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Isaiah 7

God's message for King Ahaz

7 Ahaz became the king of Judah. He was the son of Jotham. Jotham was the son of Uzziah.

While Ahaz was Judah's king, King Rezin of Syria and Remaliah's son, King Pekah of Israel, attacked Jerusalem. But they could not get into the city. ² People gave this news to Judah's royal family. They said, ‘The armies of Syria and Ephraim have joined together to attack you.’ ^{[ a ]} When they heard this, Ahaz and his people were very afraid. They shook with fear, like trees in the forest shake in the wind.

³ Then the Lord said to Isaiah, ‘Go out and meet Ahaz. Take your son, Shear-Jashub, with you. ^{[ b ]} Go to meet Ahaz at the end of the water stream that comes from the higher pool. That is at the field where people wash clothes.

⁴ Say to Ahaz, “Be careful. Do not be upset or afraid. Do not let King Rezin, his people from Syria and Remaliah's son, King Pekah, make you afraid. They are very angry, but their power will soon be useless, like two bits of wood that remain after a fire. ⁵ The rulers of Syria and Ephraim, as well as Remaliah's son, have made plans to attack you. ⁶ They are saying, ‘We must attack Judah. We will frighten the people and we will take their country for ourselves. We will make the son of Tabeel rule there as king.’

⁷ But I, the Almighty Lord , say this: That will never happen! ⁸ The capital city of Syria is Damascus. And the king of Damascus is Rezin. 65 years from now Ephraim will not even be a nation. There will be nothing left! ⁹ The capital city of Ephraim is Samaria. And the king of Samaria is Remaliah's son. If you do not continue to trust me, you will not be strong enough to win.” ’

¹⁰ Isaiah also gave this message from the Lord to Ahaz. ¹¹ He said, ‘Ask the Lord your God to do a miracle for you. That will show you that what he has said is true. Ask for anything, deep in the earth or high in the sky.’

¹² But Ahaz said, ‘I will never ask the Lord to do that. I do not want to test him.’

¹³ So Isaiah replied, ‘Now listen, you royal family of David! You cause trouble for people like me. That is bad enough. But now you are trying to cause trouble for God himself. ¹⁴ So the Lord God himself will show you that he speaks a true message. Look, the young woman who has never had sex will become pregnant. She will give birth to a son. She will call his name Immanuel. ¹⁵ One day he will know how to choose good things and refuse to do evil things. By that time there will be cream and honey for him to eat. ¹⁶ Even before that, the two kings that you are now afraid of will have no power. Their land will be empty.

¹⁷ But the Lord will bring even greater trouble to you! It will be very bad for you, for the royal family, and for your people. Nothing as bad will have happened since Ephraim became separate from Judah. Yes, the Lord will bring the king of Assyria to attack you!’

¹⁸ At that time, the Lord will call the soldiers of Egypt to come and attack you. And they will come like a crowd of flies! He will call for soldiers to come from Assyria. And they will come like a crowd of bees! ¹⁹ They will all come in great crowds. They will come into the valleys, the cliffs, the holes in the rocks, the thorn bushes and the pools of water.

²⁰ At that time, the Lord will use the king of Assyria to bring trouble and pain. He will come from beyond the Euphrates river. He will be like a sharp knife that cuts off all your hair, the hair from your head, your legs and your beard.

²¹ At that time, a farmer will have only one young cow and two goats. ^{[ c ]} ²² They will give him a lot of milk. So he will have butter and cream to eat. Everyone who remains in the land will have milk and honey as their food. ²³ On that day, in every place where there had been 1,000 valuable vines, there will now be only weeds and thorn bushes. ²⁴ In the whole land there will be only weeds and thorn bushes. So men will go to shoot wild animals there with their bows and arrows. ²⁵ Nobody will go to the fields in the hills, because only thorn bushes grow there. People will be afraid to go there. They will send their cows there to eat grass. Sheep will run over the fields.

Footnotes

7:2 Ephraim was the Israelite kingdom in the north.
7:3 ‘Shear-Jashub’ was Isaiah's older son. His name means ‘Some people will return’.
7:21 ‘two goats’ or ‘two sheep’

Trouble With Aram

7 Ahaz was the son of Jotham, who was the son of Uzziah. Rezin was the king of Aram, Pekah son of Remaliah ^{[ a ]} was the king of Israel. When Ahaz was king of Judah, Rezin and Pekah went up to Jerusalem to attack it, but they were not able to defeat the city. ^{[ b ]}

² The family of David received a message that said, “The armies of Aram and Ephraim have joined together in one camp.” When King Ahaz heard this message, he and the people became frightened. They shook with fear like trees of the forest blowing in the wind.

³ Then the Lord told Isaiah, “You and your son Shear Jashub ^{[ c ]} should go out and talk to Ahaz. Go to the place where the water flows into the Upper Pool, ^{[ d ]} on the street that leads up to Laundryman’s Field.

⁴ “Tell Ahaz, ‘Be careful, but be calm. Don’t be afraid. Don’t let those two men, Rezin and Remaliah’s son, ^{[ e ]} frighten you! They are like two burning sticks. They might be hot now, but soon they will be nothing but smoke. Rezin, Aram, and Remaliah’s son became angry ⁵ and made plans against you. They said, ⁶ “Let’s go fight against Judah and divide it among ourselves. Then we will make Tabeel’s son the new king of Judah.”’”

⁷ But the Lord God says, “Their plan will not succeed. It will not happen ⁸ because Aram depends on its capital Damascus, and Damascus is led by its weak king Rezin. And don’t worry about Ephraim. Within 65 years it will be crushed, no longer a nation. ⁹ Ephraim depends on its capital Samaria, and Samaria is led by Remaliah’s son. So you have no reason to fear. Believe this, or you will not survive.”

Immanuel—God Is With Us

¹⁰ Then the Lord spoke to Ahaz again ¹¹ and said, “Ask for a sign from the Lord your God to prove to yourself that this is true. You can ask for any sign you want. The sign can come from a place as deep as Sheol ^{[ f ]} or as high as the skies. ^{[ g ]} ”

¹² But Ahaz said, “I will not ask for a sign as proof. I will not test the Lord .”

¹³ Then Isaiah said, “Family of David, listen very carefully! Is it not enough that you would test the patience of humans? Will you now test the patience of my God? ¹⁴ But the Lord will still show you this sign:

The young woman is pregnant ^{[ h ]}
and will give birth to a son.
She will name him Immanuel. ^{[ i ]}
¹⁵ He will eat milk curds and honey ^{[ j ]}
as he learns to choose good and refuse evil.
¹⁶ But before he is old enough to make that choice,
the land of the two kings you fear will be empty.

¹⁷ “But the Lord will bring troubled times to you. These troubles will be worse than anything that has happened since the time Israel separated from Judah. This will happen to your people and to your father’s family when God brings the king of Assyria to fight against you.

¹⁸ “At that time the Lord will call for the ‘Fly’ that is now near the streams of Egypt, and he will call for the ‘Bee’ that is now in the country of Assyria. Those enemies will come to your country. ¹⁹ They will settle in the deep valleys and in the caves, by the thornbushes and watering holes. ²⁰ The Lord will use Assyria to punish Judah. Assyria will be hired and used like a razor to shave off Judah’s beard and to remove the hair from his head and body. ^{[ k ]}

²¹ “At that time someone might keep only one young cow and two sheep alive. ²² But there will be enough milk for them to eat milk curds. In fact, everyone left in the country will eat milk curds and honey. ²³ There are now fields that have 1000 grapevines, and each grapevine is worth 1000 pieces of silver. But those fields will be covered with weeds and thorns. ²⁴ That land will be wild and used only as a hunting ground where people go with bows and arrows. ²⁵ People once worked the soil and grew food on these hills, but at that time they will not go there, because the fields will be covered with weeds and thorns. It will be a place where cattle graze and sheep wander.”

Footnotes

Isaiah 7:1 Pekah son of Remaliah A king of northern Israel. He ruled about 740-731 B.C.
Isaiah 7:1 Rezin and Pekah … the city Or “Rezin and Pekah went up to attack Jerusalem, but they were not able to fight.”
Isaiah 7:3 Shear Jashub This is a name that means “a few people will come back.”
Isaiah 7:3 Upper Pool Probably the Pool of Siloam at the southern tip of the City of David, just above the older pool now called the Red Pool.
Isaiah 7:4 Remaliah’s son Pekah, the king of northern Israel. He ruled about 740–731 B.C.
Isaiah 7:11 The sign … Sheol Or “Make your request deep.” The Hebrew word for “question” is like the word for Sheol.
Isaiah 7:11 The sign … skies Literally, “make your request very high.”
Isaiah 7:14 The young woman is pregnant Or “Look at this young woman. She is pregnant.” The ancient Greek version (quoted in Mt. 1:23) translates “young woman” here with a word meaning “virgin” and has “Look! The virgin will become pregnant.”
Isaiah 7:14 Immanuel This name means “God is with us.”
Isaiah 7:15 milk curds and honey This refers to some of the first solid foods, something like yogurt, that were fed to a baby. This is also the food that even the poor can find to eat. Also in verse 22.
Isaiah 7:20 shave … body This means that the people of Judah would be humiliated and treated like slaves.

7 And it came to pass in the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin the king of Syria, and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up toward Jerusalem to war against it, but could not prevail against it.

² And it was told the house of David, saying, Syria is confederate with Ephraim. And his heart was moved, and the heart of his people, as the trees of the wood are moved with the wind.

³ Then said the Lord unto Isaiah, Go forth now to meet Ahaz, thou, and Shearjashub thy son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool in the highway of the fuller's field;

⁴ And say unto him, Take heed, and be quiet; fear not, neither be fainthearted for the two tails of these smoking firebrands, for the fierce anger of Rezin with Syria, and of the son of Remaliah.

⁵ Because Syria, Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah, have taken evil counsel against thee, saying,

⁶ Let us go up against Judah, and vex it, and let us make a breach therein for us, and set a king in the midst of it, even the son of Tabeal:

⁷ Thus saith the Lord God , It shall not stand, neither shall it come to pass.

⁸ For the head of Syria is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin; and within threescore and five years shall Ephraim be broken, that it be not a people.

⁹ And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is Remaliah's son. If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established.

¹⁰ Moreover the Lord spake again unto Ahaz, saying,

¹¹ Ask thee a sign of the Lord thy God; ask it either in the depth, or in the height above.

¹² But Ahaz said, I will not ask, neither will I tempt the Lord .

¹³ And he said, Hear ye now, O house of David; Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will ye weary my God also?

¹⁴ Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

¹⁵ Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good.

¹⁶ For before the child shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the good, the land that thou abhorrest shall be forsaken of both her kings.

¹⁷ The Lord shall bring upon thee, and upon thy people, and upon thy father's house, days that have not come, from the day that Ephraim departed from Judah; even the king of Assyria.

¹⁸ And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall hiss for the fly that is in the uttermost part of the rivers of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria.

¹⁹ And they shall come, and shall rest all of them in the desolate valleys, and in the holes of the rocks, and upon all thorns, and upon all bushes.

²⁰ In the same day shall the Lord shave with a razor that is hired, namely, by them beyond the river, by the king of Assyria, the head, and the hair of the feet: and it shall also consume the beard.

²¹ And it shall come to pass in that day, that a man shall nourish a young cow, and two sheep;

²² And it shall come to pass, for the abundance of milk that they shall give he shall eat butter: for butter and honey shall every one eat that is left in the land.

²³ And it shall come to pass in that day, that every place shall be, where there were a thousand vines at a thousand silverlings, it shall even be for briers and thorns.

²⁴ With arrows and with bows shall men come thither; because all the land shall become briers and thorns.

²⁵ And on all hills that shall be digged with the mattock, there shall not come thither the fear of briers and thorns: but it shall be for the sending forth of oxen, and for the treading of lesser cattle.

War against Jerusalem

7 Now it came about in the days of ^{( A )} Ahaz, the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that ^{( B )} Rezin the king of Aram and ^{( C )} Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up to Jerusalem to wage war against it, but ^{( D )} could not ^{[ a ]} conquer it. ² When it was reported to the ^{( E )} house of David, saying, “The Arameans ^{( F )} have taken a stand by ^{( G )} Ephraim,” his heart and the hearts of his people shook as the trees of the forest shake from the wind.

³ Then the Lord said to Isaiah, “Go out now to meet Ahaz, you and your son ^{[ b ]} Shear-jashub, at the end of the ^{( H )} conduit of the upper pool, on the road to the ^{[ c ]} fuller’s field, ⁴ and say to him, ‘Take care and be ^{( I )} calm, have no ^{( J )} fear and ^{( K )} do not be fainthearted because of these two stumps of smoldering ^{( L )} logs, on account of the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram and the ^{( M )} son of Remaliah. ⁵ Because ^{( N )} Aram, with Ephraim and the son of Remaliah, has planned evil against you, saying, ⁶ “Let’s go up against Judah and ^{[ d ]} terrorize it, and take it for ourselves by assault and set up the son of Tabeel as king in the midst of it,” ⁷ this is what the Lord ^{[ e ]} God says: “ ^{( O )} It shall not stand nor shall it come to pass. ⁸ For the head of Aram is ^{( P )} Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin (now within another sixty-five years Ephraim will be broken to pieces, so that it is no longer a people), ⁹ and the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is the son of Remaliah. ^{( Q )} If you will not believe, you certainly shall not ^{[ f ]} last.”’”

The Child Immanuel

¹⁰ Then the Lord spoke again to Ahaz, saying, ¹¹ “Ask for a ^{( R )} sign for yourself from the Lord your God; ^{[ g ]} make it deep as Sheol or high as ^{[ h ]} heaven.” ¹² But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, nor will I put the Lord to the test!” ¹³ Then he said, “Listen now, ^{( S )} house of David! Is it too trivial a thing for you to ^{[ i ]} try the patience of men, that you will ^{[ j ]} ^{( T )} try the patience of ^{( U )} my God as well? ¹⁴ Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, ^{( V )} the ^{[ k ]} virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and she will name Him ^{[ l ]} ^{( W )} Immanuel. ¹⁵ He will eat ^{[ m ]} ^{( X )} curds and honey ^{[ n ]} at the time He knows enough to refuse evil and choose good. ¹⁶ ^{( Y )} For before the boy knows enough to refuse evil and choose good, ^{( Z )} the land whose two kings you dread will be abandoned.

Trials to Come for Judah

¹⁷ The Lord will bring on you, on your people, and on your father’s house such days as have not come since the day that ^{( AA )} Ephraim separated from Judah— the days of the ^{( AB )} king of Assyria.”

¹⁸ On that day the Lord will ^{( AC )} whistle for the fly that is in the ^{[ o ]} ^{( AD )} remotest part of the canals of Egypt and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria. ¹⁹ They will all come and settle on the steep ^{[ p ]} ravines, on the ^{( AE )} ledges of the cliffs, ^{( AF )} on all the thorn bushes, and on all the watering places.

²⁰ On that day the Lord will ^{( AG )} shave with a ^{( AH )} razor, ^{( AI )} hired from regions beyond ^{( AJ )} the Euphrates River ( that is , with the king of Assyria), the head and the hair of the legs; and it will also remove the beard.

²¹ Now on that day a person may keep alive only a ^{( AK )} heifer and a pair of sheep; ²² and because of the abundance of the milk produced he will eat ^{[ q ]} curds, for everyone who is left within the land will eat ^{[ r ]} ^{( AL )} curds and honey.

²³ And it will come about on that day, ^{( AM )} that every place where there used to be a thousand vines, valued at a thousand shekels of silver, will become ^{( AN )} briars and thorns. ²⁴ People will come there with bows and arrows, because all the land will be briars and thorns. ²⁵ As for all the hills which used to be cultivated with the plow, you will not go there for fear of briars and thorns; but they will become a place for ^{[ s ]} ^{( AO )} pasturing oxen and for sheep to trample.

Footnotes

Isaiah 7:1 Lit fight against
Isaiah 7:3 I.e., a remnant shall return
Isaiah 7:3 I.e., launderer’s
Isaiah 7:6 Or demolish
Isaiah 7:7 Heb YHWH , usually rendered Lord
Isaiah 7:9 Or endure
Isaiah 7:11 As in most ancient versions; MT make the request deep or high
Isaiah 7:11 Lit heights
Isaiah 7:13 Lit make men weary
Isaiah 7:13 Lit make my God weary
Isaiah 7:14 As in LXX; MT young unmarried woman
Isaiah 7:14 I.e., God is with us
Isaiah 7:15 Possibly butter
Isaiah 7:15 Lit with respect to his knowing
Isaiah 7:18 Or mouth of the rivers ; i.e., the Nile Delta
Isaiah 7:19 Or wadis
Isaiah 7:22 Possibly butter
Isaiah 7:22 Possibly butter
Isaiah 7:25 Lit pastureland of

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Table of Contents

Isaiah 7

God's message for King Ahaz

Footnotes

Trouble With Aram

Immanuel—God Is With Us

Footnotes

War against Jerusalem

The Child Immanuel

Trials to Come for Judah

Footnotes

Cross references

The Sign of Immanuel

Assyria, the Lord ’s Instrument

Footnotes

Cross references

BibleStudyIt Isaiah 7

Isaiah 7's Chapter Tabs Scroll past these tabs to continue or click on one of them to navigate out of this webpage.

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Your Private Notes

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Isaiah 7

God's message for King Ahaz

Footnotes

Trouble With Aram

Immanuel—God Is With Us

Footnotes

War against Jerusalem

The Child Immanuel

Trials to Come for Judah

Footnotes

Cross references

The Sign of Immanuel

Assyria, the Lord ’s Instrument

Footnotes

Cross references

Isaiah 7's Chapter Tabs
Scroll past these tabs to continue or click on one of them to navigate out of this webpage.