7Now Ahaz was the son of Jotham, who was the son of Uzziah. When Ahaz was king of Judah, Rezin king of Aram and Pekah son of Remaliah, the king of Israel, went up to Jerusalem to fight against it. But they were not able to defeat the city.

²Ahaz king of Judah received a message saying, “The armies of Aram and Israel ⁿ have joined together.”

When Ahaz heard this, he and the people were frightened. They shook with fear like trees of the forest blown by the wind.

³Then the Lord told Isaiah, “You and your son Shear-Jashub ⁿ should go and meet Ahaz at the place where the water flows into the upper pool, on the road where people do their laundry. ⁴Tell Ahaz, ‘Be careful. Be calm and don’t worry. Don’t let those two men, Rezin and Pekah son of Remaliah, scare you. Don’t be afraid of their anger or Aram’s anger, because they are like two barely burning sticks that are ready to go out. ⁵They have made plans against you, saying, ⁶“Let’s fight against Judah and tear it apart. We will divide the land for ourselves and make the son of Tabeel the new king of Judah.” ⁷But I, the Lord God, say,

“ ‘Their plan will not succeed;

it will not happen,

⁸because Aram is led by the city of Damascus,

and Damascus is led by its weak king, Rezin.

Within sixty-five years Israel will no longer be a nation.

⁹Israel is led by the city of Samaria,

and Samaria is led by its weak king, the son of Remaliah.

If your faith is not strong,

you will not have strength enough to last.’ ”

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Footnotes

nIsrael Literally, “Ephraim.” Isaiah often uses “Ephraim” to mean all of Israel.
nShear-Jashub This name means “a part of the people will come back.”