Isaiah 7-8

New International Version

The Sign of Immanuel

7 When Ahaz^(A) son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, was king of Judah, King Rezin^(B) of Aram^(C) and Pekah^(D) son of Remaliah^(E) king of Israel marched up to fight against Jerusalem, but they could not overpower it.

²Now the house of David^(F) was told, “Aram has allied itself with^[a] Ephraim^(G)”; so the hearts of Ahaz and his people were shaken,^(H) as the trees of the forest are shaken by the wind.

³Then the Lord said to Isaiah, “Go out, you and your son Shear-Jashub,^[b]^(I) to meet Ahaz at the end of the aqueduct of the Upper Pool, on the road to the Launderer’s Field.^(J) ⁴Say to him, ‘Be careful, keep calm^(K) and don’t be afraid.^(L) Do not lose heart^(M) because of these two smoldering stubs^(N) of firewood—because of the fierce anger^(O) of Rezin and Aram and of the son of Remaliah.^(P) ⁵Aram, Ephraim and Remaliah’s^(Q) son have plotted^(R) your ruin, saying, ⁶“Let us invade Judah; let us tear it apart and divide it among ourselves, and make the son of Tabeel king over it.” ⁷Yet this is what the Sovereign Lord says:^(S)

“‘It will not take place,
    it will not happen,^(T)
⁸for the head of Aram is Damascus,^(U)
    and the head of Damascus is only Rezin.^(V)
Within sixty-five years
    Ephraim will be too shattered^(W) to be a people.
⁹The head of Ephraim is Samaria,^(X)
    and the head of Samaria is only Remaliah’s son.
If you do not stand^(Y) firm in your faith,^(Z)
    you will not stand at all.’”^(AA)

¹⁰Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, ¹¹“Ask the Lord your God for a sign,^(AB) whether in the deepest depths or in the highest heights.^(AC)”

¹²But Ahaz said, “I will not ask; I will not put the Lord to the test.^(AD)”

¹³Then Isaiah said, “Hear now, you house of David!^(AE) Is it not enough^(AF) to try the patience of humans? Will you try the patience^(AG) of my God^(AH) also? ¹⁴Therefore the Lord himself will give you^[c] a sign:^(AI) The virgin^[d]^(AJ) will conceive and give birth to a son,^(AK) and^[e] will call him Immanuel.^[f]^(AL) ¹⁵He will be eating curds^(AM) and honey^(AN) when he knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, ¹⁶for before the boy knows^(AO) enough to reject the wrong and choose the right,^(AP) the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste.^(AQ) ¹⁷The Lord will bring on you and on your people and on the house of your father a time unlike any since Ephraim broke away^(AR) from Judah—he will bring the king of Assyria.^(AS)”

Assyria, the Lord’s Instrument

¹⁸In that day^(AT) the Lord will whistle^(AU) for flies from the Nile delta in Egypt and for bees from the land of Assyria.^(AV) ¹⁹They will all come and settle in the steep ravines and in the crevices^(AW) in the rocks, on all the thornbushes^(AX) and at all the water holes. ²⁰In that day^(AY) the Lord will use^(AZ) a razor hired from beyond the Euphrates River^(BA)—the king of Assyria^(BB)—to shave your head and private parts, and to cut off your beard^(BC) also.^(BD) ²¹In that day,^(BE) a person will keep alive a young cow and two goats.^(BF) ²²And because of the abundance of the milk they give, there will be curds to eat. All who remain in the land will eat curds^(BG) and honey.^(BH) ²³In that day,^(BI) in every place where there were a thousand vines worth a thousand silver shekels,^[g]^(BJ) there will be only briers and thorns.^(BK) ²⁴Hunters will go there with bow and arrow, for the land will be covered with briers^(BL) and thorns. ²⁵As for all the hills^(BM) once cultivated by the hoe, you will no longer go there for fear of the briers and thorns;^(BN) they will become places where cattle are turned loose and where sheep run.^(BO)

Isaiah and His Children as Signs

8 The Lord said to me, “Take a large scroll^(BP) and write on it with an ordinary pen: Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz.”^[h]^(BQ) ²So I called in Uriah^(BR) the priest and Zechariah son of Jeberekiah as reliable witnesses^(BS) for me. ³Then I made love to the prophetess,^(BT) and she conceived and gave birth to a son.^(BU) And the Lord said to me, “Name him Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz.^(BV) ⁴For before the boy knows^(BW) how to say ‘My father’ or ‘My mother,’ the wealth of Damascus^(BX) and the plunder of Samaria will be carried off by the king of Assyria.^(BY)”

⁵The Lord spoke to me again:

⁶“Because this people has rejected^(BZ)
    the gently flowing waters of Shiloah^(CA)
and rejoices over Rezin
    and the son of Remaliah,^(CB)
⁷therefore the Lord is about to bring against them
    the mighty floodwaters^(CC) of the Euphrates—
    the king of Assyria^(CD) with all his pomp.^(CE)
It will overflow all its channels,
    run over all its banks^(CF)
⁸and sweep on into Judah, swirling over it,^(CG)
    passing through it and reaching up to the neck.
Its outspread wings^(CH) will cover the breadth of your land,
    Immanuel^[i]!”^(CI)

⁹Raise the war cry,^[j]^(CJ) you nations, and be shattered!^(CK)
    Listen, all you distant lands.
Prepare^(CL) for battle, and be shattered!
    Prepare for battle, and be shattered!
¹⁰Devise your strategy, but it will be thwarted;^(CM)
    propose your plan, but it will not stand,^(CN)
    for God is with us.^[k]^(CO)

¹¹This is what the Lord says to me with his strong hand upon me,^(CP) warning me not to follow^(CQ) the way of this people:

¹²“Do not call conspiracy^(CR)
    everything this people calls a conspiracy;
do not fear what they fear,^(CS)
    and do not dread it.^(CT)
¹³The Lord Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy,^(CU)
    he is the one you are to fear,^(CV)
    he is the one you are to dread.^(CW)
¹⁴He will be a holy place;^(CX)
    for both Israel and Judah he will be
a stone^(CY) that causes people to stumble^(CZ)
    and a rock that makes them fall.^(DA)
And for the people of Jerusalem he will be
    a trap and a snare.^(DB)
¹⁵Many of them will stumble;^(DC)
    they will fall and be broken,
    they will be snared and captured.”

¹⁶Bind up this testimony of warning^(DD)
and seal^(DE) up God’s instruction among my disciples.
¹⁷I will wait^(DF) for the Lord,
who is hiding^(DG) his face from the descendants of Jacob.
I will put my trust in him.^(DH)

¹⁸Here am I, and the children the Lord has given me.^(DI) We are signs^(DJ) and symbols^(DK) in Israel from the Lord Almighty, who dwells on Mount Zion.^(DL)

The Darkness Turns to Light

¹⁹When someone tells you to consult^(DM) mediums and spiritists,^(DN) who whisper and mutter,^(DO) should not a people inquire^(DP) of their God? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living? ²⁰Consult God’s instruction^(DQ) and the testimony of warning.^(DR) If anyone does not speak according to this word, they have no light^(DS) of dawn. ²¹Distressed and hungry,^(DT) they will roam through the land;^(DU) when they are famished, they will become enraged and, looking upward, will curse^(DV) their king and their God. ²²Then they will look toward the earth and see only distress and darkness and fearful gloom,^(DW) and they will be thrust into utter darkness.^(DX)

Footnotes

Isaiah 7:2 Or has set up camp in
Isaiah 7:3 Shear-Jashub means a remnant will return.
Isaiah 7:14 The Hebrew is plural.
Isaiah 7:14 Or young woman
Isaiah 7:14 Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scrolls son, and he or son, and they
Isaiah 7:14 Immanuel means God with us.
Isaiah 7:23 That is, about 25 pounds or about 12 kilograms
Isaiah 8:1 Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz means quick to the plunder, swift to the spoil; also in verse 3.
Isaiah 8:8 Immanuel means God with us.
Isaiah 8:9 Or Do your worst
Isaiah 8:10 Hebrew Immanuel