2 Kings 16:5-7

16:5 At that time King Rezin of Syria and King Pekah son of Remaliah of Israel attacked Jerusalem. ¹  They besieged Ahaz, ²  but were unable to conquer him. ³  16:6 (At that time King Rezin of Syria ⁴  recovered Elat for Syria; he drove the Judahites from there. ⁵  Syrians ⁶  arrived in Elat and live there to this very day.) 16:7 Ahaz sent messengers to King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria, saying, “I am your servant and your dependent. ⁷  March up and rescue me from the power ⁸  of the king of Syria and the king of Israel, who have attacked ⁹  me.”

Isaiah 7:1-9

Ahaz Receives a Sign

7:1 During ¹⁰  the reign of Ahaz son of Jotham, son of Uzziah, king of Judah, King Rezin of Syria and King Pekah son of Remaliah of Israel marched up to Jerusalem ¹¹  to do battle, but they were unable to prevail against it. ¹² 

7:2 It was reported to the family ¹³  of David, “Syria has allied with ¹⁴  Ephraim.” They and their people were emotionally shaken, just as the trees of the forest shake before the wind. ¹⁵  7:3 So the Lord told Isaiah, “Go out with your son Shear-jashub ¹⁶  and meet Ahaz at the end of the conduit of the upper pool which is located on the road to the field where they wash and dry cloth. ¹⁷  7:4 Tell him, ‘Make sure you stay calm! ¹⁸  Don’t be afraid! Don’t be intimidated ¹⁹  by these two stubs of smoking logs, ²⁰  or by the raging anger of Rezin, Syria, and the son of Remaliah. 7:5 Syria has plotted with Ephraim and the son of Remaliah to bring about your demise. ²¹  7:6 They say, “Let’s attack Judah, terrorize it, and conquer it. ²²  Then we’ll set up the son of Tabeel as its king.” ²³  7:7 For this reason the sovereign master, ²⁴  the Lord, says:

“It will not take place;

it will not happen.

7:8 For Syria’s leader is Damascus,

and the leader of Damascus is Rezin.

Within sixty-five years Ephraim will no longer exist as a nation. ²⁵ 

7:9 Ephraim’s leader is Samaria,

and Samaria’s leader is the son of Remaliah.

If your faith does not remain firm,

then you will not remain secure.” ²⁶ 

Isaiah 7:17

7:17 The Lord will bring on you, your people, and your father’s family a time ²⁷  unlike any since Ephraim departed from Judah – the king of Assyria!” ²⁸ 

[16:5]  ¹ tn Heb “went up to Jerusalem for battle.”

[16:5]  ² tn That is, Jerusalem, Ahaz’s capital city.

[16:5]  ³ tn Heb “they were unable to fight.” The object must be supplied from the preceding sentence. Elsewhere when the Niphal infinitive of לָחָם (lakham) follows the verb יָכֹל (yakhol), the infinitive appears to have the force of “prevail against.” See Num 22:11; 1 Sam 17:9; and the parallel passage in Isa 7:1.

[16:6]  ⁴ tc Some prefer to read “the king of Edom” and “for Edom” here. The names Syria (Heb “Aram,” אֲרָם, ’aram) and Edom (אֱדֹם, ’edom) are easily confused in the Hebrew consonantal script.

[16:6]  ⁵ tn Heb “from Elat.”

[16:6]  ⁶ tc The consonantal text (Kethib), supported by many medieval Hebrew mss, the Syriac version, and some mss of the Targum and Vulgate, read “Syrians” (Heb “Arameans”). The marginal reading (Qere), supported by the LXX, Targums, and Vulgate, reads “Edomites.”

[16:7]  ⁷ tn Heb “son.” Both terms (“servant” and “son”) reflect Ahaz’s subordinate position as Tiglath-pileser’s subject.

[16:7]  ⁸ tn Heb “hand, palm.”

[16:7]  ⁹ tn Heb “who have arisen against.”

[7:1]  ¹⁰ tn The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.

[7:1]  ¹¹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[7:1]  ¹² tn Or perhaps, “but they were unable to attack it.” This statement sounds like a summary of the whole campaign. The following context explains why they were unable to defeat the southern kingdom. The parallel passage (2 Kgs 16:5; cf. Num 22:11; 1 Sam 17:9 for a similar construction) affirms that Syria and Israel besieged Ahaz. Consequently, the statement that “they were not able to battle against them” must refer to the inability to conquer Ahaz.

[7:2]  ¹³ tn Heb “house.” In this context the “house of David” includes King Ahaz, his family, and the royal court. See also Jer 21:12; Zech 12:7-8, 10, 12, for a similar use of the phrase.

[7:2]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “rests upon.” Most understand the verb as נוּחַ (nuakh, “rest”), but HALOT 685 s.v. II נחה proposes that this is a hapax legomenon which means “stand by.”

[7:2]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and his heart shook and the heart of his people shook, like the shaking of the trees of the forest before the wind.” The singular pronoun “his” is collective, referring to the Davidic house/family. לֵבָב (levav, “heart”) here refers to the seat of the emotions.

[7:3]  ¹⁶ tn The name means “a remnant will return.” Perhaps in this context, where the Lord is trying to encourage Ahaz, the name suggests that only a few of the enemy invaders will return home; the rest will be defeated.

[7:3]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “the field of the washer”; traditionally “the fuller’s field” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV); NIV “the Washerman’s Field.”

[7:4]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “guard yourself and be quiet,” but the two verbs should be coordinated.

[7:4]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “and let not your heart be weak”; ASV “neither let thy heart be faint.”

[7:4]  ²⁰ sn The derogatory metaphor indicates that the power of Rezin and Pekah is ready to die out.

[7:5]  ²¹ tn This sentence opens with the conjunction יַעַן כִּי (ya’an ki, “because”). Consequently some take vv. 5-6 with what precedes, as another reason why Ahaz might be tempted to fear (see v. 4). However, it is more likely that vv. 5-6 give the basis for the Lord’s announcement in vv. 7-9. The conjunction יַעַן כִּי here introduces the basis for judgment (as in 3:16; 8:6; 29:13), which is then followed by the formal announcement of judgment.

[7:6]  ²² tn Heb “and let us break it open for ourselves”; NASB “make for ourselves a breach in its walls”; NLT “fight our way into.”

[7:6]  ²³ tn Heb “and we will make the son of Tabeel king in its midst.”

[7:7]  ²⁴ tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here and in vv. 14, 19 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[7:8]  ²⁵ tn Heb “Ephraim will be too shattered to be a nation”; NIV “to be a people.”

[7:9]  ²⁶ tn Heb “if you do not believe, you will not endure.” The verb forms are second plural; the Lord here addresses the entire Davidic family and court. (Verse 4 was addressed to the king.) There is a wordplay in the Hebrew text, designed to draw attention to the alternatives set before the king (cf. 1:20). “Believe” (תַאֳמִינוּ, ta’aminu) is a Hiphil form of the verb אָמָן (’aman); “endure” (תֵאָמֵנוּ, te’amenu) is a Niphal form of this same verb.

[7:17]  ²⁷ tn Heb “days” (so KJV, NAB); NASB, NRSV “such days.”

[7:17]  ²⁸ sn Initially the prophecy appears to be a message of salvation. Immanuel seems to have a positive ring to it, sour milk and honey elsewhere symbolize prosperity and blessing (see Deut 32:13-14; Job 20:17), verse 16 announces the defeat of Judah’s enemies, and verse 17a could be taken as predicting a return to the glorious days of David and Solomon. However, the message turns sour in verses 17b-25. God will be with his people in judgment, as well as salvation. The curds and honey will be signs of deprivation, not prosperity, the relief announced in verse 16 will be short-lived, and the new era will be characterized by unprecedented humiliation, not a return to glory. Because of Ahaz’s refusal to trust the Lord, potential blessing would be transformed into a curse, just as Isaiah turns an apparent prophecy of salvation into a message of judgment. Because the words “the king of Assyria” are rather awkwardly tacked on to the end of the sentence, some regard them as a later addition. However, the very awkwardness facilitates the prophet’s rhetorical strategy here, as he suddenly turns what sounds like a positive message into a judgment speech. Actually, “the king of Assyria,” stands in apposition to the earlier object “days,” and specifies who the main character of these coming “days” will be.