Isaiah 7
7
Chapter 7
God's message for King Ahaz
1Ahaz 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. 2People gave this news to Judah's royal family. They said, ‘The armies of Syria and Ephraim have joined together to attack you.’ #7:2 Ephraim was the Israelite kingdom in the north. When they heard this, Ahaz and his people were very afraid. They shook with fear, like trees in the forest shake in the wind.
3Then the Lord said to Isaiah, ‘Go out and meet Ahaz. Take your son, Shear-Jashub, with you. #7:3 ‘Shear-Jashub’ was Isaiah's older son. His name means ‘Some people will return’. 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.
4Say 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. 5The rulers of Syria and Ephraim, as well as Remaliah's son, have made plans to attack you. 6They 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.’
7But I, the Almighty Lord, say this: That will never happen! 8The 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! 9The 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.” ’
10Isaiah also gave this message from the Lord to Ahaz. 11He 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.’
12But Ahaz said, ‘I will never ask the Lord to do that. I do not want to test him.’
13So 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. 14So 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. 15One 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. 16Even before that, the two kings that you are now afraid of will have no power. Their land will be empty.
17But 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!’
18At 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! 19They 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.
20At 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.
21At that time, a farmer will have only one young cow and two goats. #7:21 ‘two goats’ or ‘two sheep’ 22They 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. 23On that day, in every place where there had been 1,000 valuable vines, there will now be only weeds and thorn bushes. 24In 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. 25Nobody 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.
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Isaiah 7
7
Isaiah Offers Hope to King Ahaz
1 #
2 K 16.5,6; 2 Ch 28.5,6. Ahaz, the son of Jotham and the grandson of Uzziah, was king of Judah when King Rezin of Syria and King Pekah son of Remaliah of Israel went to attack Jerusalem. But they were not able to do what they had planned.#7.1 went … had planned: Or “attacked Jerusalem, but could not capture it.” 2When news reached the royal palace that Syria had joined forces with Israel, King Ahaz and everyone in Judah were so terrified that they shook like trees in a windstorm.
3Then the Lord said to me:
Take your son Shearjashub#7.3 Shearjashub: In Hebrew “Shearjashub” means “a few will return.” and go see King Ahaz. You will find him on the road near the cloth makers' shops at the end of the canal that brings water from the upper pool. 4Tell Ahaz to stop worrying. There's no need for him to be afraid of King Rezin and King Pekah. They are very angry, but they are nothing more than a dying fire. Ahaz doesn't need to fear 5their evil threats 6to invade and defeat Judah and Jerusalem and to let the son of Tabeel be king in his place.
7I, the Lord, promise that this will never happen. 8-9Damascus is just the capital of Syria, and King Rezin rules only in Damascus. Samaria is just the capital of Israel, and King Pekah rules only in Samaria. But in less than 65 years, Israel will be destroyed. And if Ahaz and his officials don't trust me, they will be defeated.
A Son Named Immanuel
10Once again the Lord God spoke to King Ahaz. This time he said, 11“Ask me for proof that my promise will come true. Ask for something to happen deep in the world of the dead or high in the heavens above.”
12“No, Lord,” Ahaz answered. “I won't test you!”
13Then I said:
Listen, every one of you in the royal family of David. You have already tried my patience. Now you are trying God's patience by refusing to ask for proof. 14#Mt 1.23. But the Lord will still give you proof. A virgin#7.14 virgin: Or “young woman.” In this context the difficult Hebrew word did not imply a virgin birth. However, in the Greek translation made about 200 b.c. and used by the early Christians, the word parthenos had a double meaning. While the translator took it to mean “young woman,” Matthew understood it to mean “virgin” and quoted the passage (Matthew 1.23) because it was the appropriate description of Mary, the mother of Jesus. is pregnant; she will have a son and will name him Immanuel.#7.14 Immanuel: In Hebrew “Immanuel” means “God is with us.” 15-16Even before the boy is old enough to know how to choose between right and wrong, he will eat yogurt and honey,#7.15,16 yogurt and honey: This may refer either to expensive foods eaten in a time of plenty or to a limited diet eaten in times of a food shortage. and the countries of the two kings you fear will be destroyed. 17But the Lord will make more trouble for your people and your kingdom than any of you have known since Israel broke away from Judah. He will even bring the king of Assyria to attack you.
The Threat of an Invasion
18When that time comes, the Lord will whistle, and armies will come from Egypt like flies and from Assyria like bees. 19They will settle everywhere—in the deep valleys and between the rocks, on every thornbush and all over the pastureland.
20The Lord will pay the king of Assyria to bring a razor from across the Euphrates River and shave your head and every hair on your body, including your beard.#7.20 shave … head … body … beard: This would have been a terrible insult.
21Anyone who is able to save only one young cow and two sheep, 22will have enough milk to make yogurt. In fact, everyone left in the land will eat yogurt and honey.#7.22 yogurt and honey: See the note at 7.15,16.
23Vineyards that had 1,000 vines and were worth 1,000 pieces of silver will turn into thorn patches. 24You will go there to hunt with your bow and arrows, because the whole country will be covered with thornbushes. 25The hills where you once planted crops will be overgrown with thorns and thistles. You will be afraid to go there, and your cattle, sheep, and goats will be turned loose on those hills.
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