Isaiah 7–12

The Sign of Immanuel

7When Ahaz^y son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, was king of Judah, King Rezin^z of Aram^a and Pekah^b son of Remaliah^c king of Israel marched up to fight against Jerusalem, but they could not overpower it.

²Now the house of David^d was told, “Aram has allied itself with^a Ephraim^e”; so the hearts of Ahaz and his people were shaken,^f as the trees of the forest are shaken by the wind.

³Then the Lord said to Isaiah, “Go out, you and your son Shear-Jashub,^bg to meet Ahaz at the end of the aqueduct of the Upper Pool, on the road to the Launderer’s Field.^{h 4}Say to him, ‘Be careful, keep calmⁱ and don’t be afraid.^j Do not lose heart^k because of these two smoldering stubs^l of firewood—because of the fierce anger^m of Rezin and Aram and of the son of Remaliah.^{n 5}Aram, Ephraim and Remaliah’s^o son have plotted^p your ruin, saying, ⁶“Let us invade Judah; let us tear it apart and divide it among ourselves, and make the son of Tabeel king over it.” ⁷Yet this is what the Sovereign Lord says:^q

“ ‘It will not take place,

it will not happen,^r

⁸for the head of Aram is Damascus,^s

and the head of Damascus is only Rezin.^t

Within sixty-five years

Ephraim will be too shattered^u to be a people.

⁹The head of Ephraim is Samaria,^v

and the head of Samaria is only Remaliah’s son.

If you do not stand^w firm in your faith,^x

you will not stand at all.’ ”^y

¹⁰Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, ¹¹“Ask the Lord your God for a sign,^z whether in the deepest depths or in the highest heights.^a”

¹²But Ahaz said, “I will not ask; I will not put the Lord to the test.^b”

¹³Then Isaiah said, “Hear now, you house of David!^c Is it not enough^d to try the patience of humans? Will you try the patience^e of my God^f also? ¹⁴Therefore the Lord himself will give you^c a sign:^g The virgin^dh will conceive and give birth to a son,ⁱ and^e will call him Immanuel.^{fj 15}He will be eating curds^k and honey^l when he knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, ¹⁶for before the boy knows^m enough to reject the wrong and choose the right,ⁿ the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste.^{o 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^p from Judah—he will bring the king of Assyria.^q”

Assyria, the Lord’s Instrument

¹⁸In that day^r the Lord will whistle^s for flies from the Nile delta in Egypt and for bees from the land of Assyria.^{t 19}They will all come and settle in the steep ravines and in the crevices^u in the rocks, on all the thornbushes^v and at all the water holes. ²⁰In that day^w the Lord will use^x a razor hired from beyond the Euphrates River^y—the king of Assyria^z—to shave your head and private parts, and to cut off your beard^a also.^{b 21}In that day,^c a person will keep alive a young cow and two goats.^{d 22}And because of the abundance of the milk they give, there will be curds to eat. All who remain in the land will eat curds^e and honey.^{f 23}In that day,^g in every place where there were a thousand vines worth a thousand silver shekels,^gh there will be only briers and thorns.^{i 24}Hunters will go there with bow and arrow, for the land will be covered with briers^j and thorns. ²⁵As for all the hills^k once cultivated by the hoe, you will no longer go there for fear of the briers and thorns;^l they will become places where cattle are turned loose and where sheep run.^m

Isaiah and His Children as Signs

8The Lord said to me, “Take a large scrollⁿ and write on it with an ordinary pen: Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz.”^{ao 2}So I called in Uriah^p the priest and Zechariah son of Jeberekiah as reliable witnesses^q for me. ³Then I made love to the prophetess,^r and she conceived and gave birth to a son.^s And the Lord said to me, “Name him Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz.^{t 4}For before the boy knows^u how to say ‘My father’ or ‘My mother,’ the wealth of Damascus^v and the plunder of Samaria will be carried off by the king of Assyria.^w”

⁵The Lord spoke to me again:

⁶“Because this people has rejected^x

the gently flowing waters of Shiloah^y

and rejoices over Rezin

and the son of Remaliah,^z

⁷therefore the Lord is about to bring against them

the mighty floodwaters^a of the Euphrates—

the king of Assyria^b with all his pomp.^c

It will overflow all its channels,

run over all its banks^d

⁸and sweep on into Judah, swirling over it,^e

passing through it and reaching up to the neck.

Its outspread wings^f will cover the breadth of your land,

Immanuel^b!”^g

⁹Raise the war cry,^ch you nations, and be shattered!ⁱ

Listen, all you distant lands.

Prepare^j for battle, and be shattered!

Prepare for battle, and be shattered!

¹⁰Devise your strategy, but it will be thwarted;^k

propose your plan, but it will not stand,^l

for God is with us.^dm

¹¹This is what the Lord says to me with his strong hand upon me,ⁿ warning me not to follow^o the way of this people:

¹²“Do not call conspiracy^p

everything this people calls a conspiracy;

do not fear what they fear,^q

and do not dread it.^r

¹³The Lord Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy,^s

he is the one you are to fear,^t

he is the one you are to dread.^u

¹⁴He will be a holy place;^v

for both Israel and Judah he will be

a stone^w that causes people to stumble^x

and a rock that makes them fall.^y

And for the people of Jerusalem he will be

a trap and a snare.^z

¹⁵Many of them will stumble;^a

they will fall and be broken,

they will be snared and captured.”

¹⁶Bind up this testimony of warning^b

and seal^c up God’s instruction among my disciples.

¹⁷I will wait^d for the Lord,

who is hiding^e his face from the descendants of Jacob.

I will put my trust in him.^f

¹⁸Here am I, and the children the Lord has given me.^g We are signs^h and symbolsⁱ in Israel from the Lord Almighty, who dwells on Mount Zion.^j

The Darkness Turns to Light

¹⁹When someone tells you to consult^k mediums and spiritists,^l who whisper and mutter,^m should not a people inquireⁿ of their God? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living? ²⁰Consult God’s instruction^o and the testimony of warning.^p If anyone does not speak according to this word, they have no light^q of dawn. ²¹Distressed and hungry,^r they will roam through the land;^s when they are famished, they will become enraged and, looking upward, will curse^t their king and their God. ²²Then they will look toward the earth and see only distress and darkness and fearful gloom,^u and they will be thrust into utter darkness.^v

9^aNevertheless, there will be no more gloom^w for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,^x but in the future he will honor Galilee of the nations, by the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan—

²The people walking in darkness^y

have seen a great light;^z

on those living in the land of deep darkness^a

a light has dawned.^b

³You have enlarged the nation^c

and increased their joy;^d

they rejoice before you

as people rejoice at the harvest,

as warriors rejoice

when dividing the plunder.^e

⁴For as in the day of Midian’s defeat,^f

you have shattered^g

the yoke^h that burdens them,

the bar across their shoulders,ⁱ

the rod of their oppressor.^j

⁵Every warrior’s boot used in battle

and every garment rolled in blood

will be destined for burning,^k

will be fuel for the fire.

⁶For to us a child is born,^l

to us a son is given,^m

and the governmentⁿ will be on his shoulders.^o

And he will be called

Wonderful Counselor,^p Mighty God,^q

Everlasting^r Father,^s Prince of Peace.^t

⁷Of the greatness of his government^u and peace^v

there will be no end.^w

He will reign^x on David’s throne

and over his kingdom,

establishing and upholding it

with justice^y and righteousness^z

from that time on and forever.^a

The zeal^b of the Lord Almighty

will accomplish this.

The Lord’s Anger Against Israel

⁸The Lord has sent a message^c against Jacob;

it will fall on Israel.

⁹All the people will know it—

Ephraim^d and the inhabitants of Samaria^e—

who say with pride

and arrogance^f of heart,

¹⁰“The bricks have fallen down,

but we will rebuild with dressed stone;^g

the fig^h trees have been felled,

but we will replace them with cedars.ⁱ”

¹¹But the Lord has strengthened Rezin’s^j foes against them

and has spurred their enemies on.

¹²Arameans^k from the east and Philistines^l from the west

have devoured^m Israel with open mouth.

Yet for all this, his angerⁿ is not turned away,

his hand is still upraised.^o

¹³But the people have not returned^p to him who struck^q them,

nor have they sought^r the Lord Almighty.

¹⁴So the Lord will cut off from Israel both head and tail,

both palm branch and reed^s in a single day;^t

¹⁵the elders^u and dignitaries^v are the head,

the prophets^w who teach lies^x are the tail.

¹⁶Those who guide^y this people mislead them,

and those who are guided are led astray.^z

¹⁷Therefore the Lord will take no pleasure in the young men,^a

nor will he pity^b the fatherless and widows,

for everyone is ungodly^c and wicked,^d

every mouth speaks folly.^e

Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away,

his hand is still upraised.^f

¹⁸Surely wickedness burns like a fire;^g

it consumes briers and thorns,^h

it sets the forest thickets ablaze,ⁱ

so that it rolls upward in a column of smoke.

¹⁹By the wrath^j of the Lord Almighty

the land will be scorched^k

and the people will be fuel for the fire;^l

they will not spare one another.^m

²⁰On the right they will devour,

but still be hungry;ⁿ

on the left they will eat,^o

but not be satisfied.

Each will feed on the flesh of their own offspring^b:

²¹Manasseh will feed on Ephraim, and Ephraim on Manasseh;^p

together they will turn against Judah.^q

Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away,

his hand is still upraised.^r

10Woe^s to those who make unjust laws,

to those who issue oppressive decrees,^t

²to deprive^u the poor of their rights

and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people,^v

making widows their prey

and robbing the fatherless.^w

³What will you do on the day of reckoning,^x

when disaster^y comes from afar?

To whom will you run for help?^z

Where will you leave your riches?

⁴Nothing will remain but to cringe among the captives^a

or fall…