Isaiah Reassures King Ahaz

7 In the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, son of Uzzi′ah, king of Judah, Rezin the king of Syria and Pekah the son of Remali′ah the king of Israel came up to Jerusalem to wage war against it, but they could not conquer it. ² When the house of David was told, “Syria is in league with E′phraim,” his heart 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 forth to meet Ahaz, you and She′ar-jash′ub^[a] your son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool on the highway to the Fuller’s Field, ⁴ and say to him, ‘Take heed, be quiet, do not fear, and do not let your heart be faint because of these two smoldering stumps of firebrands, at the fierce anger of Rezin and Syria and the son of Remali′ah. ⁵ Because Syria, with E′phraim and the son of Remali′ah, has devised evil against you, saying, ⁶ “Let us go up against Judah and terrify it, and let us conquer it for ourselves, and set up the son of Ta′be-el as king in the midst of it,” ⁷ thus says the Lord God:

(Within sixty-five years E′phraim will be broken to pieces so that it will no longer be a people.)

Isaiah Gives Ahaz the Sign of Immanuel

¹⁰ Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, ¹¹ “Ask a sign of the Lord your 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 said, “Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary men, that you weary my God also? ¹⁴ Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, a young woman^[b][c] shall conceive and bear^[d] a son, and shall call his name Imman′u-el.^{[e] 15} He shall eat curds and honey when he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good. ¹⁶ For before the child knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land before whose two kings you are in dread will be deserted. ¹⁷ 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 E′phraim departed from Judah—the king of Assyria.”

¹⁸ In that day the Lord will whistle for the fly which is at the sources of the streams of Egypt, and for the bee which is in the land of Assyria. ¹⁹ And they will all come and settle in the steep ravines, and in the clefts of the rocks, and on all the thornbushes, and on all the pastures.

²⁰ In that day the Lord will shave with a razor which is hired beyond the River—with the king of Assyria—the head and the hair of the feet, and it will sweep away the beard also.

²¹ In that day a man will keep alive a young cow and two sheep; ²² and because of the abundance of milk which they give, he will eat curds; for every one that is left in the land will eat curds and honey.

²³ In that day every place where there used to be a thousand vines, worth a thousand shekels of silver, will become briers and thorns. ²⁴ With bow and arrows men will come there, for all the land will be briers and thorns; ²⁵ and as for all the hills which used to be hoed with a hoe, you will not come there for fear of briers and thorns; but they will become a place where cattle are let loose and where sheep tread.

Isaiah’s Son a Sign of the Assyrian Invasion

8 Then the Lord said to me, “Take a large tablet and write upon it in common characters, ‘Belonging to Ma′her-shal′al-hash′baz.’”^{[f] 2} And I got reliable witnesses, Uri′ah the priest and Zechari′ah the son of Jeberechi′ah, to attest for me. ³ And I went to the prophetess, and she conceived and bore a son. Then the Lord said to me, “Call his name Ma′her-shal′al-hash′baz; ⁴ for before the child knows how to cry ‘My father’ or ‘My mother,’ the wealth of Damascus and the spoil of Samar′ia will be carried away before the king of Assyria.”

⁵ The Lord spoke to me again: ⁶ “Because this people have refused the waters of Shilo′ah that flow gently, and melt in fear before^[g] Rezin and the son of Remali′ah; ⁷ therefore, behold, the Lord is bringing up against them the waters of the River, mighty and many, the king of Assyria and all his glory; and it will rise over all its channels and go over all its banks; ⁸ and it will sweep on into Judah, it will overflow and pass on, reaching even to the neck; and its outspread wings will fill the breadth of your land, O Imman′u-el.”

¹¹ For the Lord spoke thus to me with his strong hand upon me, and warned me not to walk in the way of this people, saying: ¹² “Do not call conspiracy all that this people call conspiracy, and do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread. ¹³ But the Lord of hosts, him you shall regard as holy; let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. ¹⁴ And he will become a sanctuary, and a stone of offense, and a rock of stumbling to both houses of Israel, a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. ¹⁵ And many shall stumble thereon; they shall fall and be broken; they shall be snared and taken.”

Disciples of Isaiah

¹⁶ Bind up the testimony, seal the teaching among my disciples. ¹⁷ I will wait for the Lord, who is hiding his face from the house of Jacob, and I will hope in him. ¹⁸ Behold, I and the children whom the Lord has given me are signs and portents in Israel from the Lord of hosts, who dwells on Mount Zion. ¹⁹ And when they say to you, “Consult the mediums and the wizards who chirp and mutter,” should not a people consult their God? Should they consult the dead on behalf of the living? ²⁰ To the teaching and to the testimony! Surely for this word which they speak there is no dawn. ²¹ They will pass through the land,^[i] greatly distressed and hungry; and when they are hungry, they will be enraged and will curse^[j] their king and their God, and turn their faces upward; ²² and they will look to the earth, but behold, distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish; and they will be thrust into thick darkness.

Arrival at Home of Raguel

7 When they reached Ecbat′ana and arrived at the house of Rag′uel, Sarah met them and greeted them. They returned her greeting, and she brought them into the house. ² Then Rag′uel said to his wife Edna, “How much the young man resembles my cousin Tobit!” ³ And Rag′uel asked them, “Where are you from, brethren?” They answered him, “We belong to the sons of Naph′tali, who are captives in Nin′eveh.” ⁴ So he said to them, “Do you know our brother Tobit?” And they said, “Yes, we do.” And he asked them, “Is he in good health?” ⁵ They replied, “He is alive and in good health.” And Tobi′as said, “He is my father.” ⁶ Then Rag′uel sprang up and kissed him and wept. ⁷ And he blessed him and exclaimed, “Son of that good and noble man!” When he heard that Tobit had lost his sight, he was stricken with grief and wept. ⁸ And his wife Edna and his daughter Sarah wept. They received them very warmly; and they killed a ram from the flock and set large servings of food before them.

Marriage of Tobias and Sarah

Then Tobi′as said to Raph′ael, “Brother Azari′as, speak of those things which you talked about on the journey, and let the matter be settled.” ⁹ So he communicated the proposal to Rag′uel. And Rag′uel said to Tobi′as, “Eat, drink, and be merry; ¹⁰ for it is your right to take my child. But let me explain the true situation to you. ¹¹ I have given my daughter to seven husbands, and when each came to her he died in the night. But for the present be merry.” And Tobi′as said, “I will eat nothing here until you make a binding agreement with me.” ¹² So Rag′uel said, “Take her right now, in accordance with the law. You are her relative, and she is yours. The merciful God will guide you both for the best.” ¹³ Then he called his daughter Sarah, and taking her by the hand he gave her to Tobi′as to be his wife, saying, “Here she is; take her according to the law of Moses, and take her with you to your father.” And he blessed them.^{[a] 14} Next he called his wife Edna, and took a scroll and wrote out the contract; and they set their seals to it. ¹⁵ Then they began to eat.

¹⁶ And Rag′uel called his wife Edna and said to her, “Sister, make up the other room, and take her into it.” ¹⁷ So she did as he said, and took her there; and the girl^[b] began to weep. But the mother^[c] comforted her daughter in her tears, and said to her, ¹⁸ “Be brave, my child; the Lord of heaven and earth grant you joy^[d] in place of this sorrow of yours. Be brave, my daughter.”

Tobias Routs the Demon

8 When they had finished eating, they escorted Tobi′as in to her. ² As he went he remembered the words of Raph′ael, and he took the live ashes of incense and put the heart and liver of the fish upon them and made a smoke. ³ And when the demon smelled the odor he fled to the remotest parts of Egypt, and the angel bound him. ⁴ When the door was shut and the two were alone, Tobi′as got up from the bed and said, “Sister, get up, and let us pray that the Lord may have mercy upon us.”^{[e] 5} And Tobi′as began to pray,

⁷ And now, O Lord, I am not taking this sister of mine because of lust, but with sincerity. Grant that I may find mercy and may grow old together with her.” ⁸ And she said with him, “Amen.” ⁹ Then they both went to sleep for the night.

But Rag′uel arose and went and dug a grave, ¹⁰ with the thought, “Perhaps he too will die.” ¹¹ Then Rag′uel went into his house ¹² and said to his wife Edna, “Send one of the maids to see whether he is alive; and if he is not, let us bury him without any one knowing about it.” ¹³ So the maid opened the door and went in, and found them both asleep. ¹⁴ And she came out and told them that he was alive. ¹⁵ Then Rag′uel blessed God and said,

¹⁸ Then he ordered his servants to fill in the grave.

Wedding Feast

¹⁹ After this he gave a wedding feast for them which lasted fourteen days. ²⁰ And before the days of the feast were over, Rag′uel declared by oath to Tobi′as^[f] that he should not leave until the fourteen days of the wedding feast were ended, ²¹ that then he should take half of Rag′uel’s^[g] property and return in safety to his father, and that the rest would be his “when my wife and I die.”

The Money Recovered

9 Then Tobi′as called Raph′ael and said to him, ² “Brother Azari′as, take a servant and two camels with you and go to Gab′ael at Rages in Media and get the money for me; and bring him to the wedding feast. ³ For Rag′uel has sworn that I should not leave; ⁴ but my father is counting the days, and if I delay long he will be greatly distressed.” ⁵ So Raph′ael made the journey and stayed over night with Gab′ael. He gave him the receipt, and Gab′ael^[h] brought out the money bags with their seals intact and gave them to him. ⁶ In the morning they both got up early and came to the wedding feast. And Gab′ael blessed Tobi′as and his wife.^[i][j]