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 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, came up to Jerusalem to make war against it, but they were not able to fight against 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 it was told the house of David saying, Syria is allied with Ephraim. Then his heart and the heart of his people shook, as the trees of the forest are shaken with 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 Jehovah said to Isaiah, Go out now to meet Ahaz, thou and thy son Shear-jashub, at the end of the aqueduct of the upper pool, on the highway of 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 thou shalt say unto him, Take heed and be quiet; fear not, and let not thy heart faint before these two ends of smoking firebrands, because of the fierce anger of Rezin and Syria, and of the son of Remaliah.
5 Yes, they are planning to attack this land and saying,
Inasmuch as Syria hath taken evil counsel against thee, Ephraim [also] 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 go up against Judah, and harass it, and make a breach therein for us, and set up a king therein — the son of Tabeal;
7 But this is what Yahweh, the Lord, says: ‘It will not happen; they will not [conquer Jerusalem]!
thus saith the Lord Jehovah: It shall not stand, nor come to pass;
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 shall Ephraim be broken, so as to be no [more 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.’”
and the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is Remaliah's son. If ye believe not, surely ye shall not be established.
10 [Later], Yahweh gave [me another message to tell to] King Ahaz.
And Jehovah spoke again 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 thee a sign from Jehovah thy God; ask for it in the deep, or in the height 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, and will not tempt Jehovah.
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, Hear then, house of David: Is it a small matter for you to weary men, that ye weary also 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’].
Therefore will the Lord himself give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and shall bring forth a son, and call his name 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.
Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and to choose the 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.
For before the child knoweth to refuse the evil and to choose the good, the land whose two kings thou fearest shall be forsaken.
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!”
Jehovah will bring upon thee, and upon thy people, and upon thy father's house, days which have not come since the day when Ephraim turned away from Judah — [even] the king of Assyria.
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 it shall come to pass in that day, that Jehovah will hiss for the fly which is at the extremity of the streams of Egypt, and for the bee which is in the land of Assyria;
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 shall come and settle all of them in the desolate valleys, and in the holes of the rocks, and on all thorn-bushes, and on all the pastures.
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 will the Lord, with a razor which is hired beyond the river, with the king of Assyria, shave the head and the hair of the feet, yea, the beard also will it take away.
21 When that happens, a farmer will be able to have only one cow and two goats/sheep.
And it shall come to pass in that day, [that] a man shall nourish a young cow 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 it shall come to pass, from the abundance of milk they shall give, [that] he shall eat butter; for every one that remaineth in the midst of the land shall 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 it shall come to pass in that day, [that] every place, where there were a thousand vines at a thousand silver pieces, shall become briars and thorns:
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].
with arrows and with the bow shall they come thither, for the whole land shall become briars and thorns.
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].
And all mountains that have been dug up with the hoe — thither will they not come, from fear of briars and thorns; and they shall be for the sending forth of oxen, and for the treading of small cattle.
