Isaiah 7

1 And it came to pass in the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin the king of Syria, and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up to Jerusalem to war against it; but could not prevail against it.

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.

2 And it was told the house of David, saying, Syria is confederate with Ephraim. And his heart was moved, and the heart of his people, as the trees of the forest are moved with the wind.

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.

3 Then said the LORD unto Isaiah, Go forth now to meet Ahaz, thou, and Shear-jashub thy son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool, in the highway of the fuller’s field;

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,

4 and say unto him, Take heed, and be quiet; fear not, neither let thine heart be faint, because of these two tails of smoking firebrands, for the fierce anger of Rezin and Syria, and of the son of Remaliah.

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.

5 Because Syria hath counselled evil against thee, Ephraim [also], and the son of Remaliah, saying,

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

6 Let us go up against Judah, and vex it, and let us make a breach therein for us, and set up a king in the midst of it, even the son of Tabeel:

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

7 thus saith the Lord GOD, It shall not stand, neither shall it come to pass.

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

8 For the head of Syria is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin: and within threescore and five years shall Ephraim be broken in pieces, that it be not a people:

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.

9 and the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is Remaliah’s son. If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established.

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.’”

10 And the LORD spake again unto Ahaz, saying,

Again the LORD spoke to Ahaz, saying,

11 Ask thee a sign of the LORD thy God; ask it either in the depth, or in the height above. (Sheol h7585)

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

12 But Ahaz said, I will not ask, neither will I tempt the LORD.

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

13 And he said, Hear ye now, O house of David; is it a small thing for you to weary men, that ye will weary my God also?

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?

14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

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.

15 Butter and honey shall he eat, when he knoweth to refuse the evil, and choose the good.

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

16 For before the child shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the good, the land whose two kings thou abhorrest shall be forsaken.

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

17 The LORD shall bring upon thee, and upon thy people, and upon thy father’s house, days that have not come, from the day that Ephraim departed from Judah; [even] the king of Assyria.

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.”

18 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall hiss 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.

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.

19 And they shall come, and shall rest all of them in the desolate valleys, and in the holes of the rocks, and upon all thorns, and upon all pastures.

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

20 In that day shall the Lord shave with a razor that is hired, [which is] 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.

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.

21 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a man shall nourish a young cow, and two sheep;

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

22 and it shall come to pass, for the abundance of milk that they shall give he shall eat butter: for butter and honey shall every one eat that is left in the midst of the land.

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

23 And it shall come to pass in that day, that every place, where there were a thousand vines at a thousand silverlings, shall even be for briers and thorns.

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.

24 With arrows and with bow shall one come thither; because all the land shall be briers and thorns.

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

25 And all the hills that were digged with the mattock; thou shalt not come thither for fear of briers and thorns, but it shall be for the sending forth of oxen, and for the treading of sheep.

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.