| English Standard Version | New Living Translation |
| 1In 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. | 1When 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. |
| 2When the house of David was told, “Syria is in league with Ephraim,” the heart of Ahaz and the heart of his people shook as the trees of the forest shake before the wind. | 2The 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. |
| 3And the LORD said to Isaiah, “Go out to meet Ahaz, you and Shear-jashub your son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool on the highway to the Washer’s Field. | 3Then 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. |
| 4And say to him, ‘Be careful, be quiet, do not fear, and do not let your heart be faint because of these two smoldering stumps of firebrands, at the fierce anger of Rezin and Syria and the son of Remaliah. | 4Tell 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. |
| 5Because Syria, with Ephraim and the son of Remaliah, has devised evil against you, saying, | 5Yes, the kings of Syria and Israel are plotting against him, saying, |
| 6“Let us go up against Judah and terrify it, and let us conquer it for ourselves, and set up the son of Tabeel as king in the midst of it,” | 6‘We will attack Judah and capture it for ourselves. Then we will install the son of Tabeel as Judah’s king.’ |
| 7thus says the Lord GOD: “‘It shall not stand, and it shall not come to pass. | 7But this is what the Sovereign LORD says: “This invasion will never happen; it will never take place; |
| 8For the head of Syria is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin. And within sixty-five years Ephraim will be shattered from being a people. | 8for 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. |
| 9And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is the son of Remaliah. If you are not firm in faith, you will not be firm at all.’” | 9Israel 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 |
| 10Again the LORD spoke to Ahaz: | 10Later, the LORD sent this message to King Ahaz: |
| 11“Ask a sign of the LORD your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven.” | 11“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. ” |
| 12But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, and I will not put the LORD to the test.” | 12But the king refused. “No,” he said, “I will not test the LORD like that.” |
| 13And he said, “Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary men, that you weary my God also? | 13Then 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? |
| 14Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. | 14All 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’). |
| 15He shall eat curds and honey when he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good. | 15By the time this child is old enough to choose what is right and reject what is wrong, he will be eating yogurt and honey. |
| 16For before the boy knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land whose two kings you dread will be deserted. | 16For before the child is that old, the lands of the two kings you fear so much will both be deserted. |
| 17The 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 Ephraim departed from Judah—the king of Assyria!” | 17“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!” |
| 18In that day the LORD will whistle for the fly that is at the end of the streams of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria. | 18In 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. |
| 19And they will all come and settle in the steep ravines, and in the clefts of the rocks, and on all the thornbushes, and on all the pastures. | 19They will come in vast hordes and settle in the fertile areas and also in the desolate valleys, caves, and thorny places. |
| 20In that day the Lord will shave with a razor that is hired beyond the River—with the king of Assyria—the head and the hair of the feet, and it will sweep away the beard also. | 20In 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. |
| 21In that day a man will keep alive a young cow and two sheep, | 21In that day a farmer will be fortunate to have a cow and two sheep or goats left. |
| 22and because of the abundance of milk that they give, he will eat curds, for everyone who is left in the land will eat curds and honey. | 22Nevertheless, 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. |
| 23In that day every place where there used to be a thousand vines, worth a thousand shekels of silver, will become briers and thorns. | 23In that day the lush vineyards, now worth 1,000 pieces of silver, will become patches of briers and thorns. |
| 24With bow and arrows a man will come there, for all the land will be briers and thorns. | 24The entire land will become a vast expanse of briers and thorns, a hunting ground overrun by wildlife. |
| 25And as for all the hills that used to be hoed with a hoe, you will not come there for fear of briers and thorns, but they will become a place where cattle are let loose and where sheep tread. | 25No 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. |
| ESV Text Edition: 2016. The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited. All rights reserved. | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
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