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The Sign of Immanuel

When 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.

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Isaiah Sent to King Ahaz

In 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.

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Now the house of David was told, “Aram has allied itself witha Ephraim”; so the hearts of Ahaz and his people were shaken, as the trees of the forest are shaken by the wind.

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When the house of David was told, “Syria is in league witha Ephraim,” the heart of Ahazb and the heart of his people shook as the trees of the forest shake before the wind.

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Then the Lord said to Isaiah, “Go out, you and your son Shear-Jashub,b to meet Ahaz at the end of the aqueduct of the Upper Pool, on the road to the Launderer’s Field.

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And the Lord said to Isaiah, “Go out to meet Ahaz, you and Shear-jashubc your son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool on the highway to the Washer’s Field.

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Say to him, ‘Be careful, keep calm and don’t be afraid. Do not lose heart because of these two smoldering stubs of firewood — because of the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram and of the son of Remaliah.

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And 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.

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Aram, Ephraim and Remaliah’s son have plotted your ruin, saying,

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Because Syria, with Ephraim and the son of Remaliah, has devised evil against you, saying,

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“Let us invade Judah; let us tear it apart and divide it among ourselves, and make the son of Tabeel king over it.”

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“Let us go up against Judah and terrify it, and let us conquer itd for ourselves, and set up the son of Tabeel as king in the midst of it,”

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Yet this is what the Sovereign Lord says:
“ ‘It will not take place,
it will not happen,

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thus says the Lord God:
“‘It shall not stand,
and it shall not come to pass.

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for 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.

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For 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.

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The 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.’ ”

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And the head of Ephraim is Samaria,
and the head of Samaria is the son of Remaliah.
If youe are not firm in faith,
you will not be firm at all.’”

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Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz,

10

The Sign of Immanuel

Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz:

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“Ask the Lord your God for a sign, whether in the deepest depths or in the highest heights.”

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“Ask a sign of the Lord yourf God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven.”

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But Ahaz said, “I will not ask; I will not put the Lord to the test.”

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But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test.”

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Then 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?

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And heg said, “Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary men, that you weary my God also?

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Therefore the Lord himself will give youc a sign: The virgind will conceive and give birth to a son, ande will call him Immanuel.f

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Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.h

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He will be eating curds and honey when he knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right,

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He shall eat curds and honey when he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good.

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for 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.

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For before the boy knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land whose two kings you dread will be deserted.

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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 from Judah — he will bring the king of Assyria.”

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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 Ephraim departed from Judah — the king of Assyria!”

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Assyria, the Lord’s Instrument

In that day the Lord will whistle for flies from the Nile delta in Egypt and for bees from the land of Assyria.

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In 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.

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They 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.

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And 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.i

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In that day the Lord will use a razor hired from beyond the Euphrates River — the king of Assyria — to shave your heads and private parts, and to cut off your beards also.

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In that day the Lord will shave with a razor that is hired beyond the Riverj — with the king of Assyria — the head and the hair of the feet, and it will sweep away the beard also.

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In that day, a person will keep alive a young cow and two goats.

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In that day a man will keep alive a young cow and two sheep,

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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 and honey.

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and 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.

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In that day, in every place where there were a thousand vines worth a thousand silver shekels,g there will be only briers and thorns.

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In that day every place where there used to be a thousand vines, worth a thousand shekelsk of silver, will become briers and thorns.

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Hunters will go there with bow and arrow, for the land will be covered with briers and thorns.

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With bow and arrows a man will come there, for all the land will be briers and thorns.

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As 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.

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And 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.

Parallel

New International Version

English Standard Version

Isaiah 7

Isaiah 7