Trouble with Aram

7 Ahaz* was the son of Jotham.* Jotham was the son of Uzziah.* Rezin* was the king of Aram,* Pekah son of Remaliah* was the king of Israel. During the time Ahaz was king of Judah, Rezin and Pekah went up to Jerusalem to fight against it. But they were not able to defeat the city. ²A message was told to the family of David.* The message said, “The army of Aram and the army of Ephraim (Israel) have joined together. The two armies are camped together.” When King Ahaz heard this message, he and the people became very scared. They were shaking with fear like trees of the forest blowing in the wind. ³Then the Lord told Isaiah, “You and your son Shear Jashub* should go out and talk to Ahaz. Go to the place where the water flows into the upper pool. This is on the street going to Laundryman’s Field. ⁴“Tell Ahaz, ‘Be careful, but be calm. Don’t be afraid. Don’t let those two men, Rezin and Remaliah’s son,* scare you! Those men are like two burnt sticks. In the past they were burning hot. But now they are only smoke. Rezin, Aram, and Remaliah’s son are angry. ⁵They have made plans against you. They said: ⁶We should go and fight against Judah. We will divide Judah for ourselves. We will make Tabeel’s son the new king of Judah.’” ⁷The Lord my Master says, “Their plan will not succeed. It will not happen. ⁸It will not happen while Rezin* is the ruler of Damascus.* Ephraim (Israel) is now a nation, but 65 years in the future Ephraim (Israel) will not be a nation. ⁹Their plan will not succeed while Samaria is the capital of Ephraim (Israel) and while the ruler of Samaria is Remaliah’s son.* If you don’t believe this message then people should not believe you.”

Immanuel—God Is with Us

¹⁰Then the Lord continued to speak to Ahaz.* ¹¹The Lord said, “Ask for a sign to prove to yourself that these things are true. You can ask for any sign you want. The sign can come from a place as deep as Sheol,* or the sign can come from a place as high as the skies.*” ¹²But Ahaz said, “I will not ask for a sign as proof. I will not test the Lord.” ¹³Then Isaiah said, “Family of David,* listen very carefully! You test the people’s patience—and this is not important to you. So, now you test my God’s patience. ¹⁴But {God,} my Master, will show you a sign: Look at the young woman.* She is pregnant, and she will give birth to a son. She will name him Immanuel.* ¹⁵Immanuel will eat butter and honey.* {He will live like this} to learn how to choose to do good and to refuse to do evil. ¹⁶But before the child {is old enough} to learn about good and evil, the land of Ephraim (Israel) and Aram will be empty. “You are afraid of those two kings now." ¹⁷But {you should be afraid of the Lord. Why? Because} the Lord will bring some troubled times to you. Those troubles will come to your people and to the people of your father’s family. {What will God do?} God will bring the king of Assyria* to fight against you. ¹⁸“At that time, the Lord will call for the ‘Fly.’ (The ‘Fly’ is now near the streams of Egypt.) And the Lord will call for the ‘Bee.’ (The ‘Bee’ is now in the country of Assyria.*) These enemies will come to your country. ¹⁹These enemies will camp in the rocky canyons near the desert streams and near the bushes and watering holes. ²⁰The Lord will use Assyria to punish Judah. Assyria will be hired and used like a razor. It will be like the Lord is shaving the hair from Judah’s head and legs. It will be like the Lord is shaving off Judah’s beard.* ²¹“At that time, a person will be able to keep only one young cow and two sheep alive. ²²There will be only enough milk for that person to eat butter. Every person in the country will eat butter and honey.* ²³In this land, there are now fields that have 1,000 grapevines. Each grapevine is worth 1,000 pieces of silver. But these fields will become full of weeds and thorns. ²⁴The land will become wild and useful only as a hunting ground. ²⁵People once worked and grew food on these hills. But at that time, people will not go there. The land will be filled with weeds and thorns. Only sheep and cattle will go to those places.”

Ahaz A king of Judah. He ruled about 735–727 B.C. Jotham A king of Judah. He ruled about 740–735 B.C. Uzziah A king of Judah. He ruled about 767–740 B.C. Rezin A king of Aram. He ruled about 740–731 B.C. Aram A country north of Israel. Pekah son of Remaliah A king of north Israel. He ruled about 740–731 B.C. family of David The royal family of Judah. God promised that men from David’s family would be kings in Judah. Shear Jashub This is a name that means “a few people will come back.” Remaliah’s son This is Pekah, the king of north Israel. He ruled about 740–731 B.C. Damascus A city in the country of Aram (Syria). The sign … Sheol Or, “make your question deep.” The Hebrew word for “question” is like the word for Sheol. the sign … skies Literally, “make your question very high.” young woman Or, “Look at the virgin. She will become pregnant and give birth to a son.” This is possibly the meaning of the ancient Greek version that was translated about 150 B.C. See Gen. 16:11,12 and Luke 1:30–35 for similar announcements. Immanuel This name means “God is with us.” butter and honey This probably means the food that even poor people could find to eat. Assyria This was a powerful nation northeast of Israel. shaving off Judah’s beard This showed that the people of Judah would be made slaves.

Assyria Will Come Soon

8 The Lord told me, “Get a large scroll* and use a pen* to write these words: ‘This is for Maher Shalal Hash Baz.’ (This means ‘There will soon be looting and stealing.’)” ²I gathered some people that could be trusted to be witnesses. (These people were Uriah the priest, and Zechariah son of Jeberekiah.) These men watched me write those words. ³Then I went to the woman prophet. She became pregnant and had a son. Then the Lord told me, “Name the boy Maher Shalal Hash Baz. ⁴{Why?} Because before the boy learns to say, ‘Mama’ and ‘Daddy,’ God will take all the wealth and riches from Damascus* and Samaria,* and God will give those things to the king of Assyria.*” ⁵Again the Lord spoke to me. ⁶My Master said, “These people refuse to accept the slowmoving waters of the pool of Shiloah.* These people are happy with Rezin* and Remaliah’s son (Pekah). ⁷But I, the Lord, will bring the king of Assyria and all his power against you. They will come like a powerful flood of water from the Euphrates River. It will be like water rising up and over the river banks. ⁸That water will spill out of that river and flow into Judah. The water will rise to Judah’s throat—{it will almost drown Judah}. “Immanuel, this flood will spread until it covers your whole country.*”

The Lord Protects His Servants

⁹All you nations, prepare for war! You will be defeated. Listen, all you faraway countries! Prepare for battle! You will be defeated. ¹⁰Make your plans for the fight! Your plans will be defeated. Give orders to your armies! Your orders will be useless. Why? Because God is with us!*

Warnings to Isaiah

¹¹The Lord spoke to me with his great power. The Lord warned me not to be like these other people.* The Lord said, ¹²“Every person is saying that other people are making plans against him. You should not believe those things. Don’t be afraid of the things those people fear. Don’t be afraid of those things!” ¹³The Lord All-Powerful is the One you should be afraid of. He is the One you should respect. He is the One you should fear. ¹⁴If you will respect the Lord and consider him holy, then he will be a safe place for you. But you don’t respect him. So God is like a rock that you people fall over. He is a rock that makes the two families of Israel stumble. The Lord is a trap to catch all the people of Jerusalem. ¹⁵(Many people will fall over this rock. Those people will fall and be broken. They will be trapped and caught.) ¹⁶Isaiah said, “Make an agreement and seal* it. Save my teachings for the future. Do this while my followers are watching. ¹⁷This is the agreement: I will wait for the Lord to help us. The Lord is ashamed of the family of Jacob. He refuses to look at them. But I will wait for the Lord. He will save us. ¹⁸“My children and I are signs and proofs for the people of Israel. We have been sent by the Lord All-Powerful—the Lord who lives on the Mount Zion.*” ¹⁹Some people say, “Ask the fortune tellers and wizards what to do.” (These fortune tellers and wizards whisper and make sounds like birds {to make people think that they know secret things}.) {But I tell you that} people should ask their God {for help}! Those fortune tellers and wizards ask dead people what to do. Why should living people ask something from the dead? ²⁰You should follow the teachings and the agreement.* If you don’t follow these commands, then you might follow the wrong commands. (The wrong commands are those commands that come from the wizards and fortune tellers. Those commands are worth nothing; you will gain nothing by following those commands.) ²¹{If you follow those wrong commands,} then there will be troubles and hunger in the land. People will become hungry. Then they will become angry and say things against their king and his gods.* Then they will look up {to God for help}. ²²If they look around them at their land, then they will see only trouble and depressing darkness—the dark sadness of people forced to leave their country. And the people that are trapped in that darkness will not be able to free themselves.

scroll This Hebrew word might also mean “a clay or stone tablet. pen Literally, “stylus of a man.” This might be a special pen for writing on clay. Damascus A city in the country of Aram (Syria). Samaria The capital city of north Israel. Assyria This was a powerful nation northeast of Israel. Shiloah A pool of water in Jerusalem. In the New Testament this pool is called, “Siloam.” Rezin A king of Aram. He ruled about 740–731 B.C. Immanuel … country Literally, “Then the edge of his garment will fill your whole land. "God is with us.” The name “Immanuel” means “God is with us.” God is with us! In Hebrew, this is like the name Immanuel. The Lord spoke … people Or, “The Lord spoke to me. With his great power he prevented me from living like these other people.” seal This showed that the agreement should not be changed. Zion The southeast part of the mountain Jerusalem is built on. Sometimes it means the people of God living in Jerusalem. agreement Usually this means the agreement God made with Israel through Moses. Here it probably means the agreement in verse 17. his gods Or possibly, “his God.”