< Isaiah 7 >
1 It happened in the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin the king of Aram, and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up to Jerusalem to war against it, but they could not prevail against it.
And it cometh to pass in the days of Ahaz, son of Jotham, son of Uzziah, king of Judah, gone up hath Rezin king of Aram, and Pekah, son of Remaliah, king of Israel, to Jerusalem, to battle against it, and he is not able to fight against it.
2 It was told the house of David, saying, "Aram is allied with Ephraim." His heart trembled, and the heart of his people, as the trees of the forest tremble with the wind.
And it is declared to the house of David, saying, 'Aram hath been led towards Ephraim,' And his heart and the heart of his people is moved, like the moving of trees of a forest by the presence of wind.
3 Then YHWH said to Isaiah, "Go out now to meet Ahaz, you, and Shearjashub your son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool, on the highway of the Launderers' Field.
And Jehovah saith unto Isaiah, 'Go forth, I pray thee, to meet Ahaz, thou, and Shear-Jashub thy son, unto the end of the conduit of the upper pool, unto the highway of the fuller's field,
4 Tell him, 'Be careful, and keep calm. Do not be afraid, neither let your heart be faint because of these two tails of smoking firebrands, for the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram, and of the son of Remaliah.
and thou hast said unto him: 'Take heed, and be quiet, fear not, And let not thy heart be timid, Because of these two tails of smoking brands, For the fierceness of the anger of Rezin and Aram, And the son of Remaliah.
5 Because Aram, Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah, have plotted evil against you, saying,
Because that Aram counselled against thee evil, Ephraim and the son of Remaliah, saying:
6 "Let's go up against Judah, and tear it apart, and let's divide it among ourselves, and set up a king in its midst, even the son of Tabeel."
We go up into Judah, and we vex it, And we rend it unto ourselves, And we cause a king to reign in its midst — The son of Tabeal.
7 This is what YHWH says: "It shall not stand, neither shall it happen."
Thus said the Lord Jehovah: It doth not stand, nor shall it be!
8 For the head of Aram is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin; and within sixty-five years Ephraim shall be broken in pieces, so that it shall not be a people;
For the head of Aram [is] Damascus, And the head of Damascus [is] Rezin, And within sixty and five years Is Ephraim broken from [being] a people.
9 and the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is Remaliah's son. If you will not believe, surely you shall not be established.'"
And the head of Ephraim [is] Samaria, And the head of Samaria [is] the son of Remaliah. If ye do not give credence, Surely ye are not stedfast.'
10 YHWH spoke again to Ahaz, saying,
And Jehovah addeth to speak unto Ahaz, saying:
11 "Ask a sign of YHWH your God; ask it either in the depth, or in the height above." (Sheol )
'Ask for thee a sign from Jehovah thy God, Make deep the request, or make [it] high upwards.' (Sheol )
12 But Ahaz said, "I will not ask, neither will I tempt YHWH."
And Ahaz saith, 'I do not ask nor try Jehovah.'
13 He said, "Listen now, house of David: Is it not enough for you to try the patience of men, that you will try the patience of my God also?
And he saith, 'Hear, I pray you, O house of David, Is it a little thing for you to weary men, That ye weary also my God?
14 Therefore YHWH himself will give you a sign. Look, the virgin will conceive, and bear a son, and they will call his name Immanuel.
Therefore the Lord Himself giveth to you a sign, Lo, the Virgin is conceiving, And is bringing forth a son, And hath called his name Immanuel,
15 He shall eat curds and honey when he knows to refuse the evil, and choose the good.
Butter and honey he doth eat, When he knoweth to refuse evil, and to fix on good.
16 For before the child knows to refuse the evil, and choose the good, the land whose two kings you abhor shall be forsaken.
For before the youth doth know To refuse evil, and to fix on good, Forsaken is the land thou art vexed with, because of her two kings.
17 YHWH will bring on you, on your people, and on your father's house, days that have not come, from the day that Ephraim departed from Judah; even the king of Assyria.
Jehovah bringeth on thee, and on thy people, And on the house of thy father, Days that have not come, Even from the day of the turning aside of Ephraim from Judah, By the king of Asshur.
18 It will happen in that day that YHWH will whistle 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.
And it hath come to pass, in that day, Jehovah doth hiss for a fly that [is] in the extremity of the brooks of Egypt, And for a bee that [is] in the land of Asshur.
19 They shall come, and shall all rest in the desolate valleys, in the clefts of the rocks, on all thorn hedges, and on all pastures.
And they have come, and rested all of them in the desolate valleys, And in holes of the rocks, and on all the thorns, And on all the commendable things.
20 In that day YHWH will 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.
In that day doth the Lord shave, By a razor that is hired beyond the river, By the king of Asshur, The head, and the hair of the feet, Yea, also the beard it consumeth.
21 It shall happen in that day that a man shall keep alive a young cow, and two sheep;
And it hath come to pass, in that day, A man keepeth alive a heifer of the herd, And two of the flock,
22 and it shall happen, that because of the abundance of milk which they shall give he shall eat butter: for everyone will eat butter and honey that is left in the midst of the land.
And it hath come to pass, From the abundance of the yielding of milk he eateth butter, For butter and honey doth every one eat Who is left in the heart of the land.
23 It will happen in that day that every place where there were a thousand vines at a thousand silver shekels, shall be for briers and thorns.
And it hath come to pass, in that day, Every place where there are a thousand vines, At a thousand silverlings, Is for briers and for thorns.
24 People will go there with arrows and with bow, because all the land will be briers and thorns.
With arrows and with bow he cometh thither, Because all the land is brier and thorn.
25 All the hills that were cultivated with the hoe, you shall not come there for fear of briers and thorns; but it shall be for the sending forth of oxen, and for the treading of sheep."
And all the hills that with a mattock are kept in order, Thither cometh not the fear of brier and thorn, And it hath been for the sending forth of ox, And for the treading of sheep!'