Isaiah 7:20-25

7:20 At that time ¹  the sovereign master will use a razor hired from the banks of the Euphrates River, ²  the king of Assyria, to shave the head and the pubic hair; ³  it will also shave off the beard. 7:21 At that time ⁴  a man will keep alive a young cow from the herd and a couple of goats. 7:22 From the abundance of milk they produce, ⁵  he will have sour milk for his meals. Indeed, everyone left in the heart of the land will eat sour milk and honey. 7:23 At that time ⁶  every place where there had been a thousand vines worth a thousand shekels will be overrun ⁷  with thorns and briers. 7:24 With bow and arrow ⁸  men will hunt ⁹  there, for the whole land will be covered ¹⁰  with thorns and briers. 7:25 They will stay away from all the hills that were cultivated, for fear of the thorns and briers. ¹¹  Cattle will graze there and sheep will trample on them. ¹² 

[7:20]  ¹ tn Heb “in that day” (so ASV, NASB); KJV “In the same day.”

[7:20]  ² tn Heb “the river” (so KJV); NASB “the Euphrates.” The name of the river has been supplied in the present translation for clarity.

[7:20]  ³ tn Heb “the hair of the feet.” The translation assumes that the word “feet” is used here as a euphemism for the genitals. See BDB 920 s.v. רֶגֶל.

[7:21]  ⁴ tn Heb “in that day.” The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.

[7:22]  ⁷ tn The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated, see note on 2:2.

[7:23]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “in that day.” The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.

[7:23]  ¹¹ tn Heb “will become” (so NASB); NAB “shall be turned to.”

[7:24]  ¹³ tn Heb “with arrows and a bow.” The more common English idiom is “bow[s] and arrow[s].”

[7:24]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “go” (so NAB, NIV, NRSV); TEV “go hunting.”

[7:24]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “will be” (so NASB, NRSV).

[7:25]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and all the hills which were hoed with a hoe, you will not go there [for] fear of the thorns and briers.”

[7:25]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and it will become a pasture for cattle and a trampling place for sheep.”