Isaiah 7
1 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.
And it happened in the days of Ahaz, the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, the king of Judah, that Rezin, the king of Syria, and Pekah, the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, ascended to Jerusalem to battle against it. But they were not able to defeat it.
2 [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.
And they reported to the house of David, saying: “Syria has withdrawn to Ephraim.” And his heart was shaken, with the heart of his people, just as the trees of the forest are moved by the face of the wind.
3 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.
And the Lord said to Isaiah: Go out to meet Ahaz, you and your son, Jashub, who was left behind, to the end of the aqueduct, at the upper pool, on the road to the fuller’s field.
4 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].
And you shall say to him: “See to it that you are silent. Do not be afraid. And have no dread in your heart over the two tails of these firebrands, nearly extinguished, which are the wrath of the fury of Rezin, king of Syria, and of the son of Remaliah.”
5 Yes, they are planning to attack this land and saying,
For Syria has undertaken a plan against you, with the evil of Ephraim and the son of Remaliah, saying:
6 ‘We will attack Judah and conquer it. Then we will appoint Tabeel’s son to be the king of Judah.’
“Let us ascend to Judah, and stir it up, and tear it away for ourselves, and appoint the son of Tabeel as a king in its midst.”
7 But this is what Yahweh, the Lord, says: ‘It will not happen; they will not [conquer Jerusalem]!
Thus says the Lord God: This shall not stand, and this shall not be.
8 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.
For the head of Syria is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin; and within sixty-five years from now, Ephraim will cease to be a people.
9 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.’”
For the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is the son of Remaliah. If you will not believe, you will not continue.
10 [Later], Yahweh gave [me another message to tell to] King Ahaz.
And the Lord spoke further to Ahaz, saying:
11 [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)
Ask for a sign for yourself from the Lord your God, from the depths below, even to the heights above. (Sheol h7585)
12 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]!”
And Ahaz said, “I will not ask, for I will not tempt the Lord.”
13 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]?
And he said: “Then listen, O house of David. Is it such a small thing for you to trouble men, that you must also trouble my God?
14 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’].
For this reason, the Lord himself will grant to you a sign. Behold, a virgin will conceive, and she will give birth to a son, and his name will be called Immanuel.
15 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.
He will eat butter and honey, so that he may know to reject evil and to choose good.
16 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.
But even before the boy knows to refuse evil and to choose good, the land that you detest will be abandoned by the face of her two kings.
17 [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!”
The Lord will lead over you, and over your people, and over the house of your father, such days as have not occurred since the days of the separation of Ephraim from Judah by the king of the Assyrians.
18 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.
And this shall be in that day: the Lord will call for the fly, which is in the most distant parts of the rivers of Egypt, and for the swarm, which is in the land of Assur.
19 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.
And they will arrive, and they all will rest in the torrents of the valleys, and in the caverns of the rocks, and in every thicket, and in every opening.
20 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.
In that day, the Lord will shave with a razor the ones hired by those who are across the river, by the king of the Assyrians, from the head to the hairs of the feet, with the entire beard.
21 When that happens, a farmer will be able to have only one cow and two goats/sheep.
And this shall be in that day: a man will raise a cow among oxen, and two sheep,
22 [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.
and, instead of an abundance of milk, he will eat butter. For all who are left behind in the midst of the land will eat butter and honey.
23 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.
And this shall be in that day: every place, where there were a thousand grapevines worth a thousand pieces of silver, will become thorns and briers.
24 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].
They will enter such places with arrows and bows. For briers and thorns will be throughout the entire land.
25 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].
But as for all the mountains, which will be dug with a hoe, the terror of thorns and briers will not approach those places. And there will be pasture land for oxen, and a range for cattle.”
