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.
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 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.
[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 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 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 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.
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 taken counsel against thee, for mischief, —[with] Ephraim and the son of Remaliah, saying,
Yes, they are planning to attack this land and 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,
‘We will attack Judah and conquer it. Then we will appoint Tabeel’s son to be the king of Judah.’
7 Thus, saith My Lord, Yahweh, —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, 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;
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 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!
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 again spake Yahweh unto Ahaz saying—
[Later], Yahweh gave [me another message to tell to] King Ahaz.
11 Ask thee a sign, of Yahweh thy God, —Go down deep for a request, Or ascend on high! (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 Nor will I put Yahweh to the proof.
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 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 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 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.
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 Curds and honey, shall he eat, by the time that he knoweth to refuse the bad 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 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.
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 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.
[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 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.
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 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,
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, 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.
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 keep alive a young cow and two sheep.
When that happens, a farmer will be able to have only one cow and two goats/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.
[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 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.
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 a bow, shall one come in thither, —for briars and thorns, shall be all the land.
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 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.
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].
