Isaiah 7

1 And it came to pass in the days of Ahaz son of Jotham son of Uzziah king of Judah, that Rezin king of Syria, and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel, came 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 hath settled down upon Ephraim. Then shook his heart, and the heart of his people, as the trees of a forest shake before a 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 Yahweh, unto Isaiah, Go forth, I pray thee, to meet Ahaz, thou, and Shear-jashub thy son, —unto the end of the channel of the upper pool, unto 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 keep thyself calm—do not fear, neither let thy heart be faint, because of these two fag-ends of smoking firebrands, —in spite of the glow of the anger of Rezin and Syria and 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 taken counsel against thee, for mischief, —[with] Ephraim 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 besiege it, and break it open, for ourselves, —and set up a king in the midst thereof, even the son of Tabeal,

‘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 My Lord, Yahweh, —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, though the head of Syria is Damascus, And, the head of Damascus, is Rezin, Yet within threescore and five years more, shall Ephraim be broken that it shall not be 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 Even though the head of Ephraim is Samaria, And, the head of Samaria, is the son of Remaliah. If ye trust not, Surely, ye cannot be trusted!

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 again spake Yahweh unto Ahaz saying—

Again the LORD spoke to Ahaz, saying,

11 Ask thee a sign, of Yahweh thy God, —Go down deep for a request, Or ascend on high! (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 Nor will I put Yahweh to the proof.

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

13 Then said he—Hear, I pray you, O house of David! Is it, too little, for you to weary men, that ye must weary even my God?

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 Wherefore let My Lord Himself give you a sign, —Lo! a Virgin, being with child and giving birth to a son, thou wilt 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 Curds and honey, shall he eat, by the time that he knoweth to refuse the bad 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 boy knoweth to refuse the bad and choose the good, forsaken shall be the land, at which, thou, art alarmed, of the presence of both her kings.

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 Yahweh will bring upon thee and upon thy people, and upon the house of thy father, days which have not come, from the day when 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 Yahweh will give a signal—To the fly that is in the uttermost part of the Nile-canals of Egypt, And to 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 all of them come and settle down—In the desolate torrent-valleys, And in the rents of the crags, —And on all the thorn-bushes, And on all the 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, will My Lord shave, with a hired razor, even with them of the lands over the River Euphrates, with the king of Assyria, the head and the hair of the feet, —yea, even the beard, will it sweep off.

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 keep alive a young cow and two sheep.

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

22 Yea it shall come to pass for the abundance of the yield of milk, that he shall eat curds, —for, curds 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 some to pass in that day, that, every place wherein there used to be a thousand vines at a thousand pieces of silver, —yea, even for briars and thorns, shall it be.

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 a bow, shall one come in thither, —for briars and thorns, shall be all the land.

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

25 But all the hills which, with the hoe, can be weeded, —there shall not come thither, the fear of briars and thorns, —but it shall be for the sending forth of oxen, and for the tread of lesser cattle.

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.