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 Achaz the son of Joathan, the son of Ozias, king of Juda, that Basin king of Syria, and Phacee the son of Romelia king of Israel, came up to Jerusalem, to fight against it: but they could not prevail over 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 told the house of David, saying: Syria hath rested upon Ephraim, and his heart was moved, and the heart of his people, as the trees of the woods are moved 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 the Lord said to Isaias: Go forth to meet Achaz, thou and Jasub thy son that is left, to the conduit of the upper pool, a in the way of the fuller’s held.

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 to him: See thou be quiet: fear not, and let not thy heart be afraid of the two tails of these fire brands, smoking with the wrath of the fury of Rasin king of Syria, and of the son of Romelia.

5 Yes, they are planning to attack this land and saying,

Because Syria hath taken counsel against thee, unto the evil of Ephraim and the son of Romelia, 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 to Juda, and rouse it up, and draw it away to us, and make the son of Tabeel king in the midst thereof.

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

Thus saith the Lord God: It 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.

But the head of Syria is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Basin: and within threescore and five years, Ephraim shall 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.’”

And the head of Ephraim is Samaria and the head of Samaria the son of Romelia. If you will not believe, you shall not continue.

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

And the Lord spoke again to Achaz, 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 thee a sign of the Lord thy God either unto the depth of hell, or unto 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 Achaz said: I will not ask, and 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: Hear ye therefore, O house of David: Is it a small thing for you to be grievous to men, that you are grievous to my God also?

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 the Lord himself shall give you a sign. Behold a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel.

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 shall eat butter and honey, 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 know to refuse the evil, and to choose the good, the land which thou abhorrest shall be forsaken of 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 shall bring upon thee, and upon thy people, and upon the house of thy father, days that have not come since the time of the separation of Ephraim from Juda with 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 it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall hiss for the fly, that is in the uttermost parts of the rivers of Egypt, and for the bee that 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 shall all of them rest in the torrents of the valleys, and in the holes of the rocks, and upon all places set with shrubs, and in all hollow places.

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 shall shave with a razor that is hired by them that are beyond the river, by the king of the Assyrians, the head and the hairs of the feet, and the whole beard.

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 for the abundance of milk he shall eat butter: for butter and honey shall every one eat that shall be left in the midst of the land.

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 pieces of silver, shall 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].

With arrows and with bows they shall go in thither: for briars and thorns shall be in all the 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].

And as for all the hills that shall be raked with a rake, the fear of thorns and briers shall not come thither, but they shall be for the ox to feed on, and the lesser cattle to tread upon.