CHAPTER 7
Now
in the days that
Ahaz
son
of Jotham,
the son
of Uzziah,
was king
of Judah,
Rezin
king
of Aram
marched up
to wage war
against
Jerusalem.
He was accompanied by Pekah
son
of Remaliah
the king
of Israel,
but he could
not
overpower
the city.
When it became known
to the house
of David
that Aram
was in league with
Ephraim,
the hearts
of Ahaz
and his people
trembled
like trees
in the forest
shaken
by the wind.
Then the LORD
said
to
Isaiah,
“Go out
with your son
Shear-jashub
to meet
Ahaz
at
the end
of the aqueduct
that feeds the upper
pool,
on
the road
to the Launderer’s
Field,
and say
to him:
‘Calm down
and be quiet.
Do not
be afraid
or fainthearted
over these
two
smoldering
stubs
of firewood,
over the fierce
anger
of Rezin
and Aram
and of the son
of Remaliah.
‘Let us invade
Judah,
terrorize it,
and conquer it
for ourselves.
Then we can install
the son
of Tabeal
over it
as king.’”
For
the head
of Aram
is Damascus,
and the head
of Damascus
is Rezin.
Within
sixty-five
years
Ephraim
will be too shattered
to be a people.
The head
of Ephraim
is Samaria,
and the head
of Samaria
is the son
of Remaliah.
If
you do not
stand firm in your faith,
then
you will not
stand at all.”
“Ask for
a sign
from
the LORD
your God,
whether from the depths
of Sheol
or
the heights
of heaven.”
Then Isaiah said,
“Hear
now,
O house
of David!
Is it not enough
to try the patience
of men?
Will you try the patience
of my God
as well?
Therefore
the Lord
Himself
will give
you a sign:
Behold,
the virgin
will be with child
and will give birth
to a son,
and she will call
Him
Immanuel.
For
before
the boy
knows enough
to reject
evil
and choose
good,
the land
of the two
kings
you
dread
will be laid waste.
The LORD
will bring
on you
and on
your people
and on
the house
of your father
a time
unlike
any since the day
Ephraim
separated
from Judah—
He will bring the king
of Assyria.”
On that
day
the LORD
will whistle
to the flies
at the farthest
streams
of the Nile
and to the bees
in the land
of Assyria.
And they will all
come
and settle
in the steep
ravines
and clefts
of the rocks,
in all
the thornbushes
and
watering holes.
On that
day
the Lord
will use a razor
hired
from beyond
the Euphrates—
the king
of Assyria—
to shave
your head
and the hair
of your legs,
and to remove
your beard
as well.
and from
the abundant
milk
they give,
he will eat
curds;
for
all
who remain
in
the land
will eat
curds
and honey.
And on that
day,
in every
place
where
there used to be
a thousand
vines
worth a thousand shekels
of silver,
there will be only
thorns
and briers.
For fear
of the thorns
and briers,
you will no longer
traverse
the hills
once tilled
by the hoe;
they will become
places for oxen
to graze
and sheep
to trample.