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.

Ahaz was the son of Jotham and grandson of Uzziah. During the time that Ahaz was the king of Judah, King Rezin of Syria and King Pekah of Israel marched [with their armies] to attack Jerusalem. But they could not conquer it.

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.

[But before they attacked], everyone in the palace heard a report that the armies of Syria and Israel were [now] (allies/joined [to attack Jerusalem)]. So Ahaz and the people over whom he ruled were extremely afraid; they were shaking from fear like trees shake in a windstorm.

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 Yahweh said to me, “Take your son Shear-Jashub, and go to talk with [King] Ahaz. He is at the end of the (aqueduct/water channel) that brings water into the upper reservoir, near the road to the place where women wash clothes.

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.

Tell Ahaz to stop worrying [DOU]. Tell him that he does not need to be afraid of those two kings, Rezin and Pekah. They are very angry [with Judah], but they are [unable to harm his country any more than] completely burned-out coals [can harm him].

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

Yes, they are planning to attack this land and 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:

‘We will attack Judah and conquer it. Then we will appoint Tabeel’s son to be the king of Judah.’

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

But this is what Yahweh, the Lord, says: ‘It will not happen; they will not [conquer Jerusalem]!

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:

The capital of Syria is Damascus, but Damascus is ruled [only] by its [unimportant/insignificant] king king Rezin. And as for Israel, within 65 years it will be conquered and completely destroyed.

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.

Israel’s capital is Samaria, and Samaria is ruled only by its [insignificant/unimportant] king king Pekah. [So you do not need to be afraid of those two countries]! [But you must trust me, because] if you do not trust me fully, you will be defeated.’”

10 And the LORD spake again unto Ahaz, saying,

[Later], Yahweh gave [me another message to tell to] King Ahaz.

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

[He said to tell him], “Request me, Yahweh your God, to do something that will enable you to be sure [that I will help/protect you]. What you request can be [from a place that is] as high as the sky or as low as the place where the dead people are.” (Sheol h7585)

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

But [when I told that to the king, he refused]. He said, “[No], I will not request Yahweh to do something to prove [that he will help/protect us]!”

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 I said [to him], “You people who are descendants of King David, listen! You are causing me to be tired of being patient. Are you also going to cause my God to stop being patient with you [RHQ]?

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.

Yahweh himself will do something for you [to prove that he will help/protect you]. Listen to this: A young woman will become pregnant and give birth to a son. She will name him Immanuel, [which means ‘God is with us’].

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

And by the time that child is old enough to eat curds/yogurt and honey, he will be able to reject what is evil and choose what is good.

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.

And before that child is old enough to do that, the lands of the two kings that you(sg) are very (afraid of/worried about) will be deserted.

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.

[But then] Yahweh will cause you and your family and your entire nation to experience [terrible disasters]. Those disasters will be worse than any disasters that have occurred since the country of Israel separated from Judah. Yahweh will cause [the army of] the king of Assyria to attack you!”

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.

At that time, [it will be as though] Yahweh will whistle to summon the army from the south of Egypt as well as the army of Assyria. They will [come and surround your country like] [MET] flies and bees.

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.

They will all come and settle/live [everywhere]—in the narrow valleys and caves in the rock cliffs, on land where there are thornbushes as well as on the fertile land.

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.

At that time Yahweh will hire the king of Assyria to come [with his army] from east of the [Euphrates] River. [They will get rid of everything in your land—the crops and the people. They will destroy everything thoroughly]; it will be like [MET] a barber shaving not only a man’s hair but his beard and the hair on his legs.

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

When that happens, a farmer will be able to have only one cow and two goats/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.

[However], those animals will give plenty of milk, with the result that the farmer will have curds/yogurt to eat. And [because there will not be many people left] in the land, all the people who remain there will have plenty of milk 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.

Now there are many areas where there are vineyards that are worth 1,000 pieces of silver, but at that time there will be only briers and thorns [DOU] in those fields.

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

There will be only briers and thorns in the entire land, [and wild animals], with the result that men will take their bows and arrows and go there [to hunt and kill animals].

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.

No one will go to where there previously were gardens on fertile hillsides, because briers and thorns will cover those hillsides. They will be areas where [only a few] cattle and sheep and goats wander around [searching for something to eat].