וַיְהִי בִּימֵי אָחָז בֶּן יוֹתָם בֶּן עֻזִּיָּהוּ מֶלֶךְ יְהוּדָה עָלָה רְצִין מֶלֶךְ אֲרָם וּפֶקַח בֶּן רְמַלְיָהוּ מֶלֶךְ יִשְׂרָאֵל יְרוּשָׁלִַם לַמִּלְחָמָה עָלֶיהָ וְלֹא יָכֹל לְהִלָּחֵם עָלֶיהָ

It was in the days of Ahaz, son of Yotam, son of Uziyahu, king of Judah, by which time Isaiah had already been a prophet for years, since his career began during Uziyahu’s reign, that Retzin king of Aram, and Pekah son of Remalyahu, the last powerful king of Israel, went up to Jerusalem in war against it, but he could not conquer it. Pekah sought to overturn the Davidic dynasty in Judah and allied himself with Israel’s traditional enemy, Aram.

וַיֻּגַּד לְבֵית דָּוִד לֵאמֹר נָחָה אֲרָם עַל אֶפְרָיִם וַיָּנַע לְבָבוֹ וּלְבַב עַמּוֹ כְּנוֹעַ עֲצֵי יַעַר מִפְּנֵי רוּחַ

It was told to the house of David, the Judean royal family, saying: Aram has allied [naha] with Ephraim. This was an unusual and threatening turn of events, for even without the addition of the large Aramean army, the Kingdom of Israel, which was larger than the Kingdom of Judah in both size and population, could itself muster an army greater than Judah’s. Therefore, when the king of Judah heard this, his heart and his people’s heart trembled, like the trembling of the trees of the forest from the wind.

וַיֹּאמֶר ה' אֶל יְשַׁעְיָהוּ צֵא נָא לִקְרַאת אָחָז אַתָּה וּשְׁאָר יָשׁוּב בְּנֶךָ אֶל קְצֵה תְּעָלַת הַבְּרֵכָה הָעֶלְיוֹנָה אֶל מְסִלַּת שְׂדֵה כוֹבֵס

The Lord said to Isaiah: Go out now to meet Ahaz, you and She’ar Yashuv your son. This She’ar Yashuv, whose name literally means “a remnant will return,” was probably Isaiah’s actual son, and not one of his disciples. Go to the end of the channel of the upper pool, on the path of the launderer’s [koves] field.

וְאָמַרְתָּ אֵלָיו הִשָּׁמֵר וְהַשְׁקֵט אַל תִּירָא וּלְבָבְךָ אַל יֵרַךְ מִשְּׁנֵי זַנְבוֹת הָאוּדִים הָעֲשֵׁנִים הָאֵלֶּה בָּחֳרִי אַף רְצִין ואֲרָם וּבֶן רְמַלְיָהוּ

Say to him: Take care and be calm in the knowledge that you are safe; do not fear, and let your heart not be faint from the threat of these two smoldering butts of wooden firebrands used to stoke the fire, from the enflamed wrath of Retzin and the armies of Aram, and Pekah the son of Remalyahu. They may appear to you as flaming torches, but they are no more than stubs whose flame is about to go out and whose smoke is harmless.

יַעַן כִּי יָעַץ עָלֶיךָ אֲרָם רָעָה אֶפְרַיִם וּבֶן רְמַלְיָהוּ לֵאמֹר

Because Aram plotted evil against you, along with Ephraim and the son of Remalyahu, saying:

נַעֲלֶה בִיהוּדָה וּנְקִיצֶנָּה וְנַבְקִעֶנָּה אֵלֵינוּ וְנַמְלִיךְ מֶלֶךְ בְּתוֹכָהּ אֵת בֶּן טָבְאַל

Let us go up against Judah, sunder it, and breach it for ourselves. We will crown a king in its midst, the son of Tave’al.Pekah attempted to depose the Davidic dynasty, something which had not been attempted for many generations, and to this end, he made a pact with Aram, the perpetual enemy of Israel.

כֹּה אָמַר ה' אֱלֹהִים לֹא תָקוּם וְלֹא תִהְיֶה

So said the Lord God: It, their plot, will not stand and it will not be. You should not fear them or their plans, as they are out of touch with reality.

כִּי רֹאשׁ אֲרָם — דַּמֶּשֶׂק וְרֹאשׁ דַּמֶּשֶׂק — רְצִין וּבְעוֹד שִׁשִּׁים וְחָמֵשׁ שָׁנָה יֵחַת אֶפְרַיִם מעָם

The prophet describes the future without regard to results of the current war: For at the head of the kingdom of Aram is Damascus and at the head of Damascus is King Retzin, and in sixty-five years Ephraim will be broken, no longer being a people, and Damascus will no longer hold any power.

וְרֹאשׁ אֶפְרַיִם — שֹׁמְרוֹן וְרֹאשׁ שֹׁמְרוֹן — בֶּן רְמַלְיָהוּ אִם לֹא תַאֲמִינוּ — כִּי לֹא תֵאָמֵנוּ

And at the head of Ephraim is the city of Samaria, and at the head of Samaria is Pekah the son of Remalyahu. Isaiah addressed the people, saying: If you do not have faith in this prophecy, it is because you yourselves are not faithful,nd you make yourselves untrustworthy.

וַיּוֹסֶף ה' דַּבֵּר אֶל אָחָז לֵאמֹר

The Lord continued speaking to Ahaz, by means of Isaiah, saying:

שְׁאַל לְךָ אוֹת מֵעִם ה' אֱלֹהֶיךָ הַעְמֵק שְׁאָלָה אוֹ הַגְבֵּהַּ לְמָעְלָה

Request a miraculous sign for yourself from the Lord your God in order to prove the truth of this prophecy. Deepen your request, or raise it above by asking for something truly unpredictable and unlikely.

וַיֹּאמֶר אָחָז לֹא אֶשְׁאַל וְלֹא אֲנַסֶּה אֶת ה'

Ahaz said: I will not ask and I will not try the Lord.

וַיֹּאמֶר שִׁמְעוּ נָא בֵּית דָּוִד המְעַט מִכֶּם הַלְאוֹת אֲנָשִׁים כִּי תַלְאוּ גַּם אֶת אֱלֹהָי

He, Isaiah, said: Hear now, house of David: Is it not enough for you to weary people, that you weary my God as well? Ahaz refused to ask for a sign, in the manner of one who does not wish to burden his friend. Isaiah therefore responded mockingly: You act like a well-mannered person who does not wish to burden God; do not be afraid do so.

לָכֵן יִתֵּן אֲדֹנָי הוּא לָכֶם אוֹת הִנֵּה הָעַלְמָה הָרָה וְיֹלֶדֶת בֵּן וְקָרָאת שְׁמוֹ עִמָּנוּ אֵל

Therefore, since you will not ask for a sign, the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the young woman [alma], the prophet’s wife, will conceive and bear a son, and she will symbolically call his name Imanuel, which means “God is with us,” the plural indicating that the child represents the entire Kingdom of Judah.

חֶמְאָה וּדְבַשׁ יֹאכֵל לְדַעְתּוֹ מָאוֹס בָּרָע וּבָחוֹר בַּטּוֹב

He will eat butter and honey, to teach him to spurn the bad and choose the good, having reached an age when he can differentiate between them. Very young children put everything they can into their mouths, and only when they are somewhat older do they learn to discriminate. The description of these specific foods may indicate that the child will grow up surrounded by opulence (see verse 22).

כִּי בְּטֶרֶם יֵדַע הַנַּעַר מָאֹס בָּרָע וּבָחֹר בַּטּוֹב תֵּעָזֵב הָאֲדָמָה אֲשֶׁר אַתָּה קָץ מִפְּנֵי שְׁנֵי מְלָכֶיהָ

For before the newborn child will be able to grow and begin to eat of the land’s goodness and know to spurn the bad and choose the good, the land that you abhor will be abandoned due to its two kings.

יָבִיא ה' עָלֶיךָ וְעַל עַמְּךָ וְעַל בֵּית אָבִיךָ יָמִים אֲשֶׁר לֹא בָאוּ לְמִיּוֹם סוּר אֶפְרַיִם מֵעַל יְהוּדָה אֵת מֶלֶךְ אַשּׁוּר

Moreover, while the kings of Israel and Aram appear at the moment to be mighty and intimidating, a far greater threat looms in the near future. The Lord will bring upon you and upon your people and upon your father’s house days of trouble that have not come since the day of the secession of Ephraim and the other northern tribes from the Kingdom of Judah: the arrival of the king of Assyria and his hordes. This time, however, Ephraim’s kingdom will be overcome.

וְהָיָה בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא יִשְׁרֹק ה' לַזְּבוּב אֲשֶׁר בִּקְצֵה יְאֹרֵי מִצְרָיִם וְלַדְּבוֹרָה אֲשֶׁר בְּאֶרֶץ אַשּׁוּר

It shall be on that day that the Lord will whistle for the fly that is at the edge of the rivers of Egypt, which possibly alludes to a certain division of the Egyptian army, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria.The armies of these great empires will be summoned to the Land of Israel.

וּבָאוּ וְנָחוּ כֻלָּם בְּנַחֲלֵי הַבַּתּוֹת וּבִנְקִיקֵי הַסְּלָעִים וּבְכֹל הַנַּעֲצוּצִים וּבְכֹל הַנַּהֲלֹלִים

They will all come and alight in the partially desolate ravines and in the crevices in the rocks, and on all the thorns and on all the wild bushes. They will fill the entire land.

בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא יְגַלַּח אֲדֹנָי בְּתַעַר הַשְּׂכִירָה בְּעֶבְרֵי נָהָר בְּמֶלֶךְ אַשּׁוּר אֶת הָרֹאשׁ וְשַׂעַר הָרַגְלָיִם וְגַם אֶת הַזָּקָן תִּסְפֶּה

Despite the fact that the Assyrians will arrive with a mighty army, on that day the Lord will shave with the great razor, or with a rented razor, which was kept extremely sharp by its owners, those people from across the Euphrates River, together with the king of Assyria, the head and the hair of the legs, and it will also remove the beard. The king of Assyria will depart from the land shorn of those who accompanied him, as his forces will be completely decimated.

וְהָיָה בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא יְחַיֶּה אִישׁ עֶגְלַת בָּקָר וּשְׁתֵּי צֹאן

It shall be on that day, the situation will not appear to be one of prosperity: each man will maintain a young cow and two sheep, but no other possessions.

— וְהָיָה מֵרֹב עֲשׂוֹת חָלָב יֹאכַל חֶמְאָה כִּי חֶמְאָה וּדְבַשׁ יֹאכֵל כָּל הַנּוֹתָר בְּקֶרֶב הָאָרֶץ

Nevertheless, it will be that from the abundance of milk production, he will eat butter, even though butter production requires large quantities of milk, since the butterfat is separated from the rest of the milk. For everyone who remains in the midst of the land will eat butter and honey and enjoy the bounty.

וְהָיָה בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא יִהְיֶה כָל מָקוֹם אֲשֶׁר יִהְיֶה שָּׁם אֶלֶף גֶּפֶן בְּאֶלֶף כָּסֶף — לַשָּׁמִיר וְלַשַּׁיִת יִהְיֶה

It shall be on that day, every place where there had been a thousand vines worth a thousand silver pieces will be transformed into a place for the thorn and for the thistle.

בַּחִצִּים וּבַקֶּשֶׁת יָבוֹא שָׁמָּה כִּי שָׁמִיר וָשַׁיִת תִּהְיֶה כָל הָאָרֶץ

Armed with arrows and with a bow one will come there, as the entire land will become thorn and thistle and he will need to protect himself from all of the wild animals that will inhabit the deserted areas.

וְכֹל הֶהָרִים אֲשֶׁר בַּמַּעְדֵּר יֵעָדֵרוּן — לֹא תָבוֹא שָׁמָּה יִרְאַת שָׁמִיר וָשָׁיִת וְהָיָה לְמִשְׁלַח שׁוֹר וּלְמִרְמַס שֶׂה

And yet in all the hills that are hoed with a hoe, the fear of thorn and thistle will not come there. Vines are usually cultivated in the plains or on low hills, where it is possible to plow. Higher, steeper rocky hills cannot be plowed and their soil needs to be tilled with a hoe. Consequently, thorns do not grow there, and therefore it, the steep rocky land, will be a pasture for oxen and a range for sheep.