The Immanuel Prophecy

10 Moreover the Lord spoke again to Ahaz, saying, 11 g“Ask a sign for yourself from the Lord your God; 8ask it either in the depth or in the height above.”

12 But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, nor will I test the Lord!”

13 Then he said, “Hear now, O house of David! Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will you weary my God also? 14 Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: hBehold, the virgin shall conceive and bear ia Son, and shall call His name jImmanuel. 915 Curds and honey He shall eat, that He may know to refuse the evil and choose the good. 16 kFor before the Child shall know to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land that you dread will be forsaken by lboth her kings. 17 mThe 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 nEphraim departed from Judah.”

18 And it shall come to pass in that day

That the Lord owill 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 pthe clefts of the rocks,

And on all thorns and in all pastures.

20 In the same day the Lord will shave with a qhired rrazor,

With those from beyond 1the River, with the king of Assyria,

The head and the hair of the legs,

And will also remove the beard.

21 It shall be in that day

That a man will keep alive a young cow and two sheep;

22 So it shall be, from the abundance of milk they give,

That he will eat curds;

For curds and honey everyone will eat who is left in the land.

23 It shall happen in that day,

That wherever there could be a thousand vines

Worth a thousand shekels of silver,

sIt will be for briers and thorns.

24 With arrows and bows men will come there,

Because all the land will become briers and thorns.

25 And to any hill which could be dug with the hoe,

You will not go there for fear of briers and thorns;

But it will become a range for oxen

And a place for sheep to roam.

Assyria Will Invade the Land

8 Moreover the Lord said to me, “Take a large scroll, and awrite on it with a man’s pen concerning 1Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz. 2 And I will take for Myself faithful witnesses to record, bUriah the priest and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah.”

3 Then I went to the prophetess, and she conceived and bore a son. Then the Lord said to me, “Call his name Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz; 4 cfor before the child 2shall have knowledge to cry ‘My father’ and ‘My mother,’ dthe riches of Damascus and the 3spoil of Samaria will be taken away before the king of Assyria.”

5 The Lord also spoke to me again, saying:

6 “Inasmuch as these people refused

The waters of eShiloah that flow softly,

And rejoice fin Rezin and in Remaliah’s son;

7 Now therefore, behold, the Lord brings up over them

The waters of 4the River, strong and mighty—

The king of Assyria and all his glory;

He will 5go up over all his channels

And go over all his banks.

8 He will pass through Judah,

He will overflow and pass over,

gHe will reach up to the neck;

And the stretching out of his wings

Will 6fill the breadth of Your land, O hImmanuel. 7

9 “Be ishattered, O you peoples, and be broken in pieces!

Give ear, all you from far countries.

Gird yourselves, but be broken in pieces;

Gird yourselves, but be broken in pieces.

10 jTake counsel together, but it will come to nothing;

Speak the word, kbut it will not stand,

lFor 8God is with us.”

Fear God, Heed His Word

11 For the Lord spoke thus to me with 9a strong hand, and instructed me that I should not walk in the way of this people, saying:

12 “Do not say, ‘A conspiracy,’

Concerning all that this people call a conspiracy,

Nor be afraid of their 1threats, nor be 2troubled.

13 The Lord of hosts, Him you shall hallow;

Let Him be your fear,

And let Him be your dread.

14 mHe will be as a 3sanctuary,

But na stone of stumbling and a rock of 4offense

To both the houses of Israel,

As a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

15 And many among them shall ostumble;

They shall fall and be broken,

Be snared and 5taken.”

16 Bind up the testimony,

Seal the law among my disciples.

17 And I will wait on the Lord,

Who phides His face from the house of Jacob;

And I qwill hope in Him.

18 rHere am I and the children whom the Lord has given me!

We sare for signs and wonders in Israel

From the Lord of hosts,

Who dwells in Mount Zion.

19 And when they say to you, t“Seek those who are mediums and wizards, uwho whisper and mutter,” should not a people seek their God? Should they vseek the dead on behalf of the living? 20 wTo the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because xthere 6is no light in them.

21 They will pass through it hard-pressed and hungry; and it shall happen, when they are hungry, that they will be enraged and ycurse 7their king and their God, and look upward. 22 Then they will look to the earth, and see trouble and darkness, gloom of anguish; and they will be driven into darkness.