Isaiah 7:10-8:8

English Standard Version

The Sign of Immanuel

¹⁰Again 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.” ¹²But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test.” ¹³And 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? ¹⁴Therefore 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] ¹⁵He 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!”

¹⁸In 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. ¹⁹And 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]

²⁰In 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, ²²and 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.

²³In 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] ²And ^(Y)I will get reliable witnesses, ^(Z)Uriah the priest and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah, to attest for me.”

³And 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.”

⁵The 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, ⁷therefore, 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, ⁸and 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.”