1When Ahaz son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, was king of Judah, King Rezin of Aram and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel marched up to fight against Jerusalem, but they could not overpower it.2Now the house of David was told, ‘Aram has allied itself with[1] Ephraim’; so the hearts of Ahaz and his people were shaken, as the trees of the forest are shaken by the wind.3Then the Lord said to Isaiah, ‘Go out, you and your son Shear-Jashub,[2] to meet Ahaz at the end of the aqueduct of the Upper Pool, on the road to the Launderer’s Field.4Say to him, “Be careful, keep calm and don’t be afraid. Do not lose heart because of these two smouldering stubs of firewood – because of the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram and of the son of Remaliah.5Aram, Ephraim and Remaliah’s son have plotted your ruin, saying,6‘Let us invade Judah; let us tear it apart and divide it among ourselves, and make the son of Tabeel king over it.’7Yet this is what the Sovereign Lord says: ‘ “It will not take place, it will not happen,8for the head of Aram is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is only Rezin. Within sixty-five years Ephraim will be too shattered to be a people.9The head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is only Remaliah’s son. If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all.” ’10Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz,11‘Ask the Lord your God for a sign, whether in the deepest depths or in the highest heights.’12But Ahaz said, ‘I will not ask; I will not put the Lord to the test.’13Then Isaiah said, ‘Hear now, you house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of humans? Will you try the patience of my God also?14Therefore the Lord himself will give you[3] a sign: the virgin[4] will conceive and give birth to a son, and[5] will call him Immanuel.[6]15He will be eating curds and honey when he knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right,16for before the boy knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste.17The Lord will bring on you and on your people and on the house of your father a time unlike any since Ephraim broke away from Judah – he will bring the king of Assyria.’
Assyria, the Lord’s instrument
18In that day the Lord will whistle for flies from the Nile delta in Egypt and for bees from the land of Assyria.19They will all come and settle in the steep ravines and in the crevices in the rocks, on all the thornbushes and at all the water holes.20In that day the Lord will use a razor hired from beyond the River Euphrates – the king of Assyria – to shave your heads and private parts, and to cut off your beards also.21In that day, a person will keep alive a young cow and two goats.22And because of the abundance of the milk they give, there will be curds to eat. All who remain in the land will eat curds and honey.23In that day, in every place where there were a thousand vines worth a thousand silver shekels,[7] there will be only briers and thorns.24Hunters will go there with bow and arrow, for the land will be covered with briers and thorns.25As for all the hills once cultivated by the hoe, you will no longer go there for fear of the briers and thorns; they will become places where cattle are turned loose and where sheep run.
Isaiah 7
English Standard Version
Isaiah Sent to King Ahaz
1In the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, son of Uzziah, king of Judah, Rezin the king of Syria and Pekah the son of Remaliah the king of Israel came up to Jerusalem to wage war against it, but could not yet mount an attack against it. (2Ki 15:37; 2Ki 16:5; Isa 1:1)2When the house of David was told, “Syria is in league with[1] Ephraim,” the heart of Ahaz[2] and the heart of his people shook as the trees of the forest shake before the wind. (Isa 8:12; Isa 9:9)3And the Lord said to Isaiah, “Go out to meet Ahaz, you and Shear-jashub[3] your son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool on the highway to the Washer’s Field. (2Ki 18:17; Isa 8:3; Isa 8:18; Isa 36:2)4And say to him, ‘Be careful, be quiet, do not fear, and do not let your heart be faint because of these two smoldering stumps of firebrands, at the fierce anger of Rezin and Syria and the son of Remaliah. (Ex 14:13; Isa 7:1; Isa 8:12; Am 4:11; Zec 3:2)5Because Syria, with Ephraim and the son of Remaliah, has devised evil against you, saying, (Isa 7:4)6“Let us go up against Judah and terrify it, and let us conquer it[4] for ourselves, and set up the son of Tabeel as king in the midst of it,”7thus says the Lord God: “It shall not stand, and it shall not come to pass. (Isa 8:10)8For the head of Syria is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin. And within sixty-five years Ephraim will be shattered from being a people. (Ge 14:15)9And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is the son of Remaliah. If you[5] are not firm in faith, you will not be firm at all.’” (2Ch 20:20; Isa 7:1)
The Sign of Immanuel
10Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz:11“Ask a sign of the Lord your[6] God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven.” (2Ki 19:29)12But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test.”13And he[7] said, “Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary men, that you weary my God also? (Isa 43:24)14Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.[8] (Ge 24:43; Ex 2:8; Ps 68:25; Pr 30:19; Isa 8:8; Isa 8:10; Isa 9:6; Isa 37:30; Isa 38:7; Mt 1:23; Lu 1:31; Lu 1:34)15He shall eat curds and honey when he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good. (Isa 7:22)16For before the boy knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land whose two kings you dread will be deserted. (Isa 6:12; Isa 8:4)17The Lord will bring upon you and upon your people and upon your father’s house such days as have not come since the day that Ephraim departed from Judah—the king of Assyria!” (1Ki 12:16; 2Ch 28:20; Isa 8:7)18In that day the Lord will whistle for the fly that is at the end of the streams of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria. (Isa 5:26)19And they will all come and settle in the steep ravines, and in the clefts of the rocks, and on all the thornbushes, and on all the pastures.[9] (Isa 2:19; Jer 13:4; Jer 16:16)20In that day the Lord will shave with a razor that is hired beyond the River[10]—with the king of Assyria—the head and the hair of the feet, and it will sweep away the beard also. (2Ki 18:13; Isa 8:7; Isa 10:5; Isa 10:15; Isa 11:15; Isa 24:1; Eze 5:1)21In that day a man will keep alive a young cow and two sheep, (Isa 5:17)22and because of the abundance of milk that they give, he will eat curds, for everyone who is left in the land will eat curds and honey. (Isa 7:15)23In that day every place where there used to be a thousand vines, worth a thousand shekels[11] of silver, will become briers and thorns. (Isa 5:6)24With bow and arrows a man will come there, for all the land will be briers and thorns. (Jud 5:11)25And as for all the hills that used to be hoed with a hoe, you will not come there for fear of briers and thorns, but they will become a place where cattle are let loose and where sheep tread. (Isa 7:23; Isa 32:13)