Isaiah 7

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.

1Ahaz was king of Judah. His father was Jotham, and Jotham's father was Uzziah. While Ahaz was king, two other kings came to fight Jerusalem. They were Rezin, king of Syria, and Pekah, son of Remaliah, king of Israel. But they could not beat the city.

2And 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.

2Someone told the royal family of King David, "Syria has joined up with Ephraim." Ephraim was another name for Israel. Then the king's heart shook with fear, and his people's hearts shook too. They shook like trees in a forest when the wind blows.

3Then 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;

3Then the LORD said to Isaiah, "Go out and meet Ahaz. Take your son Shear-jashub with you. Meet him where the water channel ends at the upper pool. It is on the road by the field where people wash clothes."

4And 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.

4"Say to him: Stay calm and be quiet. Do not be afraid. Do not lose heart over these two kings. They are only like two burnt sticks that still smoke. Rezin of Syria and the son of Remaliah are very angry. Do not fear them."

5Because Syria, Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah, have taken evil counsel against thee, saying,

5"Syria and Ephraim and the son of Remaliah have made a bad plan against you. This is what they said:"

6Let 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:

6"Let us go fight Judah and scare its people. Let us break into it and split it up. Then we will make the son of Tabeal king there."

7Thus saith the Lord GOD, It shall not stand, neither shall it come to pass.

7But the Lord GOD says, "That plan will not stand. It will not happen."

8For 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.

8Syria's leading city is Damascus, and Damascus is led by Rezin. In sixty-five years Ephraim will be broken to pieces. It will not be a people anymore.

9And 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.

9Ephraim's leading city is Samaria, and Samaria is led by Remaliah's son. If you will not trust God, you will not stand firm at all.

10Moreover the LORD spake again unto Ahaz, saying,

10The LORD spoke to Ahaz again. He said,

11Ask thee a sign of the LORD thy God; ask it either in the depth, or in the height above.

11"Ask the LORD your God for a sign. A sign is proof that a promise is true. Ask for one from deep below or high above."

12But Ahaz said, I will not ask, neither will I tempt the LORD.

12But Ahaz said, "I will not ask. I will not test the LORD."

13And 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?

13Then Isaiah said, "Listen now, family of David. You already wear out the patience of people. Will you wear out my God's patience too?"

14Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

14"So the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look! A virgin will have a baby boy. She will name him Immanuel."

Note"Virgin" means a young woman who has not been married. The name Immanuel means "God is with us."

15Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good.

15"He will eat curds and honey. That is what he will be eating by the time he can turn down what is bad and choose what is good."

NoteThe KJV says "butter." It means curds, a thick soft food made from milk.

16For 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.

16"Before the boy is old enough to turn down bad and choose good, something will happen. The land of those two kings you are afraid of will be left empty."

17The 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.

17"The LORD will bring hard days on you, on your people, and on your father's family. There have been no days like them since Ephraim broke away from Judah. The LORD will bring the king of Assyria."

18And 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.

18On that day the LORD will whistle for the flies from the far streams of Egypt. He will whistle for the bees in the land of Assyria.

19And they shall come, and shall rest all of them in the desolate valleys, and in the holes of the rocks, and upon all thorns, and upon all bushes.

19They will all come and settle down. They will rest in steep valleys and in cracks in the rocks. They will rest on every thorn bush and every other bush.

20In 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.

20On that day the Lord will shave his people with a hired razor. The razor is the king of Assyria, from beyond the great river. He will shave the head and the hair of the legs. He will take off the beard too.

Note"The hair of the feet" means the hair on the legs. In that time, having your head and beard shaved by someone else was a deep shame.

21And it shall come to pass in that day, that a man shall nourish a young cow, and two sheep;

21On that day a man will keep just one young cow and two sheep.

22And 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.

22They will give so much milk that he will eat curds. Everyone still left in the land will eat curds and honey.

23And 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.

23On that day the good farms will be gone. Where a thousand grapevines grew, worth a thousand pieces of silver, only thorns and prickly bushes will grow.

NoteA "silverling" is a piece of silver used as money. A thousand of them was a very high price.

24With arrows and with bows shall men come thither; because all the land shall become briers and thorns.

24Men will come to those places with bows and arrows. They will hunt there, because the whole land will be thorns and prickly bushes.

25And 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.

25People once dug these hills with a hoe to plant food. Now no one will go there, because of the thorns and prickly bushes. The hills will be a place where cattle walk and sheep feed.