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War against Jerusalem

¹ Now it came about in the days of ^(C1)Ahaz, the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that ^(C2)Rezin the king of Aram and ^(C3)Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up to Jerusalem to wage war against it, but ^(C4)could not ^(F1)conquer it.² When it was reported to the ^(C1)house of David, saying, "The Arameans ^(C2)have taken a stand by ^(C3)Ephraim," his heart and the hearts of his people shook as the trees of the forest shake from the wind.

³ Then the LORD said to Isaiah, "Go out now to meet Ahaz, you and your son ^(F1)Shear-jashub, at the end of the ^(C1)conduit of the upper pool, on the road to the ^(F2)fuller's field,⁴ and say to him, 'Take care and be ^(C1)calm, have no ^(C2)fear and ^(C3)do not be fainthearted because of these two stumps of smoldering ^(C4)logs, on account of the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram and the ^(C5)son of Remaliah.⁵ 'Because ^(C1)Aram, with Ephraim and the son of Remaliah, has planned evil against you, saying,⁶ "Let's go up against Judah and ^(F1)terrorize it, and take it for ourselves by assault and set up the son of Tabeel as king in the midst of it,"⁷ this is what the Lord ^(F1)GOD says: "^(C1)It shall not stand nor shall it come to pass.⁸ "For the head of Aram is ^(C1)Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin (now within another sixty-five years Ephraim will be broken to pieces, so that it is no longer a people),⁹ and the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is the son of Remaliah. ^(C1)If you will not believe, you certainly shall not ^(F1)last."'"

The Child Immanuel

¹⁰ Then the LORD spoke again to Ahaz, saying,¹¹ "Ask for a ^(C1)sign for yourself from the LORD your God; ^(F1)make it deep as Sheol or high as ^(F2)heaven."¹² But Ahaz said, "I will not ask, nor will I put the LORD to the test!"¹³ Then he said, "Listen now, ^(C1)house of David! Is it too trivial a thing for you to ^(F1)try the patience of men, that you will ^(F2)(C2)try the patience of ^(C3)my God as well?¹⁴ "Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, ^(C1)the ^(F1)virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and she will name Him ^(F2)(C2)Immanuel.¹⁵ "He will eat ^(F1)(C1)curds and honey ^(F2)at the time He knows enough to refuse evil and choose good.¹⁶ "^(C1)For before the boy knows enough to refuse evil and choose good, ^(C2)the land whose two kings you dread will be abandoned.

Trials to Come for Judah

¹⁸ On that day the LORD will ^(C1)whistle for the fly that is in the ^(F1)(C2)remotest part of the canals of Egypt and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria.¹⁹ They will all come and settle on the steep ^(F1)ravines, on the ^(C1)ledges of the cliffs, ^(C2)on all the thorn bushes, and on all the watering places.

²⁰ On that day the Lord will ^(C1)shave with a ^(C2)razor, ^(C3)hired from regions beyond ^(C4)the Euphrates River (that is, with the king of Assyria), the head and the hair of the legs; and it will also remove the beard.

²¹ Now on that day a person may keep alive only a ^(C1)heifer and a pair of sheep;²² and because of the abundance of the milk produced he will eat ^(F1)curds, for everyone who is left within the land will eat ^(F1)(C1)curds and honey.

²³ And it will come about on that day, ^(C1)that every place where there used to be a thousand vines, valued at a thousand shekels of silver, will become ^(C2)briars and thorns.²⁴ People will come there with bows and arrows, because all the land will be briars and thorns.²⁵ As for all the hills which used to be cultivated with the plow, you will not go there for fear of briars and thorns; but they will become a place for ^(F1)(C1)pasturing oxen and for sheep to trample.