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 Jotham, the son of 'Uzziyahu, the king of Judah, that Rezin the king of Syria, and Pekach the son of Remalyahu, the king of Israel, went up toward Jerusalem to war against it; but were not able to make an attack upon 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 unto the house of David, saying, Syria is encamped with Ephraim; and his heart trembled, with the heart of his people, as the trees of the forest are shaken before 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 unto Isaiah, Go forth now to meet Achaz, thou with Shear-yashub thy son, to the end of the aqueduct of the upper pool, on the highway of the washer'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 thy heart not become faint because of these two stumps of smoking firebrands, before the fierce anger of Rezin with Syria, and of the son of Remalyahu.
5 Yes, they are planning to attack this land and saying,
Forasmuch as Syria, [with] Ephraim and the son of Remalyahu, have taken evil counsel against thee, 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 besiege it, and let us make a breach therein for us, and set up as king in the midst of it the son of Tabeal:
7 But this is what Yahweh, the Lord, says: ‘It will not happen; they will not [conquer Jerusalem]!
Thus hath said the Lord Eternal, It shall not succeed, and it shall not 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 and five years shall Ephraim be broken, 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 Remalyahu's son. If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not have permanence.
10 [Later], Yahweh gave [me another message to tell to] King Ahaz.
And the Lord continued to speak unto 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 from the Lord thy God; ask it in the depth, or high up 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]!”
But 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 now, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary men, that ye will 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, this young woman shall conceive, and bear a son, and she shall call his name 'Immanu-el, [God with us].
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.
Cream and honey shall he eat, so soon as he knoweth 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 yet the child shall know to refuse the evil, and to choose the good, shall be forsaken the land, of the kings of which thou feelest dread.
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 bring over thee, and over thy people, and over thy father's house, days that have not come, from the day that Ephraim withdrew from Judah, —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 on that day, that the Lord will call for the fly that is in the uttermost end of the streams 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 encamp, all of them, in the desolate valleys, and in the clefts of the rocks, and upon all thorn-hedges, and upon all bushes.
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.
On the same day will the Lord shave with the razor that is hired, from among those on the other side of the river, with the king of Assyria, the head, and the hair of the feet: and also the beard shall it entirely remove.
21 When that happens, a farmer will be able to have only one cow and two goats/sheep.
And it shall come to pass on that day, that a man shall nourish [but] one 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 happen, that for the abundance of milk which they shall give he shall eat cream; for cream and honey shall eat every one that is 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 on that day, that every place, where there are [now] a thousand vines worth a thousand silver shekels, shall be, —yea, this shall be [given up] to briers 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 bows shall men enter thither; because all the land shall become [covered with] briers 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 are worked with the mattock, there shall not come thither the fear of briers and thorns: and they shall serve for the pasture of oxen, and for the treading of sheep.
