Isaiah 7

1 Now in the days that Ahaz son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, was king of Judah, Rezin king of Aram marched up to wage war against Jerusalem. He was accompanied by Pekah son of Remaliah the king of Israel, but he could not overpower the city.

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.

2 When it was reported to the house of David that Aram was in league with Ephraim, the hearts of Ahaz and his people trembled like trees in the forest shaken by the wind.

And they reported to the house of David, saying: “Syria has withdrawn to Ephraim.”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.

3 Then the LORD said to Isaiah, “Go out with your son Shear-jashub to meet Ahaz at the end of the aqueduct that feeds the upper pool, on the road to the Launderer’s Field,

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.

4 and say to him: Calm down and be quiet. Do not be afraid or disheartened over these two smoldering stubs of firewood—over the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram and of the son of Remaliah.

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.”

5 For Aram, along with Ephraim and the son of Remaliah, has plotted your ruin, saying:

For Syria has undertaken a plan against you, with the evil of Ephraim and the son of Remaliah, saying:

6 ‘Let us invade Judah, terrorize it, and divide it among ourselves. Then we can install the son of Tabeal over it as king.’

“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.”

7 But this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘It will not arise; it will not happen.

Thus says the Lord God: This shall not stand, and this shall not be.

8 For the head of Aram is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin. Within sixty-five years Ephraim will be shattered as a people.

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.

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.’”

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.

10 Again the LORD spoke to Ahaz, saying,

And the Lord spoke further to Ahaz, saying:

11 “Ask for a sign from the LORD your God, whether from the depths of Sheol or the heights of heaven.” (Sheol h7585)

Ask for a sign for yourself from the Lord your God, from the depths below, even to the heights above. (Sheol h7585)

12 But Ahaz replied, “I will not ask; I will not test the LORD.”

And Ahaz said, “I will not ask, for I will not tempt the Lord.”

13 Then Isaiah said, “Hear now, O house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of men? Will you try the patience of my God as well?

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?

14 Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call Him Immanuel.

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.

15 By the time He knows enough to reject evil and choose good, He will be eating curds and honey.

He will eat butter and honey, so that he may know to reject evil and to choose good.

16 For before the boy knows enough to reject evil and choose good, the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste.

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.

17 The LORD will bring on you and on your people and on the house of your father a time unlike any since the day Ephraim separated from Judah—He will bring the king of Assyria.”

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.

18 On that day the LORD will whistle to the flies at the farthest streams of the Nile and to the bees in the land of Assyria.

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.

19 And they will all come and settle in the steep ravines and clefts of the rocks, in all the thornbushes and watering holes.

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.

20 On that day the Lord will use a razor hired from beyond the Euphrates —the king of Assyria—to shave your head and the hair of your legs, and to remove your beard as well.

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.

21 On that day a man will raise a young cow and two sheep,

And this shall be in that day: a man will raise a cow among oxen, and two sheep,

22 and from the abundance of milk they give, he will eat curds; for all who remain in the land will eat curds and honey.

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.

23 And on that day, in every place that had a thousand vines worth a thousand shekels of silver, only briers and thorns will be found.

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.

24 Men will go there with bow and arrow, for the land will be covered with briers and thorns.

They will enter such places with arrows and bows. For briers and thorns will be throughout the entire land.

25 For fear of the briers and thorns, you will no longer traverse the hills once tilled by the hoe; they will become places for oxen to graze and sheep to trample.

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.”