Isaiah 7
7
Reassurance Regarding a Threat
1Now it came about in the days of Ahaz son of Jotham, son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that King Rezin of Aram and King Pekah, son of Remaliah of Israel, went up to Jerusalem to war against it, but could not prevail against it.
2When it was reported to the house of David saying: “Aram is camped in Ephraim,” his heart as well as the heart of his people shook like the trees of the forest shaking with the wind.
3Then Adonai said to Isaiah: “Go out now to meet Ahaz—you and Shear-jashub your son, at the end of the aqueduct from the upper pool, in the highway of the fullers’ field;
4and say to him, ‘Keep calm and be quiet. Do not fear nor be faint-hearted because of these two stubs of smoldering firebrands, because of the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram, nor of the son of Remaliah,
5because Aram has plotted harm against you, along with Ephraim and the son of Remaliah saying,
6“Let us go up against Judah, terrorize it, divide it for ourselves, and appoint Tabeel’s son as king in the midst of it.”
7Thus says Adonai Elohim: “It will not stand, nor will it occur.
8For the head of Aram is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin. Within 65 years Ephraim will be broken and not be a people.
9The head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is Remaliah’s son. If you do not trust, you will not stand.”
The Sign of Immanuel
10Then Adonai spoke again to Ahaz saying,
11“Ask for a sign from Adonai your God—from the depths of Sheol or the heights of Heaven.”
12But Ahaz said, “I won’t ask—I wouldn’t test Adonai!”
13Then he said, “Hear now, house of David! Is it a small thing for you to weary men? Will you also weary my God?
14Therefore Adonai Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin will conceive. When she is giving birth to a son, she will call his name Immanuel.
15He will be eating curds and honey by the time he knows to refuse evil and choose good.
16For before the boy knows to refuse evil and choose good, the land of the two kings you dread will be abandoned.
17Adonai will bring—on you, on your people and on your father’s house such days as have never come since the day Ephraim separated from Judah—the king of Assyria!
18In that day Adonai will whistle for the fly at the source of the Nile of Egypt and for the bee in the land of Assyria.
19Then they will come, all of them— and will settle in the steep wadis and in the clefts of the cliffs and in all the thorn bushes and in all the watering holes.
20In that day Adonai will shave— with a razor hired beyond the River— with the king of Assyria— the head and the hair of the legs, and even clip off the beard.
21In that day it will be that a man will rear a calf and two sheep,
22and from the abundant milk they give, he will eat curds— for anyone left in the land will eat curds and honey.
23In that day it will be that every place where there were 1,000 vines worth 1,000 silver shekels will become briers and thorns.
24With arrows and bows one will come there, since all the land will become briers and thorns.
25As for all the hills that were tilled with the hoe—you will not go there for fear of briers and thorns. Instead it will be for grazing of oxen and roaming of sheep.
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Isaiah 7: TLV
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Copyright © 2014 - Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society
Isaiah 7
7
The Syro-Ephraimite War#7:1–8:18] These verses (often termed Isaiah’s “Memoirs”) contain a series of oracles and narratives (some in first person), all closely related to the Syro-Ephraimite war of 735–732 B.C. Several passages feature three children whose symbolic names refer to the Lord’s purposes: Shear-jashub (7:3), Emmanuel (7:10–17; 8:8–10), and Maher-shalal-hash-baz (8:1–4). Judah and its Davidic dynasty should trust God’s promises and not fear the combined armies of Israel and Syria; within a very short time these two enemy states will be destroyed, and David’s dynasty will continue.
Crisis in Judah. 1In the days of Ahaz,#Days of Ahaz: who ruled from 735 to 715 B.C. This attack against Jerusalem by the kings of Aram (Syria) and Israel in 735 B.C. was occasioned by the refusal of Ahaz to enter with them into an anti-Assyrian alliance; cf. 2 Kgs 16. king of Judah, son of Jotham, son of Uzziah, Rezin, king of Aram, and Pekah, king of Israel, son of Remaliah, went up to attack Jerusalem, but they were not able to conquer it.#2 Kgs 16:5; 2 Chr 28:5–15. 2When word came to the house of David that Aram had allied itself with Ephraim, the heart of the king and heart of the people trembled, as the trees of the forest tremble in the wind.
3Then the Lord said to Isaiah: Go out to meet Ahaz, you and your son Shear-jashub,#Shear-jashub: this name means “a remnant will return” (cf. 10:20–22). at the end of the conduit of the upper pool, on the highway to the fuller’s field, 4and say to him: Take care you remain calm and do not fear; do not let your courage fail before these two stumps of smoldering brands,#Is 8:12; 30:15. the blazing anger of Rezin and the Arameans and of the son of Remaliah— 5because Aram, with Ephraim and the son of Remaliah, has planned#Planned: the plans of those who plot against Ahaz shall not be accomplished (v. 7). What the Lord plans will unfailingly come to pass, whereas human plans contrary to those of the Lord are doomed to frustration; cf. 8:10; 14:24–27; 19:11–14; 29:15; 30:1. See further the note on 14:24–27. evil against you. They say, 6“Let us go up against Judah, tear it apart, make it our own by force, and appoint the son of Tabeel#Son of Tabeel: a puppet of Jerusalem’s enemies. His appointment would interrupt the lawful succession from David. king there.”
7Thus says the Lord God:
It shall not stand, it shall not be!#Is 8:10; Ps 33:10.
8#God had chosen and made a commitment to David’s dynasty and his capital city Jerusalem, not to Rezin and his capital Damascus, nor to the son of Remaliah and his capital Samaria (2 Sm 7:12–16; Ps 2:6; 78:68–72; 132:11–18). Within sixty-five years…nation: this text occurs at the end of v. 8 in the Hebrew. Ahaz would not have been reassured by so distant a promise; the phrase is probably a later addition. The head of Aram is Damascus,
and the head of Damascus is Rezin;
9The head of Ephraim is Samaria,
and the head of Samaria is the son of Remaliah.
Within sixty-five years,
Ephraim shall be crushed, no longer a nation.
Unless your faith is firm,
you shall not be firm!#2 Chr 20:20.
Emmanuel. 10Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz: 11Ask for a sign from the Lord, your God; let it be deep as Sheol, or high as the sky!#Deep…sky: an extraordinary or miraculous sign that would prove God’s firm will to save the royal house of David from its oppressors. 12But Ahaz answered, “I will not ask! I will not tempt the Lord!”#Tempt the Lord: Ahaz prefers to depend upon the might of Assyria rather than the might of God. 13Then he said: Listen, house of David! Is it not enough that you weary human beings? Must you also weary my God? 14Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign;#Isaiah’s sign seeks to reassure Ahaz that he need not fear the invading armies of Syria and Israel in the light of God’s promise to David (2 Sm 7:12–16). The oracle follows a traditional announcement formula by which the birth and sometimes naming of a child is promised to particular individuals (Gn 16:11; Jgs 13:3). The young woman: Hebrew ‘almah designates a young woman of marriageable age without specific reference to virginity. The Septuagint translated the Hebrew term as parthenos, which normally does mean virgin, and this translation underlies Mt 1:23. Emmanuel: the name means “with us is God.” Since for the Christian the incarnation is the ultimate expression of God’s willingness to “be with us,” it is understandable that this text was interpreted to refer to the birth of Christ. the young woman, pregnant and about to bear a son, shall name him Emmanuel. 15Curds and honey#Curds and honey: the only diet available to those who are left after the devastation of the land; cf. vv. 21–25. he will eat so that he may learn to reject evil and choose good; 16for before the child learns to reject evil and choose good, the land of those two kings whom you dread shall be deserted.
17The Lord shall bring upon you and your people and your father’s house such days as have not come since Ephraim seceded#Such days as have not come since Ephraim seceded: the days of the kingdom prior to the secession of Ephraim and the other northern tribes (1 Kgs 12). The king of Assyria: the final comment appears to be a later editorial gloss indicating days worse than any since the secession. from Judah (the king of Assyria). 18On that day
The Lord shall whistle
for the fly in the farthest streams of Egypt,
and for the bee in the land of Assyria.#Is 5:26.
19All of them shall come and settle
in the steep ravines and in the rocky clefts,
on all thornbushes and in all pastures.
20#God will use the Assyrians from across the River (the Euphrates) as his instrument (“razor”) to inflict disgrace and suffering upon his people. Ahaz paid tribute to the Assyrian king Tiglath-pileser III, who decimated Syria and Israel in his campaigns of 734–732 B.C. (cf. 2 Kgs 16:7–9). The feet: euphemism for sexual parts; cf. Is 6:2. On that day the Lord shall shave with the razor hired from across the River (the king of Assyria) the head, and the hair of the feet; it shall also shave off the beard.#Is 3:24; 2 Sm 10:4–6; Ez 5:1.
21On that day a man shall keep alive a young cow or a couple of sheep, 22and from their abundant yield of milk he shall eat curds; curds and honey shall be the food of all who are left in the land. 23#Cf. note on 5:5–6. On that day every place where there were a thousand vines worth a thousand pieces of silver shall become briers and thorns. 24One shall have to go there with bow and arrows, for all the country shall be briers and thorns.#Is 32:13. 25But as for all the hills which were hoed with a mattock, for fear of briers and thorns you will not go there; they shall become a place for cattle to roam and sheep to trample.#Is 5:5; 32:14.
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