heart and the hearts of his people shook as the trees of the forest shake [c]with the wind.

Then the Lord said to Isaiah, “Go out now to meet Ahaz, you and your son [d]Shear-jashub, at the end of the (H)conduit of the upper pool, on the highway to the [e]fuller’s field, and say to him, ‘Take care and be (I)calm, have no (J)fear and (K)do not be fainthearted because of these two stubs of smoldering (L)firebrands, on account of the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram and the (M)son of Remaliah. Because (N)Aram, with Ephraim and the son of Remaliah, has planned evil against you, saying, “Let us go up against Judah and [f]terrorize it, and make for ourselves a breach in [g]its walls and set up the son of Tabeel as king in the midst of it,” thus says the Lord [h]God: “(O)It shall not stand nor shall it come to pass. For the head of Aram is (P)Damascus and the head of Damascus is Rezin (now within another 65 years Ephraim will be shattered, so that it is no longer a people), and the head of Ephraim is Samaria and the head of Samaria is the son of Remaliah. (Q)If you will not believe, you surely shall not [i]last.”’”

The Child Immanuel

10 Then the Lord spoke again to Ahaz, saying, 11 “Ask a (R)sign for yourself from the Lord your God; [j]make it deep as Sheol or high as [k]heaven.” 12 But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, nor will I test the Lord!” 13 Then he said, “Listen now, O (S)house of David! Is it too slight a thing for you to try the patience of men, that you will (T)try the patience of (U)my God as well? 14 Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, (V)a [l]virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name [m](W)Immanuel. 15 He will eat (X)curds and honey [n]at the time He knows enough to refuse evil and choose good. 16 (Y)For before the boy will know enough to refuse evil and choose good, (Z)the land whose two kings you dread will be forsaken.

Trials to Come for Judah

17 The Lord will bring on you, on your people, and on your father’s house such days as have never come since the day that (AA)Ephraim separated from Judah, the (AB)king of Assyria.”

18 In that day the Lord will (AC)whistle for the fly that is in the [o](AD)remotest part of the rivers of Egypt and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria. 19 They will all come and settle on the steep [p]ravines, on the (AE)ledges of the cliffs, (AF)on all the thorn bushes and on all the [q]watering places.

20 In that day the Lord will (AG)shave with a (AH)razor, (AI)hired from regions beyond (AJ)the [r]Euphrates (that is, with the king of Assyria), the head and the hair of the legs; and it will also remove the beard.

21 Now in that day a man may keep alive a (AK)heifer and a pair of sheep; 22 and because of the abundance of the milk produced he will eat curds, for everyone that is left within the land will eat (AL)curds and honey.

23 And it will come about in that day, (AM)that every place where there used to be a thousand vines, valued at a thousand shekels of silver, will become (AN)briars and thorns. 24 People will come there with bows and arrows because all the land will be briars and thorns. 25 As for all the hills which used to be cultivated with the hoe, you will not go there for fear of briars and thorns; but they will become a place for [s](AO)pasturing oxen and for sheep to trample.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 7:1 Lit fight against
  2. Isaiah 7:2 Lit has settled down on
  3. Isaiah 7:2 Lit from before
  4. Isaiah 7:3 I.e. a remnant shall return
  5. Isaiah 7:3 I.e. laundryman’s
  6. Isaiah 7:6 Lit cause it a sickening dread
  7. Isaiah 7:6 Lit it
  8. Isaiah 7:7 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
  9. Isaiah 7:9 Or be established
  10. Isaiah 7:11 So with the versions; M.T. make the request deep or high
  11. Isaiah 7:11 Lit heights
  12. Isaiah 7:14 Or maiden
  13. Isaiah 7:14 I.e. God is with us
  14. Isaiah 7:15 Lit with respect to his knowing
  15. Isaiah 7:18 Or mouth of the rivers; i.e. the Nile Delta
  16. Isaiah 7:19 Or wadis
  17. Isaiah 7:19 Or pastures
  18. Isaiah 7:20 Lit River
  19. Isaiah 7:25 Lit sending