Isaiah 7 - 11
Isaiah Sent to King Ahaz
7Now it happened in the days of aAhaz, the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that bRezin the king of Aram and cPekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up to Jerusalem to wage war against it, but dcould not 1conquer it. 2When it was told to the ahouse of David, saying, “1The Arameans bhave camped in cEphraim,” his heart and the hearts of his people shook as the trees of the forest shake before the wind.
3Then Yahweh said to Isaiah, “Go out now to meet Ahaz, you and your son 1Shear-jashub, at the end of the aconduit of the upper pool, to the highway of the 2fuller’s field, 4and say to him, ‘Take care and stay aquiet, have no bfear and cdo not be fainthearted because of these two stubs of smoldering dfirebrands, on account of the burning anger of Rezin and Aram and the eson of Remaliah. 5‘Because aAram, with Ephraim and the son of Remaliah, has counseled evil against you, saying, 6“Let us go up against Judah and 1terrorize it, and make for ourselves a breach in 2its walls and set up the son of Tabeel as king in the midst of it,” 7thus says Lord Yahweh: “aIt shall not stand, nor shall it happen. 8“For the head of Aram is aDamascus and the head of Damascus is Rezin (now within another sixty-five years Ephraim will be shattered, so that it is no longer a people), 9and the head of Ephraim is Samaria and the head of Samaria is the son of Remaliah. aIf you do not 1establish your faith in Yahweh, you surely shall not 2be established.”’”
The Sign of Immanuel
10Then Yahweh spoke again to Ahaz, saying, 11“Ask a asign for yourself from Yahweh your God; 1make it deep as Sheol or high as 2heaven.” 12But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, and I will not test Yahweh!” 13Then he said, “1Listen now, O ahouse of David! Is it too slight a thing for you to try the patience of men, that you will btry the patience of cmy God as well? 14“Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, athe 1virgin 2will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name 3,bImmanuel. 15“He will eat acurds and honey 1in order that He will know to refuse evil and choose good. 16“aFor before the boy will know to refuse evil and choose good, bthe land whose two kings you dread will be forsaken. 17“Yahweh will bring on you, on your people, and on your father’s house days which have never come since the day that aEphraim separated from Judah—the bking of Assyria!”
Trials to Come for Judah
18And it will be in that day, that Yahweh will awhistle for the fly that is in the 1,bremotest part of the rivers of Egypt and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria. 19And they will all come and rest upon the steep 1ravines, on the acrevices of the cliffs, bon all the thorn bushes, and on all the 2watering places.
20In that day, the Lord will ashave with a brazor—one chired from regions beyond dthe 1River (that is, the king of Assyria)—the head and the hair of the legs; and it will also remove the beard.
21And it will be in that day, that a man may keep alive a aheifer and a pair of sheep; 22and because of the abundance of the milk produced, he will eat curds, for everyone that is left within the land will eat acurds and honey.
23And it will be in that day, athat every place where there used to be one thousand vines, valued at 1one thousand shekels of silver, will become bbriars and thorns. 24People will come there with bows and arrows because all the land will be briars and thorns. 25As for all the hills which used to be cultivated with the hoe, you will not go there for fear of briars and thorns; but they will become a place for 1,apasturing oxen and for sheep to trample.
The Coming Assyrian Invasion
8Then Yahweh said to me, “Take for yourself a large tablet and awrite on it 1in ordinary letters: bConcerning 2Maher-shalal-hash-baz. 2“And 1I will take to Myself faithful witnesses for testimony, aUriah the priest and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah.” 3Then I drew near to the prophetess, and she conceived and bore a son. Then Yahweh said to me, “Call his name 1,aMaher-shalal-hash-baz, 4for abefore the boy knows how to cry out ‘My father’ or ‘My mother,’ the wealth of bDamascus and the spoil of Samaria will be carried away before the king of Assyria.”
5Again Yahweh spoke to me further, saying,
6“Inasmuch as these people have arejected the gently flowing waters of ShiloahAnd rejoice in bRezin and the son of Remaliah;7Now therefore, behold, the Lord is about to bring on them the amighty and abundant waters of the 1,bRiver—The cking of Assyria and all his glory;And it will drise up over all its channels and go over all its banks.8“Then ait will sweep on into Judah; it will overflow and pass through;It will breach even to the neck;And the spread of its wings will 1fill the breadth of 2Your land, O cImmanuel.Yahweh, a Sanctuary and a Stumbling Stone
9“aBe broken, O peoples, and be 1,bshattered;And give ear, all remote places of the earth.Gird yourselves, yet be 2shattered;Gird yourselves, yet be 3shattered.10“aDevise counsel, but it will be thwarted;Speak a word, but bit will not stand,For 1,cGod is with us.”11For thus Yahweh spoke to me with a astrong hand and disciplined me bnot to walk in the way of this people, saying,
12“You are not to say, ‘It is a aconspiracy!’In regard to all that this people call a conspiracy;And byou are not to fear 1what they fear, and you shall not tremble.13“It is aYahweh of hosts bwhom you should regard as holy.And He shall be your fear,And He shall be your cause of trembling.14“Then He shall become a asanctuary;But to both the houses of Israel, a bstone to strike and a rock to stumble over,And a snare and a ctrap for the inhabitants of Jerusalem.15“And many awill stumble over them;Then they will fall and be broken;They will even be snared and caught.”16aBind up the testimony, bseal the 1law among cmy disciples. 17And I will await for Yahweh bwho is hiding His face from the house of Jacob; and I will hope for Him. 18aBehold, I and the children whom Yahweh has given me are for bsigns and wonders in Israel from Yahweh of hosts, who cdwells on Mount Zion.
Darkness to Light Through the Prince of Peace
19Now when they say to you, “aInquire of the mediums and the spiritists who whisper and mutter,” should not a people binquire of their God? Should they cinquire of the dead on behalf of the living? 20To the 1,alaw and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because bthey have no dawn. 21And they will pass through 1the land ahard-pressed and hungry, and it will be that when they are hungry, they will be angry and curse 2their king and their God as they face upward. 22Then they will alook to the earth, and behold, distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish; and they will be bbanished into thick darkness.
91But there will be no more agloom for her who was in anguish; in earlier times He btreated the cland of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali with contempt, but later on He shall make it glorious, by the way of the sea, on the other side of Jordan, Galilee of the 2Gentiles.
21,aThe people who walk in darknessWill see a great light;Those who live in the land of the shadow of death,The light will shine on them.3aYou shall multiply the nation,You bshall 1make great 2their gladness;They will be glad in Your presenceAs with the gladness 3of harvest,As 4,cmen rejoice when they divide the spoil.4For aYou shall shatter the yoke of their burden and the staff on their shoulders,The rod of their btaskmaster, as 1at the battle of cMidian.5For every boot of the booted warrior in the rumbling of battle,And cloak rolled in blood, will be for burning, fuel for the fire.6For a achild will be born to us, a bson will be given to us;And the cgovernment will 1rest don His shoulders;And His name will be called eWonderful Counselor, fMighty God,Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.7There will be ano end to the increase of His government or of peace,On the bthrone of David and over his kingdom,To establish it and to uphold it with cjustice and righteousnessFrom then on and forevermore.dThe zeal of Yahweh of hosts will accomplish this.Yahweh’s Anger with Israel’s Arrogance
8The Lord sends a 1message against Jacob,And it falls on Israel.9And all the people know it,That is, aEphraim and the inhabitants of Samaria,Saying in lofty pride and in barrogance of heart:10“The bricks have fallen down,But we will arebuild with cut stones;The sycamores have been cut in pieces,But we will replace them with cedars.”11Therefore Yahweh exalts against them adversaries from aRezinAnd incites their enemies,12The Arameans on the east and the aPhilistines on the west;And they bdevour Israel with 1gaping jaws.cIn spite of all this, His anger does not turn back,And His hand is still stretched out.13Yet the people ado not turn back to Him who struck them,Nor do they bseek Yahweh of hosts.14So Yahweh cuts off ahead and tail from Israel,Both palm branch and bulrush bin a single day.15The head is athe elder and the 1highly respected man,And the prophet who teaches bfalsehood is the tail.16aFor those who guide this people are leading them astray;And those who are guided by them are 1brought to confusion.17Therefore the Lord ais not glad in their choice men,bNor does He have compassion on their 1orphans or their widows;For every one of them is cgodless and an devildoer,And every emouth is speaking wicked foolishness.fIn spite of all this, His anger does not turn back,And His hand is still stretched out.18aFor wickedness burns like a fire;It consumes briars and thorns;It even sets the thickets of the forest aflame,And they roll upward in a column of smoke.19By the afury of Yahweh of hosts the bland is burned up,And the cpeople are like fuel for the fire;No dman spares his brother.201They slice off what is on the right hand but still are ahungry,And 2they eat what is on the left hand but they are not satisfied;Each of them eats the bflesh of his own arm.21Manasseh devours Ephraim, and Ephraim Manasseh,aAnd together they are against Judah.bIn spite of all this, His anger does not turn back,And His hand is still stretched out.10Woe to those who aenact evil statutesAnd to those who constantly record 1mischief,2So as ato turn the poor away from their causeAnd rob the afflicted of My people of their justice,So bthat widows may be their spoilAnd that they may plunder the 1orphans.3Now awhat will you do in the bday of visitation,And in the devastation which will come cfrom afar?dTo whom will you flee for help?And where will you leave your 1glory?4Nothing remains but to crouch 1among the acaptivesOr fall 2among those bkilled.cIn spite of all this, His anger does not turn backAnd His hand is still stretched out.Yahweh’s Anger with Assyria’s Arrogance
5Woe to aAssyria, the brod of My angerAnd the staff in whose hands is cMy indignation,6I send it against a agodless nationAnd command it against the bpeople of My furyTo capture spoil and cto seize plunder,And to 1trample them down like dmud in the streets.7But it adoes not intend to act in this way,And it does not think in its heart in this way,Rather, what is in its heart is to destroyAnd to cut off 1many nations.8For it says, “Are not my princes 1all kings?9“Is not aCalno like bCarchemish,Or cHamath like Arpad,Or dSamaria like eDamascus?10“As my hand has reached to the akingdoms of the idols,Whose graven images were greater than those of Jerusalem and Samaria,11Shall I not 1do to Jerusalem and her imagesJust as I have done to Samaria and aher idols?”12So it will be that when the Lord has completed all His awork on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, He will say, “I will 1punish the fruit of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria and bthe pomp of his eyes which are raised high.” 13For ahe has said, “By the power of my hand and by my wisdom I did this,For I have understanding;And I bremoved the boundaries of the peoplesAnd plundered their treasures,And like a mighty man I brought down 1their inhabitants,
14And my hand reached for the wealth of the peoples like a anest,And as one gathers abandoned eggs, I gathered all the earth;And there was not one that flapped its wing or opened its beak or chirped.”15Is the aaxe to bboast itself over the one who chops with it?Is the saw to magnify itself over the one who wields it?That would be like ca rod wielding those who lift it,Or like da staff lifting him who is not wood.16Therefore the Lord, Yahweh of hosts, will send a awasting disease among his bstout warriors;And under his cglory a fire will be kindled like a burning flame.17And the alight of Israel will become a fire and his bHoly One a flame,And it will cburn and devour his thorns and his briars in a single day.18And He will abring to an end the glory of his forest and of his fruitful orchard, both soul and body,And it will be as when a sick man wastes away.19And the arest of the trees of his forest will be so small in numberThat a child could write them down.A Remnant Will Return
20Now it will be in that day, that the aremnant of Israel and those of the house of Jacob bwho have escaped, will never again rely on the one who struck them, but will truly crely on Yahweh, the Holy One of Israel.
21A aremnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, to the bmighty God.22For athough your people, O Israel, may be like the sand of the sea,Only a remnant within them will return;A bdestructive end is decreed, overflowing with righteousness.23For a complete destruction, one that is decreed, aLord Yahweh of hosts will do in the midst of the whole land.
24Therefore thus says Lord Yahweh of hosts, “O My people who inhabit aZion, bdo not fear the Assyrian 1who cstrikes you with the rod and lifts up his staff against you, the way Egypt did. 25“For in a very alittle while bMy indignation against you will end and My anger will be directed to their destruction.” 26And Yahweh of hosts will awaken a scourge against him like the slaughter of bMidian at the rock of Oreb; and His cstaff will be over the sea and He will lift it up dthe way He did in Egypt. 27So it will be in that day, that 1his aburden will be removed from your shoulders and his yoke from your neck, and the yoke will be broken because bof fatness.
28He has come against Aiath,He has passed through aMigron;At bMichmash he deposited his cbaggage.29They have gone through athe pass, saying,“bGeba will be our lodging place.”cRamah trembles, and dGibeah of Saul has fled away.30Cry aloud with your voice, O daughter of aGallim!Pay attention, Laishah and 1afflicted bAnathoth!31Madmenah has fled.The inhabitants of Gebim have sought refuge.32Yet today he will stand at aNob;He bshakes his fist at the mountain of the 1,cdaughter of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem.33Behold, the Lord, Yahweh of hosts, will lop off the boughs with a terrible crash;Those also who are ahigh in stature will be cut in piecesAnd those who are lofty will be made low.34He will cut down the thickets of the forest with an iron axe,And aLebanon will fall 1by the Mighty One.