< Isaiah 7 >
1 And it cometh to pass in the days of Ahaz, son of Jotham, son of Uzziah, king of Judah, gone up hath Rezin king of Aram, and Pekah, son of Remaliah, king of Israel, to Jerusalem, to battle against it, and he is not able to fight against it.
During the days of Ahaz son of Jotham son of Uzziah, king of Judah, Rezin the king of Aram, and Pekah son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up to Jerusalem to war against it, but they could not prevail against it.
2 And it is declared to the house of David, saying, 'Aram hath been led towards Ephraim,' And his heart and the heart of his people is moved, like the moving of trees of a forest by the presence of wind.
It was reported to the house of David that Aram was allied with Ephraim. His heart trembled, and the heart of his people, as the trees of the forest shake in the wind.
3 And Jehovah saith unto Isaiah, 'Go forth, I pray thee, to meet Ahaz, thou, and Shear-Jashub thy son, unto the end of the conduit of the upper pool, unto the highway of the fuller's field,
Then Yahweh said to Isaiah, “Go out with your son Shear-Jashub to meet Ahaz at the end of the conduit of the upper pool, on the road to Launderer's Field.
4 and thou hast said unto him: 'Take heed, and be quiet, fear not, And let not thy heart be timid, Because of these two tails of smoking brands, For the fierceness of the anger of Rezin and Aram, And the son of Remaliah.
Tell him, 'Be careful, remain calm, do not be afraid or intimidated by these two smoldering firebrands, by the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram, and of Pekah son of Remaliah.
5 Because that Aram counselled against thee evil, Ephraim and the son of Remaliah, saying:
Aram, Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah have planned evil against you; they have said,
6 We go up into Judah, and we vex it, And we rend it unto ourselves, And we cause a king to reign in its midst — The son of Tabeal.
“Let us attack Judah and terrify her, and let us break into her and set up our king there, the son of Tabeel.”
7 Thus said the Lord Jehovah: It doth not stand, nor shall it be!
The Lord Yahweh says, “It will not take place; it will not happen,
8 For the head of Aram [is] Damascus, And the head of Damascus [is] Rezin, And within sixty and five years Is Ephraim broken from [being] a people.
because the head of Aram is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin. Within sixty-five years, Ephraim will be shattered and will no longer be a people.
9 And the head of Ephraim [is] Samaria, And the head of Samaria [is] the son of Remaliah. If ye do not give credence, Surely ye are not stedfast.'
The head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is Remaliah's son. If you do not remain firm in faith, surely you will not remain secure.”'”
10 And Jehovah addeth to speak unto Ahaz, saying:
The Lord spoke again to Ahaz,
11 'Ask for thee a sign from Jehovah thy God, Make deep the request, or make [it] high upwards.' (Sheol )
“Ask a sign of Yahweh your God; ask for it in the depths or in the height above.” (Sheol )
12 And Ahaz saith, 'I do not ask nor try Jehovah.'
But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, nor will I test Yahweh.”
13 And he saith, 'Hear, I pray you, O house of David, Is it a little thing for you to weary men, That ye weary also my God?
So Isaiah replied, “Listen, house of David. Is it not enough for you people to test the patience of people? Must you also test the patience of my God?
14 Therefore the Lord Himself giveth to you a sign, Lo, the Virgin is conceiving, And is bringing forth a son, And hath called his name Immanuel,
Therefore the Lord himself will give you people a sign: See, the young woman will conceive, bear a son, and will call his name Immanuel.
15 Butter and honey he doth eat, When he knoweth to refuse evil, and to fix on good.
He will eat curds and honey when he knows to refuse the evil and choose the good.
16 For before the youth doth know To refuse evil, and to fix on good, Forsaken is the land thou art vexed with, because of her two kings.
For before the child knows to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land whose two kings you dread will be desolate.
17 Jehovah bringeth on thee, and on thy people, And on the house of thy father, Days that have not come, Even from the day of the turning aside of Ephraim from Judah, By the king of Asshur.
Yahweh will bring on you, on your people, and on your father's house days unlike any since Ephraim seceded from Judah—he will bring on you the king of Assyria.”
18 And it hath come to pass, in that day, Jehovah doth hiss for a fly that [is] in the extremity of the brooks of Egypt, And for a bee that [is] in the land of Asshur.
At that time Yahweh will whistle for a fly from the distant streams of Egypt, and for a bee from the land of Assyria.
19 And they have come, and rested all of them in the desolate valleys, And in holes of the rocks, and on all the thorns, And on all the commendable things.
They will all come and settle down into all the gorges, into the clefts of the rocks, on all the thornbushes, and onto all the pastures.
20 In that day doth the Lord shave, By a razor that is hired beyond the river, By the king of Asshur, The head, and the hair of the feet, Yea, also the beard it consumeth.
At that time the Lord will shave with a razor that was hired beyond the Euphrates River—the king of Assyria— the head and the hair of the legs; it will also sweep away the beard.
21 And it hath come to pass, in that day, A man keepeth alive a heifer of the herd, And two of the flock,
On that day, a man will keep alive a young cow and two sheep,
22 And it hath come to pass, From the abundance of the yielding of milk he eateth butter, For butter and honey doth every one eat Who is left in the heart of the land.
and because of the abundance of milk which they shall give, he will eat curds, for everyone left in the land will eat curds and honey.
23 And it hath come to pass, in that day, Every place where there are a thousand vines, At a thousand silverlings, Is for briers and for thorns.
At that time, where there were a thousand vines worth a thousand silver shekels, there will be nothing but briers and thorns.
24 With arrows and with bow he cometh thither, Because all the land is brier and thorn.
Men will go there to hunt with bows, because all the land will be briers and thorns.
25 And all the hills that with a mattock are kept in order, Thither cometh not the fear of brier and thorn, And it hath been for the sending forth of ox, And for the treading of sheep!'
They will stay away from all the hills that were cultivated with the hoe, for fear of the briers and thorns; but it will be a place where cattle and sheep graze.