New Living Translation

New American Standard Bible

A Message for Ahaz

When Ahaz, son of Jotham and grandson of Uzziah, was king of Judah, King Rezin of Syriaa and Pekah son of Remaliah, the king of Israel, set out to attack Jerusalem. However, they were unable to carry out their plan.

1

War against Jerusalem

Now it came about in the days of Ahaz, the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin the king of Aram and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up to Jerusalem to wage war against it, but could not conquer it.

2

The news had come to the royal court of Judah: “Syria is allied with Israelb against us!” So the hearts of the king and his people trembled with fear, like trees shaking in a storm.

2

When it was reported to the house of David, saying, “The Arameans have camped in Ephraim,” his heart and the hearts of his people shook as the trees of the forest shake with the wind.

3

Then the LORD said to Isaiah, “Take your son Shear-jashubc and go out to meet King Ahaz. You will find him at the end of the aqueduct that feeds water into the upper pool, near the road leading to the field where cloth is washed.d

3

Then the LORD said to Isaiah, “Go out now to meet Ahaz, you and your son Shear-jashub, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool, on the highway to the fuller’s field,

4

Tell him to stop worrying. Tell him he doesn’t need to fear the fierce anger of those two burned-out embers, King Rezin of Syria and Pekah son of Remaliah.

4

and say to him, ‘Take care and be calm, have no fear and do not be fainthearted because of these two stubs of smoldering firebrands, on account of the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram and the son of Remaliah.

5

Yes, the kings of Syria and Israel are plotting against him, saying,

5

‘Because Aram, with Ephraim and the son of Remaliah, has planned evil against you, saying,

6

‘We will attack Judah and capture it for ourselves. Then we will install the son of Tabeel as Judah’s king.’

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“Let us go up against Judah and terrorize it, and make for ourselves a breach in its walls and set up the son of Tabeel as king in the midst of it,”

7

But this is what the Sovereign LORD says:
“This invasion will never happen;
it will never take place;

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thus says the Lord GOD: “It shall not stand nor shall it come to pass.

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for Syria is no stronger than its capital, Damascus,
and Damascus is no stronger than its king, Rezin.
As for Israel, within sixty-five years
it will be crushed and completely destroyed.

8

“For the head of Aram is Damascus and the head of Damascus is Rezin (now within another 65 years Ephraim will be shattered, so that it is no longer a people),

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Israel is no stronger than its capital, Samaria,
and Samaria is no stronger than its king, Pekah son of Remaliah.
Unless your faith is firm,
I cannot make you stand firm.”

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and the head of Ephraim is Samaria and the head of Samaria is the son of Remaliah. If you will not believe, you surely shall not last.”’”

10

The Sign of Immanuel

Later, the LORD sent this message to King Ahaz:

10

The Child Immanuel

Then the LORD spoke again to Ahaz, saying,

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“Ask the LORD your God for a sign of confirmation, Ahaz. Make it as difficult as you want — as high as heaven or as deep as the place of the dead.e”

11

“Ask a sign for yourself from the LORD your God; make it deep as Sheol or high as heaven.”

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But the king refused. “No,” he said, “I will not test the LORD like that.”

12

But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, nor will I test the LORD!”

13

Then Isaiah said, “Listen well, you royal family of David! Isn’t it enough to exhaust human patience? Must you exhaust the patience of my God as well?

13

Then he said, “Listen now, O house of David! Is it too slight a thing for you to try the patience of men, that you will try the patience of my God as well?

14

All right then, the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virginf will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’).

14

“Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.

15

By the time this child is old enough to choose what is right and reject what is wrong, he will be eating yogurtg and honey.

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“He will eat curds and honey at the time He knows enough to refuse evil and choose good.

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For before the child is that old, the lands of the two kings you fear so much will both be deserted.

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“For before the boy will know enough to refuse evil and choose good, the land whose two kings you dread will be forsaken.

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“Then the LORD will bring things on you, your nation, and your family unlike anything since Israel broke away from Judah. He will bring the king of Assyria upon you!”

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Trials to Come for Judah

“The LORD will bring on you, on your people, and on your father’s house such days as have never come since the day that Ephraim separated from Judah, the king of Assyria.”

18

In that day the LORD will whistle for the army of southern Egypt and for the army of Assyria. They will swarm around you like flies and bees.

18

In that day the LORD will whistle for the fly that is in the remotest part of the rivers of Egypt and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria.

19

They will come in vast hordes and settle in the fertile areas and also in the desolate valleys, caves, and thorny places.

19

They will all come and settle on the steep ravines, on the ledges of the cliffs, on all the thorn bushes and on all the watering places.

20

In that day the Lord will hire a “razor” from beyond the Euphrates Riverh — the king of Assyria — and use it to shave off everything: your land, your crops, and your people.i

20

In that day the Lord will shave with a razor, hired from regions beyond the Euphrates (that is, with the king of Assyria), the head and the hair of the legs; and it will also remove the beard.

21

In that day a farmer will be fortunate to have a cow and two sheep or goats left.

21

Now in that day a man may keep alive a heifer and a pair of sheep;

22

Nevertheless, there will be enough milk for everyone because so few people will be left in the land. They will eat their fill of yogurt and honey.

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and because of the abundance of the milk produced he will eat curds, for everyone that is left within the land will eat curds and honey.

23

In that day the lush vineyards, now worth 1,000 pieces of silver,j will become patches of briers and thorns.

23

And it will come about in that day, that every place where there used to be a thousand vines, valued at a thousand shekels of silver, will become briars and thorns.

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The entire land will become a vast expanse of briers and thorns, a hunting ground overrun by wildlife.

24

People will come there with bows and arrows because all the land will be briars and thorns.

25

No one will go to the fertile hillsides where the gardens once grew, for briers and thorns will cover them. Cattle, sheep, and goats will graze there.

25

As for all the hills which used to be cultivated with the hoe, you will not go there for fear of briars and thorns; but they will become a place for pasturing oxen and for sheep to trample.

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New Living Translation

New American Standard Bible

Isaiah 7

Isaiah 7