^7:23At that time⁴⁶ every place where there had been a thousand vines worth a thousand shekels will be overrun⁴⁷ with thorns and briers. ^7:24With bow and arrow⁴⁸ men will hunt⁴⁹ there, for the whole land will be covered⁵⁰ with thorns and briers. ^7:25They will stay away from all the hills that were cultivated, for fear of the thorns and briers.⁵¹ Cattle will graze there and sheep will trample on them.⁵²

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Footnotes

46 Heb “in that day.” The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in .
47 Heb “will become” (so ); “shall be turned to.”
48 Heb “with arrows and a bow.” The more common English idiom is “bow[s] and arrow[s].”
49 Heb “go” (so , , ); “go hunting.”
50 Heb “will be” (so , ).
51 Heb “and all the hills which were hoed with a hoe, you will not go there [for] fear of the thorns and briers.”
52 Heb “and it will become a pasture for cattle and a trampling place for sheep.” At this point one is able to summarize the content of the “sign” (vv. 14–15) as follows: A young woman known to be present when Isaiah delivered this message to Ahaz (perhaps a member of the royal family or the prophetess mentioned in 8:3) would soon give birth to a boy whom the mother would name Immanuel, “God is with us.” Eventually Immanuel would be forced to eat sour milk and honey, which would enable him to make correct moral decisions. How would this situation come about and how would it constitute a sign? Before this situation developed, the Israelites and Syrians would be defeated. But then the Lord would usher in a period of time unlike any since the division of the kingdom almost 200 years before. The Assyrians would overrun the land, destroy the crops, and force the people to subsist on goats’ milk and honey. At that time, as the people saw Immanuel eating his sour milk and honey, the Davidic family would be forced to acknowledge that God was indeed with them. He was present with them in the Syrian-Israelite crisis, fully capable of rescuing them; but he was also present with them in judgment, disciplining them for their lack of trust. The moral of the story is quite clear: Failure to appropriate God’s promises by faith can turn potential blessing into disciplinary judgment.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

In that day every place where there used to be a thousand vines, worth a thousand shekels of silver, will become briers and thorns. With bow and arrows a man will come there, for all the land will be briers and thorns. And as for all the hills that used to be hoed with a hoe, you will not come there for fear of briers and thorns, but they will become a place where cattle are let loose and where sheep tread.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

In that day, in every place where there were a thousand vines worth a thousand silver shekels, there will be only briers and thorns. Hunters will go there with bow and arrow, for the land will be covered with briers and thorns. As for all the hills once cultivated by the hoe, you will no longer go there for fear of the briers and thorns; they will become places where cattle are turned loose and where sheep run.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

And on that day

every place where there were a thousand vines,

worth a thousand pieces of silver,

will become thorns and briers.

A man will go there with bow and arrows

because the whole land will be thorns and briers.

You will not go to all the hills

that were once tilled with a hoe,

for fear of the thorns and briers.

Those hills will be places for oxen to graze

and for sheep to trample.

NLTNew Living Translation

In that day the lush vineyards, now worth 1,000 pieces of silver, will become patches of briers and thorns. The entire land will become a vast expanse of briers and thorns, a hunting ground overrun by wildlife. No one will go to the fertile hillsides where the gardens once grew, for briers and thorns will cover them. Cattle, sheep, and goats will graze there.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

And this shall happen on that day: Every place where there are a thousand vines for a thousand silver pieces will become briers, and it will be thornbushes. One will go there with arrows and bow, for all of the land will be briers and thornbushes. And as for all of the hills that they hoed with the hoe, you will not go there, for fear of briers and thornbushes. And it will become like pastureland for cattle and overtrodden land for sheep.

KJV 1900King James Version

And it shall come to pass in that day,

That every place shall be,

Where there were a thousand vines at a thousand silverlings,

It shall even be for briers and thorns.

With arrows and with bows shall men come thither;

Because all the land shall become briers and thorns.

And on all hills that shall be digged with the mattock,

There shall not come thither the fear of briers and thorns:

But it shall be for the sending forth of oxen,

And for the treading of lesser cattle.

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