Isaiah 7
The LORD sends Isaiah to King Ahaz during the Syro-Ephraimite crisis to tell him not to fear Rezin and Pekah. Ahaz refuses to ask for a sign, so the LORD gives one Himself: a virgin shall conceive and bear a son and call his name Immanuel. Before the child is old enough to know good from evil, both enemy kings will be forsaken.
| v | King James Version | Modern English |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | And it came to pass in the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin the king of Syria, and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up toward Jerusalem to war against it, but could not prevail against it. | 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, king of Israel, came up to Jerusalem to war against it, but could not defeat it. |
| 2 | And it was told the house of David, saying, Syria is confederate with Ephraim. And his heart was moved, and the heart of his people, as the trees of the wood are moved with the wind. | When the house of David was told, "Syria is allied with Ephraim," the heart of Ahaz and the heart of his people shook as the trees of the forest shake before the wind. |
| 3 | Then said the LORD unto Isaiah, Go forth now to meet Ahaz, thou, and Shearjashub thy son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool in the highway of the fuller's field; | The LORD said to Isaiah, "Go out to meet Ahaz, you and your son Shearjashub, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool on the road to the field of the launderer. |
| 4 | And say unto him, Take heed, and be quiet; fear not, neither be fainthearted for the two tails of these smoking firebrands, for the fierce anger of Rezin with Syria, and of the son of Remaliah. | Tell Him: 'Be careful, stay calm, and do not be afraid. Do not let Your heart grow faint because of these two smoldering stubs of torches — the fierce anger of Rezin and Syria and the son of Remaliah. |
| 5 | Because Syria, Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah, have taken evil counsel against thee, saying, | Because Syria, with Ephraim and the son of Remaliah, has plotted evil against You, saying, |
| 6 | Let us go up against Judah, and vex it, and let us make a breach therein for us, and set a king in the midst of it, even the son of Tabeal: | "Let us go up against Judah and terrify it, and let us conquer it for ourselves and set up the son of Tabeal as king in the midst of it" — |
| 7 | Thus saith the Lord GOD, It shall not stand, neither shall it come to pass. | thus says the Lord GOD: It shall not stand, and it shall not come to pass. |
| 8 | For the head of Syria is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin; and within threescore and five years shall Ephraim be broken, that it be not a people. | For the head of Syria is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin. Within sixty-five years Ephraim will be shattered so that it is no longer a people. |
| 9 | And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is Remaliah's son. If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established. | The head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is Remaliah's son. If You will not believe, You will not be established.' " |
| 10 | Moreover the LORD spake again unto Ahaz, saying, | The LORD spoke to Ahaz again, saying, |
| 11 | Ask thee a sign of the LORD thy God; ask it either in the depth, or in the height above. | "Ask a sign of the LORD Your God — let it be as deep as the grave or as high as heaven." |
| 12 | But Ahaz said, I will not ask, neither will I tempt the LORD. | But Ahaz said, "I will not ask, and I will not put the LORD to the test." |
| 13 | And he said, Hear ye now, O house of David; Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will ye weary my God also? | Isaiah said, "Hear then, O house of David! Is it too small a thing for you to weary men, that you must weary my God also? |
| 14 | Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. | Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign. A virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call His name Immanuel. |
| 15 | Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good. | He shall eat curds and honey when He knows to refuse the evil and choose the good. |
| 16 | For before the child shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the good, the land that thou abhorrest shall be forsaken of both her kings. | For before the child knows to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land whose two kings you dread will be deserted. |
| 17 | The LORD shall bring upon thee, and upon thy people, and upon thy father's house, days that have not come, from the day that Ephraim departed from Judah; even the king of Assyria. | The LORD will bring on You, on Your people, and on Your father's house, days such as have not come since the day that Ephraim departed from Judah — the king of Assyria." |
| 18 | And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall hiss for the fly that is in the uttermost part of the rivers of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria. | In that day the LORD will whistle for the fly that is in the far rivers of Egypt and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria. |
| 19 | And they shall come, and shall all rest in the desolate valleys, and in the holes of the rocks, and upon all thorns, and upon all bushes. | They shall all come and settle in the steep ravines, and in the clefts of the rocks, and on all the thornbushes, and on all the watering holes. |
| 20 | In the same day shall the Lord shave with a razor that is hired, namely, by them beyond the river, by the king of Assyria, the head, and the hair of the feet: and it shall also consume the beard. | In that day the Lord will shave with a hired razor — with those beyond the River, with the king of Assyria — the head and the hair of the legs. It will sweep away the beard also. |
| 21 | And it shall come to pass in that day, that a man shall nourish a young cow, and two sheep; | In that day a man will keep alive a young cow and two sheep. |
| 22 | And it shall come to pass, for the abundance of milk that they shall give he shall eat butter: for butter and honey shall every one eat that is left in the land. | Because of the abundance of milk they give, he shall eat curds. Everyone left in the land will eat curds and honey. |
| 23 | 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. | In that day every place where there used to be a thousand vines worth a thousand pieces of silver shall become briers and thorns. |
| 24 | With arrows and with bows shall men come thither; because all the land shall become briers and thorns. | Men will come there with bows and arrows, for all the land will be briers and thorns. |
| 25 | 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. | As for all the hills that used to be worked with a hoe, you will not go there for fear of briers and thorns. They will be places for oxen to roam and for sheep to trample. |