Isa 7 | ESV | STEP | In the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham , son of Uzziah , king of Judah , Rezin the king of Syria and Pekah the son of Remaliah the king of Israel came up to Jerusalem to wage war against it, but could not yet mount an attack against it .

1 In the days of ^aAhaz the son of Jotham, son of Uzziah, king of Judah, ^bRezin the king of Syria and ^cPekah the son of Remaliah the king of Israel came up to Jerusalem to wage war against it, but could not yet mount an attack against it. 2 When the house of David was told, ^d“Syria is in league with ^{▼▼Hebrew Syria has rested upon} ^fEphraim,” the heart of Ahaz ^{▼▼Hebrew his heart} and the heart of his people shook as the trees of the forest shake before the wind.

3 And the Lord said to Isaiah, “Go out to meet Ahaz, you and ^hShear-jashub ^{▼▼ Shear-jashub means A remnant shall return} your son, at the end of ^jthe conduit of the upper pool on the highway to the Washer’s Field. 4 And say to him, ^k‘Be careful, ^lbe quiet, do not fear, and do not let your heart be faint because of these two ^msmoldering stumps of firebrands, at the fierce anger of Rezin and Syria and ⁿthe son of Remaliah. 5 Because Syria, with Ephraim and ^othe son of Remaliah, has devised evil against you, saying, 6 “Let us go up against Judah and terrify it, and let us conquer it ^{▼▼Hebrew let us split it open} for ourselves, and set up the son of Tabeel as king in the midst of it,” 7 thus says the Lord God:

^q“‘It shall not stand,
and it shall not come to pass.
8 For the head of Syria is ^rDamascus,
and the head of Damascus is Rezin.
And within sixty-five years
Ephraim will be shattered from being a people.
9 And the head of Ephraim is Samaria,
and the head of Samaria is ^sthe son of Remaliah.
^tIf you ^{▼▼The Hebrew for you is plural in verses 9, 13, 14} are not firm in faith,
you will not be firm at all.’”

The Sign of Immanuel

10 Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz: 11 “Ask ^va sign of the Lord your ^{▼▼The Hebrew for you and your is singular in verses 11, 16, 17} God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven.” 12 But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test.” 13 And he ^{▼▼That is, Isaiah} said, “Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary men, that you ^yweary my God also? 14 Therefore the ^zLord himself will give you a sign. ^aaBehold, the ^abvirgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name ^acImmanuel. ^{▼▼ Immanuel means God is with us} 15 He shall eat ^aecurds and honey when he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good. 16 ^afFor before the boy knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land whose two kings you dread will be ^agdeserted. 17 ^ahThe Lord will bring upon you and upon your people and upon your father’s house such days as have not come since the day that ^aiEphraim departed from Judah—the king of Assyria!”

18 In that day the Lord will ^ajwhistle for the fly that is at the end of the streams of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria. 19 And they will all come and settle in the steep ravines, and ^akin the clefts of the rocks, and on all the thornbushes, and on all the pastures. ^{▼▼Or watering holes, or brambles}

20 In that day ^amthe Lord will ^anshave with a razor that is ^aohired beyond ^apthe River—with the king of Assyria—the head and the hair of the feet, and it will sweep away the beard also.

21 ^aqIn that day a man will keep alive a young cow and two sheep, 22 and because of the abundance of milk that they give, he will eat curds, for everyone who is left in the land will eat ^arcurds and honey.

23 In that day every place where there used to be a thousand vines, worth a thousand shekels ^{▼▼A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams} of silver, will become ^atbriers and thorns. 24 ^auWith bow and arrows a man will come there, for all the land will be briers and thorns. 25 ^avAnd as for all the hills that used to be hoed with a hoe, you will not come there for fear ^awof briers and thorns, but they will become a place where cattle are let loose and where sheep tread.