1And 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 to Jerusalem to war against it , but could not prevail against it . 2And it was told the house of David , saying, Syria is confederate with Ephraim. And his heart trembled , and the heart of his people , as the trees of the forest tremble with the wind . 3Then said Jehovah unto Isaiah , Go forth now to meet Ahaz, thou, and Shear-jashub thy son , at the end of the conduit of the upper pool , in the highway of the fuller’s field ; 4and say unto him , Take heed , and be quiet ; fear not , neither let thy heart be faint , because of these two tails of smoking firebrands, for the fierce anger of Rezin and Syria, and of the son of Remaliah . 5Because Syria, Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah , have purposed evil against thee, saying, 6Let us go up against Judah , and vex it , and let us make a breach therein for us , and set up a king in the midst of it , even the son of Tabeel ; 7thus saith the Lord Jehovah , It shall not stand , neither shall it come to pass . 8For the head of Syria is Damascus , and the head of Damascus is Rezin ; and within threescore and five years shall Ephraim be broken in pieces, so that it shall not be a people : 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 .
The Sign of Immanuel
10And Jehovah spake again unto Ahaz, saying , 11Ask thee a sign of Jehovah thy God ; ask it either in the depth , or in the height above . 12But Ahaz said, I will not ask , neither will I tempt Jehovah . 13And he said , Hear ye now , O house of David : Is it a small thing for you to weary men, that ye will weary my God also ? 14Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: behold , a virgin shall conceive , and bear a son , and shall call his name Immanuel .
The Consequences of Unbelief
15Butter and honey shall he eat, when he knoweth to refuse the evil , and choose the good . 16For before the child shall know to refuse the evil , and choose the good , the land whose two kings thou abhorrest shall be forsaken . 17Jehovah will 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. 18And it shall come to pass in that day , that Jehovah will 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. 19And they shall come, and shall rest all of them in the desolate valleys , and in the clefts of the rocks , and upon all thorn-hedges, and upon all pastures. 20In that day will the Lord shave with a razor that is hired in the parts beyond the River , even with the king of Assyria, the head and the hair of the feet ; and it shall also consume the beard . 21And it shall come to pass in that day , that a man shall keep alive a young cow , and two sheep ; 22and it shall come to pass , that because of the abundance of milk which they shall give he shall eat butter : for butter and honey shall every one eat that is left in the midst of the land . 23And it shall come to pass in that day , that every place , where there were a thousand vines at a thousand silverlings , shall be for briers and thorns . 24With arrows and with bow shall one come thither , because all the land shall be briers and thorns . 25And all the hills that were digged with the mattock , thou shalt not come thither for fear of briers and thorns ; but it shall be for the sending forth of oxen , and for the treading of sheep .