Isaiah 7
1 And it happened in the days of Ahaz, the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, the king of Judah, that Rezin, the king of Syria, and Pekah, the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, ascended to Jerusalem to battle against it. But they were not able to defeat it.
During the days of Ahaz son of Jotham son of Uzziah, king of Judah, Rezin the king of Aram, and Pekah son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up to Jerusalem to war against it, but they could not prevail against it.
2 And they reported to the house of David, saying: “Syria has withdrawn to Ephraim.” And his heart was shaken, with the heart of his people, just as the trees of the forest are moved by the face of the wind.
It was reported to the house of David that Aram was allied with Ephraim. His heart trembled, and the heart of his people, as the trees of the forest shake in the wind.
3 And the Lord said to Isaiah: Go out to meet Ahaz, you and your son, Jashub, who was left behind, to the end of the aqueduct, at the upper pool, on the road to the fuller’s field.
Then Yahweh said to Isaiah, “Go out with your son Shear-Jashub to meet Ahaz at the end of the conduit of the upper pool, on the road to Launderer's Field.
4 And you shall say to him: “See to it that you are silent. Do not be afraid. And have no dread in your heart over the two tails of these firebrands, nearly extinguished, which are the wrath of the fury of Rezin, king of Syria, and of the son of Remaliah.”
Tell him, 'Be careful, remain calm, do not be afraid or intimidated by these two smoldering firebrands, by the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram, and of Pekah son of Remaliah.
5 For Syria has undertaken a plan against you, with the evil of Ephraim and the son of Remaliah, saying:
Aram, Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah have planned evil against you; they have said,
6 “Let us ascend to Judah, and stir it up, and tear it away for ourselves, and appoint the son of Tabeel as a king in its midst.”
“Let us attack Judah and terrify her, and let us break into her and set up our king there, the son of Tabeel.”
7 Thus says the Lord God: This shall not stand, and this shall not be.
The Lord Yahweh says, “It will not take place; it will not happen,
8 For the head of Syria is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin; and within sixty-five years from now, Ephraim will cease to be a people.
because the head of Aram is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin. Within sixty-five years, Ephraim will be shattered and will no longer be a people.
9 For the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is the son of Remaliah. If you will not believe, you will not continue.
The head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is Remaliah's son. If you do not remain firm in faith, surely you will not remain secure.”'”
10 And the Lord spoke further to Ahaz, saying:
The Lord spoke again to Ahaz,
11 Ask for a sign for yourself from the Lord your God, from the depths below, even to the heights above. (Sheol h7585)
“Ask a sign of Yahweh your God; ask for it in the depths or in the height above.” (Sheol h7585)
12 And Ahaz said, “I will not ask, for I will not tempt the Lord.”
But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, nor will I test Yahweh.”
13 And he said: “Then listen, O house of David. Is it such a small thing for you to trouble men, that you must also trouble my God?
So Isaiah replied, “Listen, house of David. Is it not enough for you people to test the patience of people? Must you also test the patience of my God?
14 For this reason, the Lord himself will grant to you a sign. Behold, a virgin will conceive, and she will give birth to a son, and his name will be called Immanuel.
Therefore the Lord himself will give you people a sign: See, the young woman will conceive, bear a son, and will call his name Immanuel.
15 He will eat butter and honey, so that he may know to reject evil and to choose good.
He will eat curds and honey when he knows to refuse the evil and choose the good.
16 But even before the boy knows to refuse evil and to choose good, the land that you detest will be abandoned by the face of her two kings.
For before the child knows to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land whose two kings you dread will be desolate.
17 The Lord will lead over you, and over your people, and over the house of your father, such days as have not occurred since the days of the separation of Ephraim from Judah by the king of the Assyrians.
Yahweh will bring on you, on your people, and on your father's house days unlike any since Ephraim seceded from Judah—he will bring on you the king of Assyria.”
18 And this shall be in that day: the Lord will call for the fly, which is in the most distant parts of the rivers of Egypt, and for the swarm, which is in the land of Assur.
At that time Yahweh will whistle for a fly from the distant streams of Egypt, and for a bee from the land of Assyria.
19 And they will arrive, and they all will rest in the torrents of the valleys, and in the caverns of the rocks, and in every thicket, and in every opening.
They will all come and settle down into all the gorges, into the clefts of the rocks, on all the thornbushes, and onto all the pastures.
20 In that day, the Lord will shave with a razor the ones hired by those who are across the river, by the king of the Assyrians, from the head to the hairs of the feet, with the entire beard.
At that time the Lord will shave with a razor that was hired beyond the Euphrates River—the king of Assyria— the head and the hair of the legs; it will also sweep away the beard.
21 And this shall be in that day: a man will raise a cow among oxen, and two sheep,
On that day, a man will keep alive a young cow and two sheep,
22 and, instead of an abundance of milk, he will eat butter. For all who are left behind in the midst of the land will eat butter and honey.
and because of the abundance of milk which they shall give, he will eat curds, for everyone left in the land will eat curds and honey.
23 And this shall be in that day: every place, where there were a thousand grapevines worth a thousand pieces of silver, will become thorns and briers.
At that time, where there were a thousand vines worth a thousand silver shekels, there will be nothing but briers and thorns.
24 They will enter such places with arrows and bows. For briers and thorns will be throughout the entire land.
Men will go there to hunt with bows, because all the land will be briers and thorns.
25 But as for all the mountains, which will be dug with a hoe, the terror of thorns and briers will not approach those places. And there will be pasture land for oxen, and a range for cattle.”
They will stay away from all the hills that were cultivated with the hoe, for fear of the briers and thorns; but it will be a place where cattle and sheep graze.
