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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.

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.

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,

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.

Because that Aram counselled against thee evil, Ephraim and the son of Remaliah, saying:

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.

Thus said the Lord Jehovah: It doth not stand, nor shall it be!

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.

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.'

10 And Jehovah addeth to speak unto Ahaz, saying:

11 `Ask for thee a sign from Jehovah thy God, Make deep the request, or make [it] high upwards.'

12 And Ahaz saith, `I do not ask nor try Jehovah.'

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?

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,

15 Butter and honey he doth eat, When he knoweth to refuse evil, and to fix on 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

21 And it hath come to pass, in that day, A man keepeth alive a heifer of the herd, And two of the flock,

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.

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.

24 With arrows and with bow he cometh thither, Because all the land is brier and thorn.

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!'

And Jehovah saith unto me, `Take to thee a great tablet, and write upon it with a graving tool of man, To haste spoil, enjoy prey.'

And I cause faithful witnesses to testify to me, Uriah the priest, and Zechariah son of Jeberechiah.

And I draw near unto the prophetess, and she conceiveth, and beareth a son; and Jehovah saith unto me, `Call his name Maher-shalal-hash-baz,

for before the youth doth know to cry, My father, and My mother, one taketh away the wealth of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria, before the king of Asshur.'

And Jehovah addeth to speak unto me again, saying:

`Because that this people hath refused The waters of Shiloah that go softly, And is rejoicing with Rezin and the son of Remaliah,

Therefore, lo, the Lord is bringing up on them, The waters of the river, the mighty and the great, (The king of Asshur, and all his glory,) And it hath gone up over all its streams, And hath gone on over all its banks.

And it hath passed on into Judah, It hath overflown and passed over, Unto the neck it cometh, And the stretching out of its wings Hath been the fulness of the breadth of thy land, O Emmanu-El!

Be friends, O nations, and be broken, And give ear, all ye far off ones of earth, Gird yourselves, and be broken, Gird yourselves, and be broken.

10 Take counsel, and it is broken, Speak a word, and it doth not stand, Because of Emmanu-El!'

11 For thus hath Jehovah spoken unto me with strength of hand, and instructeth me against walking in the way of this people, saying,

12 `Ye do not say, A confederacy, To all to whom this people saith, A confederacy, And its fear ye do not fear, Nor declare fearful.

13 Jehovah of Hosts -- Him ye do sanctify, And He [is] your Fear, and He your Dread,

14 And He hath been for a sanctuary, And for a stone of stumbling, and for a rock of falling, To the two houses of Israel, For a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

15 And many among them have stumbled and fallen, And been broken, and snared, and captured.

16 Bind up the testimony, Seal the law among My disciples.

17 And I have waited for Jehovah, Who is hiding His face from the house of Jacob, And I have looked for Him.

18 Lo, I, and the children whom Jehovah hath given to me, [Are] for signs and for wonders in Israel, From Jehovah of Hosts, who is dwelling in Mount Zion.

19 And when they say unto you, `Seek unto those having familiar spirits, And unto wizards, who chatter and mutter, Doth not a people seek unto its God? -- For the living unto the dead!

20 To the law and to the testimony! If not, let them say after this manner, `That there is no dawn to it.'

21 -- And it hath passed over into it, hardened and hungry, And it hath come to pass, That it is hungry, and hath been wroth, And made light of its king, and of its God, And hath looked upwards.

22 And unto the land it looketh attentively, And lo, adversity and darkness! -- Dimness, distress, and thick darkness is driven away, But not the dimness for which she is in distress!

The Sign of Immanuel

When Ahaz(A) son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, was king of Judah, King Rezin(B) of Aram(C) and Pekah(D) son of Remaliah(E) king of Israel marched up to fight against Jerusalem, but they could not overpower it.

Now the house of David(F) was told, “Aram has allied itself with[a] Ephraim(G)”; so the hearts of Ahaz and his people were shaken,(H) as the trees of the forest are shaken by the wind.

Then the Lord said to Isaiah, “Go out, you and your son Shear-Jashub,[b](I) to meet Ahaz at the end of the aqueduct of the Upper Pool, on the road to the Launderer’s Field.(J) Say to him, ‘Be careful, keep calm(K) and don’t be afraid.(L) Do not lose heart(M) because of these two smoldering stubs(N) of firewood—because of the fierce anger(O) of Rezin and Aram and of the son of Remaliah.(P) Aram, Ephraim and Remaliah’s(Q) son have plotted(R) your ruin, saying, “Let us invade Judah; let us tear it apart and divide it among ourselves, and make the son of Tabeel king over it.” Yet this is what the Sovereign Lord says:(S)

“‘It will not take place,
    it will not happen,(T)
for the head of Aram is Damascus,(U)
    and the head of Damascus is only Rezin.(V)
Within sixty-five years
    Ephraim will be too shattered(W) to be a people.
The head of Ephraim is Samaria,(X)
    and the head of Samaria is only Remaliah’s son.
If you do not stand(Y) firm in your faith,(Z)
    you will not stand at all.’”(AA)

10 Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, 11 “Ask the Lord your God for a sign,(AB) whether in the deepest depths or in the highest heights.(AC)

12 But Ahaz said, “I will not ask; I will not put the Lord to the test.(AD)

13 Then Isaiah said, “Hear now, you house of David!(AE) Is it not enough(AF) to try the patience of humans? Will you try the patience(AG) of my God(AH) also? 14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you[c] a sign:(AI) The virgin[d](AJ) will conceive and give birth to a son,(AK) and[e] will call him Immanuel.[f](AL) 15 He will be eating curds(AM) and honey(AN) when he knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, 16 for before the boy knows(AO) enough to reject the wrong and choose the right,(AP) the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste.(AQ) 17 The Lord will bring on you and on your people and on the house of your father a time unlike any since Ephraim broke away(AR) from Judah—he will bring the king of Assyria.(AS)

Assyria, the Lord’s Instrument

18 In that day(AT) the Lord will whistle(AU) for flies from the Nile delta in Egypt and for bees from the land of Assyria.(AV) 19 They will all come and settle in the steep ravines and in the crevices(AW) in the rocks, on all the thornbushes(AX) and at all the water holes. 20 In that day(AY) the Lord will use(AZ) a razor hired from beyond the Euphrates River(BA)—the king of Assyria(BB)—to shave your head and private parts, and to cut off your beard(BC) also.(BD) 21 In that day,(BE) a person will keep alive a young cow and two goats.(BF) 22 And because of the abundance of the milk they give, there will be curds to eat. All who remain in the land will eat curds(BG) and honey.(BH) 23 In that day,(BI) in every place where there were a thousand vines worth a thousand silver shekels,[g](BJ) there will be only briers and thorns.(BK) 24 Hunters will go there with bow and arrow, for the land will be covered with briers(BL) and thorns. 25 As for all the hills(BM) once cultivated by the hoe, you will no longer go there for fear of the briers and thorns;(BN) they will become places where cattle are turned loose and where sheep run.(BO)

Isaiah and His Children as Signs

The Lord said to me, “Take a large scroll(BP) and write on it with an ordinary pen: Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz.”[h](BQ) So I called in Uriah(BR) the priest and Zechariah son of Jeberekiah as reliable witnesses(BS) for me. Then I made love to the prophetess,(BT) and she conceived and gave birth to a son.(BU) And the Lord said to me, “Name him Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz.(BV) For before the boy knows(BW) how to say ‘My father’ or ‘My mother,’ the wealth of Damascus(BX) and the plunder of Samaria will be carried off by the king of Assyria.(BY)

The Lord spoke to me again:

“Because this people has rejected(BZ)
    the gently flowing waters of Shiloah(CA)
and rejoices over Rezin
    and the son of Remaliah,(CB)
therefore the Lord is about to bring against them
    the mighty floodwaters(CC) of the Euphrates—
    the king of Assyria(CD) with all his pomp.(CE)
It will overflow all its channels,
    run over all its banks(CF)
and sweep on into Judah, swirling over it,(CG)
    passing through it and reaching up to the neck.
Its outspread wings(CH) will cover the breadth of your land,
    Immanuel[i]!”(CI)

Raise the war cry,[j](CJ) you nations, and be shattered!(CK)
    Listen, all you distant lands.
Prepare(CL) for battle, and be shattered!
    Prepare for battle, and be shattered!
10 Devise your strategy, but it will be thwarted;(CM)
    propose your plan, but it will not stand,(CN)
    for God is with us.[k](CO)

11 This is what the Lord says to me with his strong hand upon me,(CP) warning me not to follow(CQ) the way of this people:

12 “Do not call conspiracy(CR)
    everything this people calls a conspiracy;
do not fear what they fear,(CS)
    and do not dread it.(CT)
13 The Lord Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy,(CU)
    he is the one you are to fear,(CV)
    he is the one you are to dread.(CW)
14 He will be a holy place;(CX)
    for both Israel and Judah he will be
a stone(CY) that causes people to stumble(CZ)
    and a rock that makes them fall.(DA)
And for the people of Jerusalem he will be
    a trap and a snare.(DB)
15 Many of them will stumble;(DC)
    they will fall and be broken,
    they will be snared and captured.”

16 Bind up this testimony of warning(DD)
    and seal(DE) up God’s instruction among my disciples.
17 I will wait(DF) for the Lord,
    who is hiding(DG) his face from the descendants of Jacob.
I will put my trust in him.(DH)

18 Here am I, and the children the Lord has given me.(DI) We are signs(DJ) and symbols(DK) in Israel from the Lord Almighty, who dwells on Mount Zion.(DL)

The Darkness Turns to Light

19 When someone tells you to consult(DM) mediums and spiritists,(DN) who whisper and mutter,(DO) should not a people inquire(DP) of their God? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living? 20 Consult God’s instruction(DQ) and the testimony of warning.(DR) If anyone does not speak according to this word, they have no light(DS) of dawn. 21 Distressed and hungry,(DT) they will roam through the land;(DU) when they are famished, they will become enraged and, looking upward, will curse(DV) their king and their God. 22 Then they will look toward the earth and see only distress and darkness and fearful gloom,(DW) and they will be thrust into utter darkness.(DX)

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 7:2 Or has set up camp in
  2. Isaiah 7:3 Shear-Jashub means a remnant will return.
  3. Isaiah 7:14 The Hebrew is plural.
  4. Isaiah 7:14 Or young woman
  5. Isaiah 7:14 Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scrolls son, and he or son, and they
  6. Isaiah 7:14 Immanuel means God with us.
  7. Isaiah 7:23 That is, about 25 pounds or about 12 kilograms
  8. Isaiah 8:1 Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz means quick to the plunder, swift to the spoil; also in verse 3.
  9. Isaiah 8:8 Immanuel means God with us.
  10. Isaiah 8:9 Or Do your worst
  11. Isaiah 8:10 Hebrew Immanuel