Isaiah 7:1–25

¹Now it came about in the days of A′haz the son of Jo′tham the son of Uz‧zi′ah, the king of Judah, that Re′zin the king of Syria and Pe′kah the son of Rem‧a‧li′ah, the king of Israel, came up to Jerusalem for war against it, and he proved unable to war against it.²And a report was made to the house of David, saying: “Syria has leaned upon E′phra‧im.”

And his heart and the heart of his people began to quiver, like the quivering of the trees of the forest because of a wind.

³And Jehovah proceeded to say to Isaiah: “Go out, please, to meet A′haz, you and She′ar‐ja′shub your son, to the end of the conduit of the upper pool by the highway of the laundryman’s field.⁴And you must say to him, ‘Watch yourself and keep undisturbed. Do not be afraid, and do not let your heart itself be timid because of the two tail ends of these smoking logs, because of the hot anger of Re′zin and Syria and the son of Rem‧a‧li′ah,⁵for the reason that Syria [with] E′phra‧im and the son of Rem‧a‧li′ah has advised what is bad against you, saying:⁶“Let us go up against Judah and tear it apart and by breakthroughs take it for ourselves; and let us make another king reign inside it, the son of Tab′e‧el.”

⁷“‘This is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah has said: “It will not stand, neither will it take place.⁸For the head of Syria is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Re′zin; and within just sixty‐five years E′phra‧im will be shattered to pieces so as not to be a people.⁹And the head of E′phra‧im is Sa‧mar′i‧a, and the head of Sa‧mar′i‧a is the son of Rem‧a‧li′ah. Unless ​YOU​ people have faith, ​YOU​ will in that case not be of long duration.”’”

¹⁰And Jehovah went on speaking some more to A′haz, saying:¹¹“Ask for yourself a sign from Jehovah your God, making it as deep as She′ol or making it high as the upper regions.”¹²But A′haz said: “I shall not ask, neither shall I put Jehovah to the test.”

¹³And he proceeded to say: “Listen, please, O house of David. Is it such a little thing for ​YOU​ to tire out men, that ​YOU​ should also tire out my God?¹⁴Therefore Jehovah himself will give ​YOU​ men a sign: Look! The maiden herself will actually become pregnant, and she is giving birth to a son, and she will certainly call his name Im‧man′u‧el.¹⁵Butter and honey he will eat by the time that he knows how to reject the bad and choose the good.¹⁶For before the boy will know how to reject the bad and choose the good, the ground of whose two kings you are feeling a sickening dread will be left entirely.¹⁷Jehovah will bring against you and against your people and against the house of your father days such as have not come since the day of E′phra‧im’s turning away from alongside Judah, namely, the king of As‧syr′i‧a.

¹⁸“And it must occur in that day that Jehovah will whistle for the flies that are at the extremity of the Nile canals of Egypt and for the bees that are in the land of As‧syr′i‧a,¹⁹and they will certainly come in and settle down, all of them, upon the precipitous torrent valleys and upon the clefts of the crags and upon all the thorn thickets and upon all the watering places.

²⁰“In that day, by means of a hired razor in the region of the River, even by means of the king of As‧syr′i‧a, Jehovah will shave the head and the hair of the feet, and it will sweep away even the beard itself.

²¹“And it must occur in that day that an individual will preserve alive a young cow of the herd and two sheep.²²And it must occur that, due to the abundance of the producing of milk, he will eat butter; because butter and honey are what everyone left remaining in the midst of the land will eat.

²³“And it must occur in that day that every place where there used to be a thousand vines, worth a thousand pieces of silver, will come to be—for the thornbushes and for the weeds it will come to be.²⁴With arrows and the bow he will come there, because all the land will become mere thornbushes and weeds.²⁵And all the mountains that used to be cleared of troublesome plants with a hoe—you will not come there for fear of thornbushes and weeds; and it will certainly become a place for letting bulls loose and a trampling ground of sheep.”