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War against Jerusalem

¹ Now it came to pass in the days of ^(C1)Ahaz the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that ^(C2)Rezin king of ^(F1)Aram (Syria) and ^(C3)Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up to Jerusalem to wage war against it, but they ^(C4)could not conquer it.² When the ^(C1)house of David (Judah) was told, "Aram ^(C2)is allied with ^(C3)Ephraim (Israel)," the hearts of Ahaz and his people trembled as the trees of the forest tremble in the wind.

³ Then the LORD said to Isaiah, "Go out to meet Ahaz king of Judah, you and your son ^(F1)Shear-jashub, at the end of the ^(C1)aqueduct of the Upper Pool, on the highway to the ^(F2)Fuller's Field;⁴ and say to him, 'Take care and be ^(C1)calm, ^(C2)do not fear ^(C3)and be weak-hearted because of these two stumps of smoldering ^(C4)logs, on account of the fierce anger of King Rezin and Aram and of the ^(C5)son of Remaliah (Pekah, usurper of the throne of Israel).⁵ 'Because ^(C1)Aram, along with Ephraim (Israel) and the son of Remaliah, have planned evil against you (Judah), saying,⁶ "Let us go up against Judah and terrorize it; and let us breach its wall and tear it apart each of us taking a portion and set up the son of Tabeel over it as its puppet king,"⁷ for this is what the Lord GOD says, "^(C1)It shall not stand nor shall it happen.⁸ "For the head (capital) of Aram is ^(C1)Damascus and the head of Damascus is King Rezin (now within sixty-five years Ephraim will be broken to pieces and will no longer be a people).⁹ "And the head (capital) of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is Remaliah's son King Pekah. ^(C1)If you will not ^(F1)believe and trust in God and His message, be assured that you will not be established."'"

The Child Immanuel

¹⁰ Then the LORD spoke again to King Ahaz, saying,¹¹ "Ask a ^(C1)sign for yourself from the LORD your God one that will convince you that God has spoken and will keep His word; make your request as deep as Sheol or as high as heaven."¹² But Ahaz said, "^(F1)I will not ask, nor will I test the LORD!"¹³ Then Isaiah said, "Hear then, O ^(C1)house of David! Is it too small a thing for you to try the patience of men, but will you ^(C2)try the patience of ^(C3)my God as well?¹⁴ "Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Listen carefully, the ^(F1)(C1)virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and she will call his name ^(C2)Immanuel (God with us). ^(VR1)15 "He will eat ^(C1)curds and honey when he knows enough to refuse evil and choose good.¹⁶ "For ^(C1)before the child will know enough to refuse evil and choose good, the ^(C2)land (Canaan) whose two kings you dread will be deserted both Ephraim and Aram. ^(VR1)

Trials to Come for Judah

¹⁸ In that day the LORD will ^(C1)whistle for the fly that is in the ^(F1)(C2)mouth of the rivers and canals of Egypt and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria.¹⁹ These armies, like flies and bees will all come and settle on the steep and rugged ravines and in the ^(C1)clefts of the rocks, and ^(C2)on all the thorn bushes and in all the watering places.

²⁰ In that day when foreign armies swarm the land the Lord will ^(C1)shave with a ^(C2)razor, ^(C3)hired from the regions beyond the ^(C4)Euphrates (that is, with the king of Assyria), that razor will shave the head and the hair of the legs; and it will also remove the beard leaving Judah stripped, shamed and scorned. ^(VR1)

²¹ Now in that day because of the poverty caused by the invaders a man will keep alive only a ^(C1)young milk cow and two sheep;²² and because of the abundance of milk produced he will eat curds, for everyone that is left in the land will eat only ^(C1)curds and wild honey.

²³ And it will come to pass in that day, ^(C1)in every place where there used to be a thousand vines, worth a thousand silver shekels, there will be ^(C2)briars and thorns.²⁴ People will come there to hunt with arrows and with bows because all the land will be briars and thorns.²⁵ As for all the hills which used to be cultivated with the pick and the hoe, you will no longer go there for fear of briars and thorns; but they will become a place where ^(C1)oxen are pastured and where sheep tread.