Isaiah 7:13-14

7:13 So Isaiah replied, ¹  “Pay attention, ²  family ³  of David. ⁴  Do you consider it too insignificant to try the patience of men? Is that why you are also trying the patience of my God? 7:14 For this reason the sovereign master himself will give you a confirming sign. ⁵  Look, this ⁶  young woman ⁷  is about to conceive ⁸  and will give birth to a son. You, young woman, will name him ⁹  Immanuel. ¹⁰ 

Isaiah 7:1

Ahaz Receives a Sign

7:1 During ¹¹  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 ¹²  to do battle, but they were unable to prevail against it. ¹³ 

Isaiah 8:1

A Sign-Child is Born

8:1 The Lord told me, “Take a large tablet ¹⁴  and inscribe these words ¹⁵  on it with an ordinary stylus: ¹⁶  ‘Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz.’ ¹⁷ 

Isaiah 9:4-5

9:4 For their oppressive yoke

and the club that strikes their shoulders,

the cudgel the oppressor uses on them, ¹⁸ 

you have shattered, as in the day of Midian’s defeat. ¹⁹ 

9:5 Indeed every boot that marches and shakes the earth ²⁰ 

and every garment dragged through blood

is used as fuel for the fire.

Isaiah 11:12-13

11:12 He will lift a signal flag for the nations;

he will gather Israel’s dispersed people ²¹ 

and assemble Judah’s scattered people

from the four corners of the earth.

11:13 Ephraim’s jealousy will end, ²² 

and Judah’s hostility ²³  will be eliminated.

Ephraim will no longer be jealous of Judah,

and Judah will no longer be hostile toward Ephraim.

Isaiah 15:4

15:4 The people of ²⁴  Heshbon and Elealeh cry out,

their voices are heard as far away as Jahaz.

For this reason Moab’s soldiers shout in distress;

their courage wavers. ²⁵ 

Isaiah 15:2

15:2 They went up to the temple, ²⁶ 

the people of Dibon went up to the high places to lament. ²⁷ 

Because of what happened to Nebo and Medeba, ²⁸  Moab wails.

Every head is shaved bare,

every beard is trimmed off. ²⁹ 

Isaiah 34:3

34:3 Their slain will be left unburied, ³⁰ 

their corpses will stink; ³¹ 

the hills will soak up their blood. ³² 

Psalms 89:3-4

89:3 The Lord said, ³³ 

“I have made a covenant with my chosen one;

I have made a promise on oath to David, my servant:

89:4 ‘I will give you an eternal dynasty ³⁴ 

and establish your throne throughout future generations.’” ³⁵  (Selah)

Matthew 22:32

22:32 ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? ³⁶  He is not the God of the dead but of the living!” ³⁷ 

[7:13]  ¹ tn Heb “and he said.” The subject is unexpressed, but the reference to “my God” at the end of the verse indicates the prophet is speaking.

[7:13]  ² tn The verb is second plural in form, because the prophet addresses the whole family of David. He continues to use the plural in v. 14 (with one exception, see the notes on that verse), but then switches back to the second singular (addressing Ahaz specifically) in vv. 16-17.

[7:13]  ³ tn Heb “house.” See the note at v. 2.

[7:13]  ⁴ sn The address to the “house of David” is designed to remind Ahaz and his royal court of the protection promised to them through the Davidic covenant. The king’s refusal to claim God’s promise magnifies his lack of faith.

[7:14]  ⁵ tn The Hebrew term אוֹת (’ot, “sign”) can refer to a miraculous event (see v. 11), but it does not carry this sense inherently. Elsewhere in Isaiah the word usually refers to a natural occurrence or an object/person vested with special significance (see 8:18; 19:20; 20:3; 37:30; 55:13; 66:19). Only in 38:7-8, 22 does it refer to a miraculous deed that involves suspending or overriding natural laws. The sign outlined in vv. 14-17 involves God’s providential control over events and their timing, but not necessarily miraculous intervention.

[7:14]  ⁶ tn Heb “the young woman.” The Hebrew article has been rendered as a demonstrative pronoun (“this”) in the translation to bring out its force. It is very likely that Isaiah pointed to a woman who was present at the scene of the prophet’s interview with Ahaz. Isaiah’s address to the “house of David” and his use of second plural forms suggests other people were present, and his use of the second feminine singular verb form (“you will name”) later in the verse is best explained if addressed to a woman who is present.

[7:14]  ⁷ tn Traditionally, “virgin.” Because this verse from Isaiah is quoted in Matt 1:23 in connection with Jesus’ birth, the Isaiah passage has been regarded since the earliest Christian times as a prophecy of Christ’s virgin birth. Much debate has taken place over the best way to translate this Hebrew term, although ultimately one’s view of the doctrine of the virgin birth of Christ is unaffected. Though the Hebrew word used here (עַלְמָה, ’almah) can sometimes refer to a woman who is a virgin (Gen 24:43), it does not carry this meaning inherently. The word is simply the feminine form of the corresponding masculine noun עֶלֶם (’elem, “young man”; cf. 1 Sam 17:56; 20:22). The Aramaic and Ugaritic cognate terms are both used of women who are not virgins. The word seems to pertain to age, not sexual experience, and would normally be translated “young woman.” The LXX translator(s) who later translated the Book of Isaiah into Greek sometime between the second and first century b.c., however, rendered the Hebrew term by the more specific Greek word παρθένος (parqenos), which does mean “virgin” in a technical sense. This is the Greek term that also appears in the citation of Isa 7:14 in Matt 1:23. Therefore, regardless of the meaning of the term in the OT context, in the NT Matthew’s usage of the Greek term παρθένος clearly indicates that from his perspective a virgin birth has taken place.

[7:14]  ⁸ tn Elsewhere the adjective הָרָה (harah), when used predicatively, refers to a past pregnancy (from the narrator’s perspective, 1 Sam 4:19), to a present condition (Gen 16:11; 38:24; 2 Sam 11:5), and to a conception that is about to occur in the near future (Judg 13:5, 7). (There is some uncertainty about the interpretation of Judg 13:5, 7, however. See the notes to those verses.) In Isa 7:14 one could translate, “the young woman is pregnant.” In this case the woman is probably a member of the royal family. Another option, the one followed in the present translation, takes the adjective in an imminent future sense, “the young woman is about to conceive.” In this case the woman could be a member of the royal family, or, more likely, the prophetess with whom Isaiah has sexual relations shortly after this (see 8:3).

[7:14]  ⁹ tn Heb “and you will call his name.” The words “young lady” are supplied in the translation to clarify the identity of the addressee. The verb is normally taken as an archaic third feminine singular form here, and translated, “she will call.” However the form (קָרָאת, qara’t) is more naturally understood as second feminine singular, in which case the words would be addressed to the young woman mentioned just before this. In the three other occurrences of the third feminine singular perfect of I קָרָא (qara’, “to call”), the form used is קָרְאָה (qar’ah; see Gen 29:35; 30:6; 1 Chr 4:9). A third feminine singular perfect קָרָאת does appear in Deut 31:29 and Jer 44:23, but the verb here is the homonym II קָרָא (“to meet, encounter”). The form קָרָאת (from I קָרָא, “to call”) appears in three other passages (Gen 16:11; Isa 60:18; Jer 3:4 [Qere]) and in each case is second feminine singular.

[7:14]  ¹⁰ sn The name Immanuel means “God [is] with us.”

[7:1]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[7:1]  ¹³ 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.

[8:1]  ¹⁴ sn Probably made of metal, wood, or leather. See HALOT 193 s.v. גִּלָּיוֹן.

[8:1]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “write” (so KJV, ASV, NIV, NRSV).

[8:1]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “with the stylus of a man.” The significance of the qualifying genitive “a man” is uncertain. For various interpretations see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:219, n. 1.

[8:1]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “quickly, [the] plunder; it hurries, [the] loot.” The first word (מַהֵר, maher) is either a Piel imperative (“hurry [to]”) or infinitive (“hurrying,” or “quickly”). The third word (חָשׁ, khash) is either a third masculine singular perfect or a masculine singular participle, in either case from the root חוּשׁ (khush, “hurry”). Perhaps it is best to translate, “One hastens to the plunder, one hurries to the loot.” In this case מַהֵר is understood as an infinitive functioning as a verb, the subject of חוּשׁ is taken as indefinite, and the two nouns are understood as adverbial accusatives. As we discover in v. 3, this is the name of the son to be born to Isaiah through the prophetess.

[9:4]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “for the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, the scepter of the oppressor against him.” The singular pronouns are collective, referring to the people. The oppressed nation is compared to an ox weighed down by a heavy yoke and an animal that is prodded and beaten.

[9:4]  ¹⁹ sn This alludes to Gideon’s victory over Midian (Judg 7-8), when the Lord delivered Israel from an oppressive foreign invader.

[9:5]  ²⁰ tn Heb “Indeed every boot marching with shaking.” On the meaning of סְאוֹן (sÿ’on, “boot”) and the related denominative verb, both of which occur only here, see HALOT 738 s.v. סְאוֹן.

[11:12]  ²¹ tn Or “the banished of Israel,” i.e., the exiles.

[11:13]  ²² tn Heb “turn aside”; KJV, NASB, NRSV “depart.”

[11:13]  ²³ tn Heb “hostile ones of Judah.” Elsewhere when the substantival participle of צָרָר (tsarar) takes a pronominal suffix or appears in a construct relationship, the following genitive is objective. (For a list of texts see BDB 865 s.v. III צָרַר) In this case the phrase “hostile ones of Judah” means “those who are hostile toward Judah,” i.e., Judah’s enemies. However, the parallel couplet that follows suggests that Judah’s hostility toward Ephraim is in view. In this case “hostile ones of Judah” means “hostile ones from Judah.” The translation above assumes the latter, giving the immediate context priority over general usage.

[15:4]  ²⁴ tn The words “the people of” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[15:4]  ²⁵ tc The Hebrew text has, “For this reason the soldiers of Moab shout, his inner being quivers for him.” To achieve tighter parallelism, some emend the first line, changing חֲלֻצֵי (khalutse, “soldiers”) to חַלְצֵי (khaltse, “loins”) and יָרִיעוּ (yari’u, “they shout,” from רוּעַ, rua’) to יָרְעוּ (yor’u, “they quiver”), a verb from יָרַע (yara’), which also appears in the next line. One can then translate v. 4b as “For this reason the insides of the Moabites quiver, their whole body shakes” (cf. NAB, NRSV).

[15:2]  ²⁶ tn Heb “house.”

[15:2]  ²⁷ tn Heb “even Dibon [to] the high places to weep.” The verb “went up” does double duty in the parallel structure.

[15:2]  ²⁸ tn Heb “over [or “for”] Nebo and over [or “for”] Medeba.”

[15:2]  ²⁹ sn Shaving the head and beard were outward signs of mourning and grief.

[34:3]  ³⁰ tn Heb “will be cast aside”; NASB, NIV “thrown out.”

[34:3]  ³¹ tn Heb “[as for] their corpses, their stench will arise.”

[34:3]  ³² tn Heb “hills will dissolve from their blood.”

[89:3]  ³³ tn The words “the Lord said” are supplied in the translation for clarification. It is clear that the words of vv. 3-4 are spoken by the Lord, in contrast to vv. 1-2, which are spoken by the psalmist.

[89:4]  ³⁴ tn Heb “forever I will establish your offspring.”

[89:4]  ³⁵ tn Heb “and I will build to a generation and a generation your throne.”

[22:32]  ³⁶ sn A quotation from Exod 3:6.

[22:32]  ³⁷ sn He is not God of the dead but of the living. Jesus’ point was that if God could identify himself as God of the three old patriarchs, then they must still be alive when God spoke to Moses; and so they must be raised.