Isaiah 7

1 Ahaz was the son of Jotham and grandson of Uzziah. During the time that Ahaz was the king of Judah, King Rezin of Syria and King Pekah of Israel marched [with their armies] to attack Jerusalem. But they could not conquer it.

And it came to pass in the days of Achaz [the son] of Joatham, the son of Ozias, king of Juda, there came up Rasim king of Aram, and Phakee son of Romelias, king of Israel, against Jerusalem to war against it, but they could not take it.

2 [But before they attacked], everyone in the palace heard a report that the armies of Syria and Israel were [now] (allies/joined [to attack Jerusalem)]. So Ahaz and the people over whom he ruled were extremely afraid; they were shaking from fear like trees shake in a windstorm.

And a message was brought to the house of David, saying, Aram has conspired with Ephraim. And his soul was amazed, and the soul of his people, as in a wood a tree is moved by the wind.

3 Then Yahweh said to me, “Take your son Shear-Jashub, and go to talk with [King] Ahaz. He is at the end of the (aqueduct/water channel) that brings water into the upper reservoir, near the road to the place where women wash clothes.

And the Lord said to Esaias, Go forth to meet Achaz, you, and your son Jasub who is left, to the pool of the upper way of the fuller's field.

4 Tell Ahaz to stop worrying [DOU]. Tell him that he does not need to be afraid of those two kings, Rezin and Pekah. They are very angry [with Judah], but they are [unable to harm his country any more than] completely burned-out coals [can harm him].

And you shall say to him, Take care to be quiet, and fear not, neither let your soul be disheartened because of these two smoking firebrands: for when my fierce anger is over, I will heal again.

5 Yes, they are planning to attack this land and saying,

And [as for] the son of Aram, and the son of Romelias, forasmuch as they have devised an evil counsel, [saying],

6 ‘We will attack Judah and conquer it. Then we will appoint Tabeel’s son to be the king of Judah.’

We will go up against Judea, and having conferred with them we will turn them away to our side, and we will make the son of Tabeel king of it;

7 But this is what Yahweh, the Lord, says: ‘It will not happen; they will not [conquer Jerusalem]!

thus says the Lord of hosts, This counsel shall not abide, nor come to pass.

8 The capital of Syria is Damascus, but Damascus is ruled [only] by its [unimportant/insignificant] king king Rezin. And as for Israel, within 65 years it will be conquered and completely destroyed.

But the head of Aram is Damascus, and the head of Damascus, Rasim; and yet within sixty and five years the kingdom of Ephraim shall cease from [being] a people.

9 Israel’s capital is Samaria, and Samaria is ruled only by its [insignificant/unimportant] king king Pekah. [So you do not need to be afraid of those two countries]! [But you must trust me, because] if you do not trust me fully, you will be defeated.’”

And the head of Ephraim is Somoron, and the head of Somoron the son of Romelias: but if you believe not, neither will you at all understand.

10 [Later], Yahweh gave [me another message to tell to] King Ahaz.

And the Lord again spoke to Achaz, saying,

11 [He said to tell him], “Request me, Yahweh your God, to do something that will enable you to be sure [that I will help/protect you]. What you request can be [from a place that is] as high as the sky or as low as the place where the dead people are.” (Sheol h7585)

Ask for yourself a sign of the Lord your God, in the depth or in the height. (Sheol h7585)

12 But [when I told that to the king, he refused]. He said, “[No], I will not request Yahweh to do something to prove [that he will help/protect us]!”

And Achaz said, I will not ask, neither will I tempt the Lord.

13 Then I said [to him], “You people who are descendants of King David, listen! You are causing me to be tired of being patient. Are you also going to cause my God to stop being patient with you [RHQ]?

And he said, Hear you now, O house of David; is it a little thing for you to contend with men? and how do you contend against the Lord?

14 Yahweh himself will do something for you [to prove that he will help/protect you]. Listen to this: A young woman will become pregnant and give birth to a son. She will name him Immanuel, [which means ‘God is with us’].

Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; behold, a virgin shall conceive in the womb, and shall bring forth a son, and you shall call his name Emmanuel.

15 And by the time that child is old enough to eat curds/yogurt and honey, he will be able to reject what is evil and choose what is good.

Butter and honey shall he eat, before he knows either to prefer evil [or] choose the good.

16 And before that child is old enough to do that, the lands of the two kings that you(sg) are very (afraid of/worried about) will be deserted.

For before the child shall know good or evil, he refuses evil, to choose the good; and the land shall be forsaken which you are afraid of because of the two kings.

17 [But then] Yahweh will cause you and your family and your entire nation to experience [terrible disasters]. Those disasters will be worse than any disasters that have occurred since the country of Israel separated from Judah. Yahweh will cause [the army of] the king of Assyria to attack you!”

But God shall bring upon you, and upon your people, and upon the house of your father, days which have never come, from the day that Ephraim took away from Juda the king of the Assyrians.

18 At that time, [it will be as though] Yahweh will whistle to summon the army from the south of Egypt as well as the army of Assyria. They will [come and surround your country like] [MET] flies and bees.

And it shall come to pass in that day that the Lord shall hiss for the flies, which [insect] shall rule over a part of the river of Egypt, and for the bee which is in the land of the Assyrians.

19 They will all come and settle/live [everywhere]—in the narrow valleys and caves in the rock cliffs, on land where there are thornbushes as well as on the fertile land.

And they all shall enter into the clefts of the land, and into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves, and into every ravine.

20 At that time Yahweh will hire the king of Assyria to come [with his army] from east of the [Euphrates] River. [They will get rid of everything in your land—the crops and the people. They will destroy everything thoroughly]; it will be like [MET] a barber shaving not only a man’s hair but his beard and the hair on his legs.

In that day the Lord shall shave with the hired razor of the king of Assyria beyond the river the head, and the hairs of the feet, and will remove the beard.

21 When that happens, a farmer will be able to have only one cow and two goats/sheep.

And it shall come to pass in that day, [that] a man shall rear a heifer, and two sheep.

22 [However], those animals will give plenty of milk, with the result that the farmer will have curds/yogurt to eat. And [because there will not be many people left] in the land, all the people who remain there will have plenty of milk and honey.

And it shall come to pass from their drinking an abundance of milk, [that] every one that is left on the land shall eat butter and honey.

23 Now there are many areas where there are vineyards that are worth 1,000 pieces of silver, but at that time there will be only briers and thorns [DOU] in those fields.

And it shall come to pass in that day, [for] every place where there shall be a thousand vines at a thousand shekels, they shall become barren land and thorns.

24 There will be only briers and thorns in the entire land, [and wild animals], with the result that men will take their bows and arrows and go there [to hunt and kill animals].

[Men] shall enter there with arrow and bow; for all the land shall be [barren] ground and thorns.

25 No one will go to where there previously were gardens on fertile hillsides, because briers and thorns will cover those hillsides. They will be areas where [only a few] cattle and sheep and goats wander around [searching for something to eat].

And every mountain shall be certainly ploughed: there shall no fear come there: for there shall be from [amongst] the [barren] ground and thorns that whereon cattle shall feed and oxen shall tread.