1 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.
2 And 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.
3 Then said the Lord 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;
4 And 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.
5 Because Syria, Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah, have taken evil counsel against thee, saying,
6 Let 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:
7 Thus saith the Lord God, It shall not stand, neither shall it come to pass.
8 For 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.
9 And 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.
10 Moreover the Lord spake again unto Ahaz, saying,
11 Ask thee a sign of the Lord thy God; ask it either in the depth, or in the height above.
12 But Ahaz said, I will not ask, neither will I tempt the Lord.
13 And 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?
14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
15 Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good.
16 For 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.
17 The 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.
18 And 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.
19 And 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.
20 In the same day shall the Lord shave with a rasor 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.
21 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a man shall nourish a young cow, and two sheep;
22 And 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.
23 And 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.
24 With arrows and with bows shall men come thither; because all the land shall become briers and thorns.
25 And 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.

1And it came to passe in the dayes of Ahaz the sonne of Iotham, the sonne of Uzziah king of Iudah, that Rezin the king of Syria, and Pekah, the sonne of Remaliah king of Israel, went vp towards Ierusalem to warre against it, but could not preuaile against it.

2And it was told the house of Dauid, saying, Syria is confederate with Ephraim: and his heart was moued, and the heart of his people as the trees of the wood are mooued with the wind.

3Then sayd the Lord vnto Isaiah; Goe forth now to meete Ahaz, thou, & Shear-iashub thy sonne, at the end of the conduit of the vpper poole in the high way of the fullers field.

4And say vnto him; Take heede and be quiet: feare not, neither be faint hearted for the two tailes of these smoking firebrands, for the fierce anger of Rezin with Syria, and of the sonne of Remaliah.

5Because Syria, Ephraim, and the sonne of Remaliah haue taken euill counsell against thee, saying;

6Let vs goe vp against Iudah and vexe it, and let vs make a breach therein for vs, and set a king in the midst of it, euen the sonne of Tabeal.

7Thus saith the Lord God; It shall not stand, neither shall it come to passe.

8For the head of Syria is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin, and within threescore and fiue yeeres shall Ephraim be broken, that it be not a people.

9And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is Remaliahs sonne: if yee will not beleeue, surely yee shall not be established.

10 Moreouer the Lord spake againe vnto Ahaz, saying;

11Aske thee a signe of the Lord thy God; aske it either in the depth, or in the height aboue.

12But Ahaz sayd, I will not aske, neither will I tempt the Lord.

13And he sayd; Heare yee now, O house of Dauid; Is it a small thing for you to wearie men, but will yee wearie my God also?

14Therefore the Lord himselfe shal giue you a signe: Behold, a Uirgine shall conceiue and beare a Sonne, and shall call his name Immanuel.

15Butter and hony shall he eat, that hee may know to refuse the euill, and choose the good.

16For before the childe shall know to refuse the euill and choose the good; the land that thou abhorrest, shalbe forsaken of both her kings.

17 The Lord shall bring vpon thee and vpon thy people, and vpon thy fathers house, dayes that haue not come, from the day that Ephraim departed from Iudah; euen the King of Assyria.

18And it shall come to passe in that day, that the Lord shall hisse for the flie, that is in the vttermost part of the riuers 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 holes of the rockes, and vpon all thornes, and vpon all bushes.

20In the same day shall the Lord shaue with a rasor that is hired, namely by them beyond the riuer, by the king of Assyria, the head, and the haire of the feet: and it shal also consume the beard.

21And it shall come to passe in that day, that a man shal nourish a yong cow and two sheepe.

22And it shall come to passe, for the abundance of milke that they shall giue, he shal eate butter: for butter and hony shall euery one eate, that is left in the land.

23And it shall come to passe in that day, that euery place shalbe, where there were a thousand Uines at a thousand siluerlings, it shall euen be for briers and thornes.

24With arrowes and with bowes shall men come thither; because all the land shall become briars and thornes.

25And on all hilles that shalbe digged with the mattocke, there shall not come thither the feare of briars and thornes: but it shall bee for the sending foorth of oxen, and for the treading of lesser cattell.

I == 2nd Kings 16:5 ; 2nd Chr 28:5-6

 

 

 

 

 

III == 2nd Kings 18:17 ; Isa 6:121 ; 36:2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

VII == Prov 21:30 ; Isqa 8:10

VIII == 2nd Sam 8:6

 

IX == 2nd Chr 20:20

 

 

XI == Judg 6:36 ; Matt 12:38

 

 

 

 

 

XIV == Gen 4:1 , 25 ; 16:11 ; 29:32 ; 30:6 , 8 ; 1st Sam 4:21 ; Isa 8:8 ; 9:6 ; Matt 1:23 ; Luke 1:31 , 34

XVI == 2nd Kings 15:30 ; 16:9 ; Isa 8:4

XVII == 1st Kings 12:16 ; 2nd Chr 28:19

 

XVIII == Isa 5:26

 

 

XIX == Isa 2:19 ; Jer 16:16

 

XX == 2nd Kings 16:7-8 ; 2nd Chr 28:20-21 ; Ezek 5:1

 

 

 

 

XXII Isa 5:6

1 In the days of Ahaz, king of Judah, son of Jotham, son of Uzziah, Rezin, king of Aram, and Pekah, king of Israel, son of Remaliah, went up to attack Jerusalem, but they were not able to conquer it.

2 When word came to the house of David that Aram was encamped in Ephraim, the heart of the king and heart of the people trembled, as the trees of the forest tremble in the wind.

3 Then the LORD said to Isaiah: Go out to meet Ahaz, you and your son Shear-jashub, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool, on the highway of the fuller's field,

4 and say to him: Take care you remain tranquil and do not fear; let not your courage fail before these two stumps of smoldering brands (the blazing anger of Rezin and the Arameans, and of the son of Remaliah),

5 because of the mischief that Aram (Ephraim and the son of Remaliah) plots against you, saying,

6 "Let us go up and tear Judah asunder, make it our own by force, and appoint the son of Tabeel king there."

7 Thus says the LORD: This shall not stand, it shall not be!

8 Damascus is the capital of Aram, and Rezin the head of Damascus; Samaria is the capital of Ephraim, and Remaliah's son the head of Samaria.

9 But within sixty years and five, Ephraim shall be crushed, no longer a nation. Unless your faith is firm you shall not be firm!

10 Again the LORD spoke to Ahaz:

11 Ask for a sign from the LORD, your God; let it be deep as the nether world, or high as the sky!

12 But Ahaz answered, "I will not ask! I will not tempt the LORD!"

13 Then he said: Listen, O house of David! Is it not enough for you to weary men, must you also weary my God?

14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you this sign: the virgin shall be with child, and bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel.

15 He shall be living on curds and honey by the time he learns to reject the bad and choose the good.

16 For before the child learns to reject the bad and choose the good, the land of those two kings whom you dread shall be deserted.

17 The LORD shall bring upon you and your people and your father's house days worse than any since Ephraim seceded from Judah. (This means the king of Assyria.)

18 On that day The LORD shall whistle for the fly that is in the farthest streams of Egypt, and for the bee in the land of Assyria.

19 All of them shall come and settle in the steep ravines and in the rocky clefts, on all thornbushes and in all pastures.

20 On that day the LORD shall shave with the razor hired from across the River (with the king of Assyria) the head, and the hair between the legs. It shall also shave off the beard.

21 On that day a man shall keep a heifer or a couple of sheep,

22 and from their abundant yield of milk he shall live on curds; curds and honey shall be the food of all who remain in the land.

23 On that day every place where there used to be a thousand vines, worth a thousand pieces of silver, shall be turned to briers and thorns.

24 Men shall go there with bow and arrows; for all the country shall be briers and thorns.

25 For fear of briers and thorns you shall not go upon any mountainside which used to be hoed with the mattock; they shall be grazing land for cattle and shall be trampled upon by sheep.

v 1,2. As in 2 Ki. 15 and 16, Pekah of the ten northern tribes allied with the king of Syria against Judah, so king Ahaz and all the people were in great fear.

 

 

 

v 3. Shearjashub means a remnant shall return, so he may have been sent along to illustrate Isaiah’s message. This pool, which had water from Gihon Springs, was perhaps selected as a neutral environment for Isaiah to confront the king.
v 4-6. Ahaz was not to be afraid of the two kings because their fire was about to go out. They  died two years later.

 

 

 

 

 

v 7-9. Israel was conquered and many deported in twelve years, 722, but in sixty five years, 699, many other people were brought in, so Israel couldn’t unite nationally. Ahaz was challenged to believe these predictions or he too would fall.

 

 

v 10-12. Ahaz was invited to ask any kind of sign from the Lord for confirmation, but he had decided to put his trust in Assyria and didn’t believe enough to even ask for a sign, and gave an answer of mock piety to cover up his unbelief. 

 

v 13-16. Ahaz would not ask a sign from great extremes, but God gives him a sign  to the whole house of David from the covenant with David. A virgin, a young woman of marriageable age who has not lain with man will bear a child. His name will be called “God with us” and he would be raised in normal humble circumstances. Verse 16 does not refer to Christ, but to Shearjashub who Isaiah held in his arms. (Some think another girl, then a virgin, would marry and have a child who is referred to.) While that child was small, both Rezin and Pekah were deposed of their thrones.

v 17-19. Now Ahaz is warned that Judah will be almost unprecedented invaded when God whistles for Egyptians, numerous as flies, and Assyrians, ferocious as bees. These huge armies stripped the land for their own sustenance and pleasure.  

 

 

 

v 20-25. Ahaz hired Tiglath-Pileazar of Assyria to help against the combined forces of Syria and Israel, but instead of helping,Assyria troubled Judah later by Sennacherib He was the hired razor that shaved Judah, not defeating her, but taking away her goods. (Shaving was a mark of humility in Judah.) Having been stripped by three countries, Judah had few livestock left, but since so much grazing was left, they would produce enough for the families, but there would not be meat to eat. There were so few men left to till the soil that it would be overcome with briars, fit only for hunting wild animals and grazing cattle.