Isaiah 7:16–20

16 for before the boy knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste. 17 The Lord will bring on you and on your people and on the house of your father a time unlike any since Ephraim broke away from Judah—he will bring the king of Assyria.”

18 In that day the Lord will whistle for flies from the Nile delta in Egypt and for bees from the land of Assyria. 19 They will all come and settle in the steep ravines and in the crevices in the rocks, on all the thornbushes and at all the water holes. 20 In that day the Lord will use a razor hired from beyond the Euphrates River—the king of Assyria—to shave your head and private parts, and to cut off your beard also.

16 For before the child shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the good,

The land that thou abhorrest shall be forsaken of both her kings.

17 The Lord shall bring upon thee,

And upon thy people, and upon thy father’s house,

Days that have not come,

From the day that Ephraim departed from Judah;

Even the king of Assyria.

18 And it shall come to pass in that day,

That the Lord shall hiss for the fly that is in the uttermost part of the rivers of Egypt,

And for the bee that is in the land of Assyria.

19 And they shall come, and shall rest all of them

In the desolate valleys, and in the holes of the rocks,

And upon all thorns, and upon all bushes.

20 In the same day shall the Lord shave with a rasor that is hired,

Namely, by them beyond the river, by the king of Assyria,

The head, and the hair of the feet:

And it shall also consume the beard.

16 For before the child is that old, the lands of the two kings you fear so much will both be deserted.

17 “Then the Lord will bring things on you, your nation, and your family unlike anything since Israel broke away from Judah. He will bring the king of Assyria upon you!”

18 In that day the Lord will whistle for the army of southern Egypt and for the army of Assyria. They will swarm around you like flies and bees. 19 They will come in vast hordes and settle in the fertile areas and also in the desolate valleys, caves, and thorny places. 20 In that day the Lord will hire a “razor” from beyond the Euphrates River—the king of Assyria—and use it to shave off everything: your land, your crops, and your people.

16 For before the Child shall know to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land that you dread will be forsaken by both her kings. 17 The Lord will bring the king of Assyria upon you and your people and your father’s house—days that have not come since the day that Ephraim departed from Judah.”

18 And it shall come to pass in that day

That the Lord will whistle for the fly

That is in the farthest part of the rivers of Egypt,

And for the bee that is in the land of Assyria.

19 They will come, and all of them will rest

In the desolate valleys and in the clefts of the rocks,

And on all thorns and in all pastures.

20 In the same day the Lord will shave with a hired razor,

With those from beyond the River, with the king of Assyria,

The head and the hair of the legs,

And will also remove the beard.

16 You are afraid of the kings of Israel and Aram now. But before the child learns to choose good and reject evil, the lands of Israel and Aram will be empty. 17 The Lord will bring troubled times to you, your people, and to the people of your father’s family. They will be worse than anything that has happened since Israel separated from Judah. The Lord will bring the king of Assyria to fight against you.

18 “At that time the Lord will whistle for the Egyptians, and they will come like flies from Egypt’s faraway streams. He will call for the Assyrians, and they will come like bees. 19 These enemies will camp in the deep ravines and in the cliffs, by the thornbushes and watering holes. 20 The Lord will hire Assyria and use it like a razor to punish Judah. It will be as if the Lord is shaving the hair from Judah’s head and legs and removing Judah’s beard.

16 For before the child shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the good, the land whose two kings thou abhorrest shall be forsaken. 17 Jehovah will bring upon thee, and upon thy people, and upon thy father’s house, days that have not come, from the day that Ephraim departed from Judah—even the king of Assyria.

18 And it shall come to pass in that day, that Jehovah will hiss for the fly that is in the uttermost part of the rivers of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria. 19 And they shall come, and shall rest all of them in the desolate valleys, and in the clefts of the rocks, and upon all thorn-hedges, and upon all pastures.

20 In that day will the Lord shave with a razor that is hired in the parts beyond the River, even with the king of Assyria, the head and the hair of the feet; and it shall also consume the beard.

16 For before the child knoweth to refuse the evil and to choose the good, the land whose two kings thou fearest shall be forsaken.

17 Jehovah will bring upon thee, and upon thy people, and upon thy father’s house, days which have not come since the day when Ephraim turned away from Judah—even the king of Assyria. 18 And it shall come to pass in that day, that Jehovah will hiss for the fly which is at the extremity of the streams of Egypt, and for the bee which is in the land of Assyria; 19 and they shall come and settle all of them in the desolate valleys, and in the holes of the rocks, and on all thorn-bushes, and on all the pastures. 20 In that day will the Lord, with a razor which is hired beyond the river, with the king of Assyria, shave the head and the hair of the feet, yea, the beard also will it take away.

16 Indeed, before the boy knows how to reject evil and choose good, the land of the two kings who terrify you will be deserted. 

17 “The Lord will bring on you, your people, and your ancestor’s family a time unlike any since Ephraim broke away from Judah. ⸤He will bring⸥ the king of Assyria. 18 On that day the Lord will whistle for the flies that are at the distant branches of the Nile River in Egypt and for the bees that are in Assyria. 19 All of them will come and settle in the deep valleys, in the cracks in the cliffs, on all the thornbushes, and at all the water holes. 

20 “On that day the Lord will hire the king of Assyria from beyond the Euphrates River to be a razor to shave the hair on your head, the hair on your legs, and even your beard.

16 For before the boy knows to reject what is bad and choose what is good, the land of the two kings you dread will be abandoned. 17 The Lord will bring on you, your people, and the house of your father, such a time as has never been since Ephraim separated from Judah —the king of Assyria is coming.”

18 On that day

the Lord will whistle to the fly

that is at the farthest streams of the Nile

and to the bee that is in the land of Assyria.

19 All of them will come and settle

in the steep ravines, in the clefts of the rocks,

in all the thornbushes, and in all the water holes.

20 On that day the Lord will use a razor hired from beyond the Euphrates River—the king of Assyria —to shave the head, the hair on the legs, and to remove the beard as well.

16 For before the child knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land before whose two kings you are in dread will be deserted. 17 The Lord will bring on you and on your people and on your ancestral house such days as have not come since the day that Ephraim departed from Judah—the king of Assyria.”

18 On that day the Lord will whistle for the fly that is at the sources of the streams of Egypt and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria. 19 And they will all come and settle in the steep ravines and in the clefts of the rocks and on all the thornbushes and on all the watering holes.

20 On that day the Lord will shave with a razor hired beyond the River—with the king of Assyria—the head and the hair of the feet, and it will take off the beard as well.

16 For before the boy knows to reject the evil and to choose the good, the land whose two kings you dread will be abandoned.

17 “Yahweh will bring on you and on your people and on the house of your ancestor days that have not come since the day Ephraim departed from Judah: the king of Assyria.” 18 And this shall happen: On that day, Yahweh will whistle for the fly that is at the end of the stream of Egypt and the bee that is in the land of Assyria. 19 And all of them will come and settle in the rivers of the cliffs and in the clefts of the rocks and on all of the thornbushes and watering places. 20 On that day, the Lord will shave the head and the hair of the feet with a razor of the one hired from beyond the river—with the king of Assyria—and it will even take off the beard.

16 But even before that happens, the lands of the two kings you are afraid of will be completely destroyed.

17 “The Lord will also bring the king of Assyria against you. And he will bring him against your people and the whole royal family. That will be a time of trouble unlike any since the people of Ephraim broke away from Judah.”

18 At that time the Lord will whistle for the Egyptians. They will come like flies from the streams of Egypt. He will also whistle for the Assyrians. They will come from their country like bees. 19 All of them will come and camp in the deep valleys. They will camp in caves in the rocks. And they’ll camp near bushes and water holes.

20 At that time the Lord will use the Assyrians to punish you. Ahaz had hired them earlier from east of the Euphrates River. Now their king will be like a razor in the Lord’s hand. He will shave the hair from your head and legs. He will also shave off your beards.

16 “For before the boy will know enough to refuse evil and choose good, the land whose two kings you dread will be forsaken.

17 “The Lord will bring on you, on your people, and on your father’s house such days as have never come since the day that Ephraim separated from Judah, the king of Assyria.”

18 In that day the Lord will whistle for the fly that is in the remotest part of the rivers of Egypt and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria.

19 They will all come and settle on the steep ravines, on the ledges of the cliffs, on all the thorn bushes and on all the watering places.

20 In that day the Lord will shave with a razor, hired from regions beyond the Euphrates (that is, with the king of Assyria), the head and the hair of the legs; and it will also remove the beard.