³ Then the Lord said to Isaiah, “Go out with your son Shear-jashub^(A) to meet Ahaz at the end of the conduit of the upper pool,^(B) by the road to the Fuller’s Field. ⁴ Say to him: Calm down and be quiet. Don’t be afraid or cowardly^(C) because of these two smoldering stubs of firebrands, the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram, and the son of Remaliah. ⁵ For Aram, along with Ephraim and the son of Remaliah, has plotted harm against you. They say, ⁶ ‘Let us go up against Judah, terrorize it, and conquer it for ourselves. Then we can install Tabeel’s son as king in it.’”

⁷ This is what the Lord God says:

¹⁶ At that time King Ahaz asked the king of Assyria for help.^{(A) 17} The Edomites came again, attacked Judah, and took captives.^{(B) 18} The Philistines also raided the cities of the Judean foothills^[a] and the Negev of Judah^(C) and captured Beth-shemesh, Aijalon, Gederoth, Soco and its villages, Timnah and its villages, Gimzo and its villages, and they lived there. ¹⁹ For the Lord humbled Judah because of King Ahaz of Judah,^[b] who threw off restraint in Judah and was unfaithful to the Lord. ²⁰ Then Tiglath-pileser^[c](D) king of Assyria came against Ahaz; he oppressed him and did not give him support.^{(E) 21} Although Ahaz plundered the Lord’s temple and the palace of the king and of the rulers and gave the plunder to the king of Assyria, it did not help him.

²² At the time of his distress, King Ahaz himself became more unfaithful to the Lord. ²³ He sacrificed to the gods of Damascus which had defeated him; he said, “Since the gods of the kings of Aram are helping them, I will sacrifice to them so that they will help me.”^(F) But they were the downfall of him and of all Israel.

²⁴ Then Ahaz gathered up the utensils of God’s temple, cut them into pieces,^(G) shut the doors of the Lord’s temple,^(H) and made himself altars on every street corner in Jerusalem.^{(I) 25} He made high places in every city of Judah to offer incense to other gods, and he provoked the Lord, the God of his ancestors.

Fulfill Your Ministry

4 I solemnly charge you before God and Christ Jesus, who is going to judge^(A) the living and the dead,^(B) and because of His appearing and His kingdom:^{(C) 2} Proclaim the message; persist in it whether convenient or not; rebuke, correct, and encourage with great patience and teaching. ³ For the time will come when they will not tolerate sound doctrine,^(D) but according to their own desires, will multiply teachers for themselves because they have an itch to hear something new.^{[a] 4} They will turn away from hearing the truth and will turn aside to myths.^{(E) 5} But as for you, be serious about everything, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist,^(F) fulfill your ministry.