1383 - Isaiah 7
Isaiah 7
When Ahaz, the son of Jotham, and grandson of Uzziah, was king of Judah,
…King Rezin of Syria, and Pekah, the son of Remaliah, the king of Israel, set out to attack Jerusalem.
However, they were unable to carry out their plan.
The 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.
Then, 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.*
Tell 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.
Yes, the kings of Syria and Israel are plotting against him, saying,
‘We will attack Judah, and capture it, for ourselves.
Then, we will install the son of Tabeel, as Judah’s king.’
But, this is what the Sovereign Lord says:
“This invasion will never happen;
it will never take place; because 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.
Israel is no stronger than its capital, Samaria, …and Samaria is no stronger, than its king, Pekah, the son of Remaliah.
Unless your faith is firm,
I cannot make you stand firm.”
Later, the Lord sent this message to King Ahaz:
“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.*”
But the king refused.
“No,” he said, “I will not test the Lord, like that.”
Then, 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?
All 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 she will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’).
By the time… this child is old enough, to choose what is right, and reject what is wrong, he will be eating yogurt* and honey.
And before the child is that old, the lands of the two kings, whom you fear so much, will both be deserted.
“But then, the Lord will bring terrible things on you, on your nation, and on your family… things unlike anything, since Israel broke away from Judah.
He will bring the king of Assyria upon you!”
In 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.
They will come, in vast hordes, and settle, in the fertile areas ….and also in the desolate valleys, the caves, and in the thorny places.
In 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.*
In that day, a farmer will be fortunate, to have a cow …and two sheep or goats left.
Nevertheless, 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.
In that day, the lush vineyards, now worth 1,000 pieces of silver,* will become patches, of briers and thorns.
The entire land will become a vast expanse, of briers and thorns, a hunting ground, overrun by wildlife.
No one will go to the fertile hillsides, where the gardens once grew, …because briers and thorns will cover them.
Cattle, sheep, and goats will graze there.
The Holy Bible
New Living Translation
Praise be to God!
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