Isaiah 7

Isaiah Chapter 7
A Message for Ahaz

When Ahaz, son of Jotham and grandson of Uzziah, was
King of Judah, King Rezin of Syria and Pekah son of
Remaliah, the king of Israel, set out to attack Jerusalem
However, they were unable to carry out their plan
The news had come to the royal court of Judah: "Syria is allied
With Israel against us!" So the hearts of the king and his
People trembled with fear, like trees shaking in a storm

Then the Lord said to Isaiah, "Take your son Shear-Jashub and go out
To meet King Ahaz. You will find him at the end of the aqueduct that
Feeds water into the upper pool, near the road leading to the field
Where cloth is washed. Tell him to stop worrying. Tell him he doesn'
T need to fear the fierce anger of those two burned-out embers—King
Rezin of Syria and Pekah son of Remaliah. Yes, the kings of Syria and
Israel are plotting against him, saying, 'We will attack Judah and
Capture it for ourselves. Then we will install the son of Tabeel

As Judah's king.' But this is what the Sovereign Lord says
This invasion will never happen! It will never take place!
For Syria is no stronger than its capital, Damascus, and Damascus
Is no stronger than its king, Rezin. As for Israel, within sixty-
Five years it will be crushed and completely destroyed. Israel
Is no stronger than its capital, Samaria, and Samaria is no
Stronger than its king, Pekah son of Remaliah. Unless your
Faith is firm, I cannot make you stand firm."The Sign of Immanuel

Later, the Lord sent this message to King Ahaz: "Ask the Lord your God

For a sign of confirmation, Ahaz. Make it as difficult as you want

As high as heaven or as deep as the place of the dead." But the king

Refused. "No," he said, "I will not test the Lord like that." Then

Isaiah said, "Listen well, you royal family of David! Isn't it enough
To exhaust human patience? Must you exhaust the patience of my God
As well? All right, then, the Lord himself will give you the sign
Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a
Son and will call him Immanuel (which means "God is with us") . By
The time this child is old enough to choose what is right and reject
What is wrong, he will be eating yogurt and honey. For before the
Child is that old, the lands of the two kings you fear so much will
Both be deserted. 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. 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. They

Will come in vast hordes and settle in the fertile areas and also in

The desolate valleys, caves, and thorny places. 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. In that day, a farmer will be fortunate to have a
Cow and two sheep or goats left. Nevertheless, there will be enough
Milk for everyone because so few people will be left in the land
They will eat their fill of yogurt and honey. In that day, the lush
Vineyards, now worth a thousand 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."