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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Isaiah 7: CEVDCI
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.
Isaiah 7
7
War against Jerusalem
1Now it came to pass in the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin king of #The people of the kingdom of Aram were descended from Aram, the youngest son of Shem, the son of Noah (Gen 10:22, 23). The territory of the Arameans also included the areas later identified as Syria and Mesopotamia.Aram (Syria) and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up to Jerusalem to wage war against it, but they could not conquer it. 2When the house of David (Judah) was told, “Aram is allied with Ephraim (Israel),” the hearts of Ahaz and his people trembled as the trees of the forest tremble in the wind.
3Then the Lord said to Isaiah, “Go out to meet Ahaz [king of Judah], you and your son #A prophetic name meaning a remnant shall return.Shear-jashub, at the end of the aqueduct of the Upper Pool, on the highway to the #A field where freshly washed clothes were spread out to bleach and dry in the sun.Fuller’s Field; 4and say to him, ‘Take care and be calm, do not fear and be weak-hearted because of these two stumps of smoldering logs, on account of the fierce anger of [King] Rezin and Aram and of the son of Remaliah (Pekah, usurper of the throne of Israel). 5Because Aram, along with Ephraim (Israel) and the son of Remaliah, have planned evil against you (Judah), saying, 6“Let us go up against Judah and terrorize it; and let us breach its wall and tear it apart [each of us taking a portion] and set up the son of Tabeel over it as its [puppet] king,” 7for this is what the Lord God says, “It shall not stand nor shall it happen. 8For the head (capital) of Aram is Damascus and the head of Damascus is [King] Rezin (now within sixty-five years Ephraim will be broken to pieces and will no longer be a people). 9And the head (capital) of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is Remaliah’s son [King Pekah]. If you will not #The same Hebrew word is used both for believe and be established.believe [and trust in God and His message], be assured that you will not be established.” ’ ”
The Child Immanuel
10Then the Lord spoke again to [King] Ahaz, saying, 11“Ask a sign for yourself from the Lord your God [one that will convince you that God has spoken and will keep His word]; make your request as deep as Sheol or as high as heaven.” 12But Ahaz said, “#This was a misplaced sense of faithfulness on Ahaz’s part. It is wise not to ask God for a sign, unless He offers one as He did to Ahaz.I will not ask, nor will I test the Lord!” 13Then Isaiah said, “Hear then, O house of David! Is it too small a thing for you to try the patience of men, but will you try the patience of my God as well? 14Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Listen carefully, the #This prophecy of the virgin is declared in Matt 1:22, 23 to be fulfilled in the birth of Jesus. There has been a great deal of discussion over the Hebrew word found here for virgin (almah) and the word that Matthew uses (parthenos). The latter refers unambiguously to a virgin, while the former (almah) has been said to refer to a young woman, in contrast to the Hebrew word bethulah, which is the equivalent of the Gr parthenos. It has also been noted that the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew OT, has parthenos here for almah, and that Matt 1:23 is taken from the Septuagint. Some have wondered why the Septuagint translators used the more specific word parthenos. It is fair to say that this question is the result of oversimplifying the vocabulary and misinterpreting the distinctions. The Hebrew words almah and bethulah can actually refer to the same kind of woman; almah is a youthful woman of marriageable age, one who has not yet had her first child, while bethulah is one who has not been touched in an intimate way. Furthermore, in the present context it would be unthinkable to infer that the woman might have had sexual relations outside of marriage. So the well-known translation of “young woman” for almah, while technically not incorrect, can be viewed as too ambiguous for the Hebrew word and the context. Parthenos was an appropriate choice in the Greek. Another word, kore (for “girl”) could have been used, but it has a wider range of meaning than the Heb almah (Mark uses a related word, korasion, to translate Jesus’ Aramaic word talitha). It should also be acknowledged from a theological perspective that when Matthew cites the verse with parthenos, he thereby authenticates it as inspired.virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and she will call his name Immanuel (God with us). 15He will eat curds and honey when he knows enough to refuse evil and choose good. 16For before the child will know enough to refuse evil and choose good, the land (Canaan) whose two kings you dread will be deserted [both Ephraim and Aram].
Trials to Come for Judah
17The Lord will bring on you, on your people, and on your father’s house such days as have not come since the day that Ephraim (the ten northern tribes) separated from Judah—[He will call for] the king of Assyria.”
18In that day the Lord will whistle for the fly that is in the #Lit end.mouth of the rivers and canals of Egypt and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria. 19These [armies, like flies and bees] will all come and settle on the steep and rugged ravines and in the clefts of the rocks, and on all the thorn bushes and in all the watering places.
20In that day [when foreign armies swarm the land] the Lord will shave with a razor, hired from the regions beyond the Euphrates (that is, with the king of Assyria), [that razor will shave] the head and the hair of the legs; and it will also remove the beard [leaving Judah stripped, shamed and scorned].
21Now in that day [because of the poverty caused by the invaders] a man will keep alive only a young milk cow and two sheep; 22and because of the abundance of milk produced he will eat curds, for everyone that is left in the land will eat [only] curds and [wild] honey.
23And it will come to pass in that day, in every place where there used to be a thousand vines, worth a thousand silver shekels, there will be briars and thorns. 24People will come there [to hunt] with arrows and with bows because all the land will be briars and thorns. 25As for all the hills which used to be cultivated with the pick and the hoe, you will no longer go there for fear of briars and thorns; but they will become a place where oxen are pastured and where sheep tread.
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