Isaiah 7
Christian Standard Bible Anglicised
The Message to Ahaz
7 This took place during the reign of Ahaz, son of Jotham, son of Uzziah, king of Judah:(A) Aram’s King Rezin and Israel’s King Pekah son of Remaliah went to fight against Jerusalem,(B) but they were not able to conquer it.
2 When it became known to the house of David(C) that Aram had occupied Ephraim,(D) the heart of Ahaz[a] and the hearts of his people trembled like trees of a forest shaking in the wind.
3 The Lord said to Isaiah, ‘Go out with your son Shear-jashub[b](E) to meet Ahaz at the end of the conduit of the upper pool,(F) by the road to the Launderer’s Field. 4 Say to him: Calm down and be quiet. Don’t be afraid or cowardly(G) because of these two smouldering sticks, the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram, and the son of Remaliah. 5 For Aram, along with Ephraim and the son of Remaliah, has plotted harm against you. They say, 6 “Let’s go up against Judah, terrorise it, and conquer it for ourselves. Then we can install Tabeel’s son as king in it.” ’
7 This is what the Lord God says:
It will not happen; it will not occur.(H)
8 The chief city of Aram is Damascus,
the chief of Damascus is Rezin
(within sixty-five years
Ephraim will be too shattered to be a people),
9 the chief city of Ephraim is Samaria,
and the chief of Samaria is the son of Remaliah.
If you do not stand firm in your faith,
then you will not stand at all.
The Immanuel Prophecy
10 Then the Lord spoke again to Ahaz: 11 ‘Ask for a sign(I) from the Lord your God – it can be as deep as Sheol or as high as heaven.’
12 But Ahaz replied, ‘I will not ask. I will not test the Lord.’
13 Isaiah(J) said, ‘Listen, house of David! Is it not enough for you to try the patience of men? Will you also try the patience of my God?(K) 14 Therefore, the Lord himself will give you[c] a sign: See, the virgin will conceive,[d] have a son, and name him Immanuel.[e](L) 15 By the time he learns to reject what is bad and choose what is good,(M) he will be eating curds[f] and honey.(N) 16 For before the boy knows to reject what is bad and choose what is good, the land of the two kings you dread will be abandoned. 17 The Lord will bring on you, your people, and your father’s house such a time as has never been since Ephraim separated from Judah:(O) He will bring the king of Assyria.’(P)
18 On that day(Q)
the Lord will whistle(R) to flies
at the farthest streams of the Nile
and to bees in the land of Assyria.
19 All of them will come and settle
in the steep ravines, in the clefts of the rocks,(S)
in all the thorn bushes, and in all the water holes.
20 On that day the Lord will use a razor(T) hired from beyond the River Euphrates – the king of Assyria(U) – to shave the hair on your heads, the hair on your legs, and even your beards.
21 On that day
a man will raise a young cow and two sheep,
22 and from the abundant milk they give
he will eat curds,
for every survivor in the land will eat curds and honey.(V)
23 And on that day
every place where there were a thousand vines,
worth a thousand pieces of silver,
will become thorns and briars.(W)
24 A man will go there with bow and arrows
because the whole land will be thorns and briars.
25 You will not go to all the hills
that were once tilled with a hoe,
for fear of the thorns and briars.
Those hills will be places for oxen to graze
and for sheep to trample.
Isaiah 7
English Standard Version
Isaiah Sent to King Ahaz
7 In the days of (A)Ahaz the son of Jotham, son of Uzziah, king of Judah, (B)Rezin the king of Syria and (C)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. 2 When the house of David was told, (D)“Syria is in league with[a] (E)Ephraim,” the heart of Ahaz[b] and the heart of his people shook as the trees of the forest shake before the wind.
3 And the Lord said to Isaiah, “Go out to meet Ahaz, you and (F)Shear-jashub[c] your son, at the end of (G)the conduit of the upper pool on the highway to the Washer's Field. 4 And say to him, (H)‘Be careful, (I)be quiet, do not fear, and do not let your heart be faint because of these two (J)smoldering stumps of firebrands, at the fierce anger of Rezin and Syria and (K)the son of Remaliah. 5 Because Syria, with Ephraim and (L)the son of Remaliah, has devised evil against you, saying, 6 “Let us go up against Judah and terrify it, and let us conquer it[d] for ourselves, and set up the son of Tabeel as king in the midst of it,” 7 thus says the Lord God:
(M)“‘It shall not stand,
and it shall not come to pass.
8 For the head of Syria is (N)Damascus,
and the head of Damascus is Rezin.
And within sixty-five years
Ephraim will be shattered from being a people.
9 And the head of Ephraim is Samaria,
and the head of Samaria is (O)the son of Remaliah.
(P)If you[e] are not firm in faith,
you will not be firm at all.’”
The Sign of Immanuel
10 Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz: 11 “Ask (Q)a sign of the Lord your[f] God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven.” 12 But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test.” 13 And he[g] said, “Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary men, that you (R)weary my God also? 14 Therefore the (S)Lord himself will give you a sign. (T)Behold, the (U)virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name (V)Immanuel.[h] 15 He shall eat (W)curds and honey when he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good. 16 (X)For before the boy knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land whose two kings you dread will be (Y)deserted. 17 (Z)The 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 (AA)Ephraim departed from Judah—the king of Assyria!”
18 In that day the Lord will (AB)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. 19 And they will all come and settle in the steep ravines, and (AC)in the clefts of the rocks, and on all the thornbushes, and on all the pastures.[i]
20 In that day (AD)the Lord will (AE)shave with a razor that is (AF)hired beyond (AG)the River[j]—with the king of Assyria—the head and the hair of the feet, and it will sweep away the beard also.
21 (AH)In that day a man will keep alive a young cow and two sheep, 22 and because of the abundance of milk that they give, he will eat curds, for everyone who is left in the land will eat (AI)curds and honey.
23 In that day every place where there used to be a thousand vines, worth a thousand shekels[k] of silver, will become (AJ)briers and thorns. 24 (AK)With bow and arrows a man will come there, for all the land will be briers and thorns. 25 (AL)And as for all the hills that used to be hoed with a hoe, you will not come there for fear (AM)of briers and thorns, but they will become a place where cattle are let loose and where sheep tread.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 7:2 Hebrew Syria has rested upon
- Isaiah 7:2 Hebrew his heart
- Isaiah 7:3 Shear-jashub means A remnant shall return
- Isaiah 7:6 Hebrew let us split it open
- Isaiah 7:9 The Hebrew for you is plural in verses 9, 13, 14
- Isaiah 7:11 The Hebrew for you and your is singular in verses 11, 16, 17
- Isaiah 7:13 That is, Isaiah
- Isaiah 7:14 Immanuel means God is with us
- Isaiah 7:19 Or watering holes, or brambles
- Isaiah 7:20 That is, the Euphrates
- Isaiah 7:23 A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams
Isaiah 7
Contemporary English Version
Isaiah Offers Hope to King Ahaz
7 (A) Ahaz, the son of Jotham and the grandson of Uzziah, was king of Judah when King Rezin of Syria and King Pekah son of Remaliah of Israel went to attack Jerusalem. But they were not able to do what they had planned.[a] 2 When news reached the royal palace that Syria had joined forces with Israel, King Ahaz and everyone in Judah were so terrified that they shook like trees in a windstorm.
3 Then the Lord said to me:
Take your son Shearjashub[b] and go see King Ahaz. You will find him on the road near the cloth makers' shops at the end of the canal that brings water from the upper pool. 4 Tell Ahaz to stop worrying. There's no need for him to be afraid of King Rezin and King Pekah. They are very angry, but they are nothing more than a dying fire. Ahaz doesn't need to fear 5 their evil threats 6 to invade and defeat Judah and Jerusalem and to let the son of Tabeel be king in his place.
7 I, the Lord, promise that this will never happen. 8-9 Damascus is just the capital of Syria, and King Rezin rules only in Damascus. Samaria is just the capital of Israel, and King Pekah rules only in Samaria. But in less than 65 years, Israel will be destroyed. And if Ahaz and his officials don't trust me, they will be defeated.
A Son Named Immanuel
10 Once again the Lord God spoke to King Ahaz. This time he said, 11 “Ask me for proof that my promise will come true. Ask for something to happen deep in the world of the dead or high in the heavens above.”
12 “No, Lord,” Ahaz answered. “I won't test you!”
13 Then I said:
Listen, every one of you in the royal family of David. You have already tried my patience. Now you are trying God's patience by refusing to ask for proof. 14 (B) But the Lord will still give you proof. A virgin[c] is pregnant; she will have a son and will name him Immanuel.[d] 15-16 Even before the boy is old enough to know how to choose between right and wrong, he will eat yogurt and honey,[e] and the countries of the two kings you fear will be destroyed. 17 But the Lord will make more trouble for your people and your kingdom than any of you have known since Israel broke away from Judah. He will even bring the king of Assyria to attack you.
The Threat of an Invasion
18 When that time comes, the Lord will whistle, and armies will come from Egypt like flies and from Assyria like bees. 19 They will settle everywhere—in the deep valleys and between the rocks, on every thornbush and all over the pastureland.
20 The Lord will pay the king of Assyria to bring a razor from across the Euphrates River and shave your head and every hair on your body, including your beard.[f]
21 Anyone who is able to save only one young cow and two sheep, 22 will have enough milk to make yogurt. In fact, everyone left in the land will eat yogurt and honey.[g]
23 Vineyards that had 1,000 vines and were worth 1,000 pieces of silver will turn into thorn patches. 24 You will go there to hunt with your bow and arrows, because the whole country will be covered with thornbushes. 25 The hills where you once planted crops will be overgrown with thorns and thistles. You will be afraid to go there, and your cattle, sheep, and goats will be turned loose on those hills.
Footnotes
- 7.1 went … had planned: Or “attacked Jerusalem, but could not capture it.”
- 7.3 Shearjashub: In Hebrew “Shearjashub” means “a few will return.”
- 7.14 virgin: Or “young woman.” In this context the difficult Hebrew word did not imply a virgin birth. However, in the Greek translation made about 200 b.c. and used by the early Christians, the word parthenos had a double meaning. While the translator took it to mean “young woman,” Matthew understood it to mean “virgin” and quoted the passage (Matthew 1.23) because it was the appropriate description of Mary, the mother of Jesus.
- 7.14 Immanuel: In Hebrew “Immanuel” means “God is with us.”
- 7.15,16 yogurt and honey: This may refer either to expensive foods eaten in a time of plenty or to a limited diet eaten in times of a food shortage.
- 7.20 shave … head … body … beard: This would have been a terrible insult.
- 7.22 yogurt and honey: See the note at 7.15,16.
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