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Isaiah Sent to King Ahaz

In the days of (A)Ahaz the son of Jotham, son of Uzziah, king of Judah, (B)Rezin the king of Syria and (C)Pekah the son of Remaliah the king of Israel came up to Jerusalem to wage war against it, but could not yet mount an attack against it. When the house of David was told, (D)“Syria is in league with[a] (E)Ephraim,” the heart of Ahaz[b] and the heart of his people shook as the trees of the forest shake before the wind.

And the Lord said to Isaiah, “Go out to meet Ahaz, you and (F)Shear-jashub[c] your son, at the end of (G)the conduit of the upper pool on the highway to the Washer's Field. And say to him, (H)‘Be careful, (I)be quiet, do not fear, and do not let your heart be faint because of these two (J)smouldering stumps of firebrands, at the fierce anger of Rezin and Syria and (K)the son of Remaliah. Because Syria, with Ephraim and (L)the son of Remaliah, has devised evil against you, saying, “Let us go up against Judah and terrify it, and let us conquer it[d] for ourselves, and set up the son of Tabeel as king in the midst of it,” thus says the Lord God:

(M)“‘It shall not stand,
    and it shall not come to pass.
For the head of Syria is (N)Damascus,
    and the head of Damascus is Rezin.
And within sixty-five years
    Ephraim will be shattered from being a people.
And the head of Ephraim is Samaria,
    and the head of Samaria is (O)the son of Remaliah.
(P)If you[e] are not firm in faith,
    you will not be firm at all.’”

The Sign of Immanuel

10 Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, 11 “Ask (Q)a sign of the Lord your[f] God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven.” 12 But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test.” 13 And he[g] said, “Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary men, that you (R)weary my God also? 14 Therefore the (S)Lord himself will give you a sign. (T)Behold, the (U)virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name (V)Immanuel.[h] 15 He shall eat (W)curds and honey when he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good. 16 (X)For before the boy knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land whose two kings you dread will be (Y)deserted. 17 (Z)The Lord will bring upon you and upon your people and upon your father's house such days as have not come since the day that (AA)Ephraim departed from Judah—the king of Assyria.”

18 In that day the Lord will (AB)whistle for the fly that is at the end of the streams of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria. 19 And they will all come and settle in the steep ravines, and (AC)in the clefts of the rocks, and on all the thorn bushes, and on all the pastures.[i]

20 In that day (AD)the Lord will (AE)shave with a razor that is (AF)hired beyond (AG)the River—with the king of Assyria—the head and the hair of the feet, and it will sweep away the beard also.

21 (AH)In that day a man will keep alive a young cow and two sheep, 22 and because of the abundance of milk that they give, he will eat curds, for everyone who is left in the land will eat (AI)curds and honey.

23 In that day every place where there used to be a thousand vines, worth a thousand shekels[j] of silver, will become (AJ)briers and thorns. 24 (AK)With bow and arrows a man will come there, for all the land will be briers and thorns. 25 (AL)And as for all the hills that used to be hoed with a hoe, you will not come there for fear (AM)of briers and thorns, but they will become a place where cattle are let loose and where sheep tread.

The Coming Assyrian Invasion

Then the Lord said to me, “Take a large tablet (AN)and write on it in common characters,[k] ‘Belonging to Maher-shalal-hash-baz.’[l] And (AO)I will get reliable witnesses, (AP)Uriah the priest and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah, to attest for me.”

And I went to the prophetess, and she conceived and bore a son. Then the Lord said to me, (AQ)“Call his name Maher-shalal-hash-baz; (AR)for before the boy knows how to cry ‘My father’ or ‘My mother’, the (AS)wealth of (AT)Damascus and the spoil of (AU)Samaria will be carried away before the king of Assyria.”

The Lord spoke to me again: “Because this people has refused the waters of (AV)Shiloah that flow gently, and rejoice over (AW)Rezin and the son of Remaliah, therefore, behold, the Lord is bringing up against them (AX)the waters of (AY)the River, mighty and many, the king of Assyria and all his glory. And it (AZ)will rise over all its channels and go over all its banks, and it will sweep on into Judah, it will overflow and pass on, (BA)reaching even to the neck, and its (BB)outspread wings will fill the breadth of your land, (BC)O Immanuel.”

Be broken,[m] you peoples, and (BD)be shattered;[n]
    give ear, all you far countries;
strap on your armour and be shattered;
    strap on your armour and be shattered.
10 Take counsel together, but it will come to nothing;
    speak a word, (BE)but it will not stand,
    for God (BF)is with us.[o]

Fear God, Wait for the Lord

11 For the Lord spoke thus to me with his strong hand upon me, and (BG)warned me not to walk in the way of this people, saying: 12 “Do not call (BH)conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and (BI)do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread. 13 But the Lord of hosts, (BJ)him you shall honour as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. 14 And he will become a (BK)sanctuary and (BL)a stone of offence and a rock of stumbling to both houses of Israel, a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 15 And many (BM)shall stumble on it. They shall fall and be broken; they shall be snared and taken.”

16 Bind up (BN)the testimony; (BO)seal the teaching[p] among my disciples. 17 I will (BP)wait for the Lord, who is (BQ)hiding his face from the house of Jacob, and I will hope in him. 18 (BR)Behold, I and (BS)the children whom the Lord has given me are signs and portents in Israel from the Lord of hosts, who dwells on Mount Zion. 19 And when they say to you, “Enquire of the (BT)mediums and the necromancers who chirp and mutter,” should not a people enquire of their God? Should they enquire of (BU)the dead on behalf of the living? 20 (BV)To the teaching and to the testimony! If they will not speak according to this word, it is because they have no (BW)dawn. 21 They will pass through the land,[q] greatly distressed and hungry. And when they are hungry, they will be enraged and will speak contemptuously against[r] their king and their God, and turn their faces upwards. 22 (BX)And they will look to the earth, but behold, distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish. And they will be thrust into (BY)thick darkness.

For to Us a Child Is Born

[s] But there will be no (BZ)gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time he (CA)brought into contempt the land of (CB)Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he (CC)has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.[t]

[u] (CD)The people (CE)who walked in darkness
    have seen a great light;
those who dwelt in a land of (CF)deep darkness,
    on them has light shined.
(CG)You have multiplied the nation;
    you have increased its joy;
they rejoice before you
    as with (CH)joy at the harvest,
    as they (CI)are glad (CJ)when they divide the spoil.
(CK)For the yoke of his burden,
    (CL)and the staff for his shoulder,
    the rod of his oppressor,
    you have broken as (CM)on the day of Midian.
(CN)For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult
    and every garment rolled in blood
    will be burned as fuel for the fire.
(CO)For to us a child is born,
    to us (CP)a son is given;
(CQ)and the government shall be (CR)upon[v] his shoulder,
    and his name shall be called[w]
Wonderful (CS)Counsellor, (CT)Mighty God,
    (CU)Everlasting (CV)Father, Prince of (CW)Peace.
Of the increase of his government and of peace
    (CX)there will be no end,
on the throne of David and over his kingdom,
    to establish it and to uphold it
(CY)with justice and with righteousness
    from this time forth and for evermore.
(CZ)The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 7:2 Hebrew Syria has rested upon
  2. Isaiah 7:2 Hebrew his heart
  3. Isaiah 7:3 Shear-jashub means A remnant shall return
  4. Isaiah 7:6 Hebrew let us split it open
  5. Isaiah 7:9 The Hebrew for you is plural in verses 9, 13, 14
  6. Isaiah 7:11 The Hebrew for you and your is singular in verses 11, 16, 17
  7. Isaiah 7:13 That is, Isaiah
  8. Isaiah 7:14 Immanuel means God is with us
  9. Isaiah 7:19 Or watering holes, or brambles
  10. Isaiah 7:23 A shekel was about 2/5 of an ounce or 11 grams
  11. Isaiah 8:1 Hebrew with a man's stylus
  12. Isaiah 8:1 Maher-shalal-hash-baz means The spoil speeds, the prey hastens
  13. Isaiah 8:9 Or Be evil
  14. Isaiah 8:9 Or dismayed
  15. Isaiah 8:10 The Hebrew for God is with us is Immanuel
  16. Isaiah 8:16 Or law; also verse 20
  17. Isaiah 8:21 Hebrew it
  18. Isaiah 8:21 Or speak contemptuously by
  19. Isaiah 9:1 Ch 8:23 in Hebrew
  20. Isaiah 9:1 Or of the Gentiles
  21. Isaiah 9:2 Ch 9:1 in Hebrew
  22. Isaiah 9:6 Or is upon
  23. Isaiah 9:6 Or is called