Isaiah 7; Isaiah 8; Ephesians 2

1 Ahaz was king of Judah. Rezin was king of Aram. And Pekah was king of Israel. Rezin and Pekah marched up to fight against Jerusalem. But they couldn't overpower it. Ahaz was the son of Jotham and the grandson of Uzziah. Pekah was the son of Remaliah.

2 The royal family of Ahaz was told, "The army of Aram has joined forces with Ephraim's army." So the hearts of Ahaz and his people trembled with fear. They shook just as trees in the forest shake when the wind blows through them.

3 The LORD said to me, "Go out and see Ahaz. Take your son Shear-Jashub with you. Meet Ahaz at the end of the channel that brings water from the Upper Pool. It is on the road to the Washerman's Field.

4 "Tell Ahaz, 'Be careful. Stay calm. Do not be afraid. Do not lose hope because of the burning anger of Rezin, Aram and the son of Remaliah. After all, they are nothing but a couple of pieces of smoking firewood.

5 Aram, Ephraim and Remaliah's son have planned to destroy you. They said,

6 "Let's march into Judah and attack it. Let's tear everything down. Then we can share the land among ourselves. And we can make Tabeel's son king over it."

7 " 'But I am the LORD and King. I say, " ' "That will not happen. It will not take place.

8 The capital of Aram is Damascus. And the ruler of Damascus is only Rezin. Do not worry about the people of Ephraim. They will be too crushed to be considered a people. That will happen before 65 years are over.

9 The capital of Ephraim is Samaria. And the ruler of Samaria is only Remaliah's son. If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all." ' "

10 The LORD spoke to Ahaz through me again. He said,

11 "I am the LORD your God. Ask me to give you a miraculous sign. It can be anything in the deepest grave or in the highest heaven."

12 But Ahaz said, "I won't ask. I won't put the LORD to the test."

13 Then I said, "Listen, you members of the royal family of Ahaz! Isn't it enough for you to test the patience of men? Are you also going to test the patience of my God?

14 The LORD himself will give you a miraculous sign. The virgin is going to have a baby. She will give birth to a son. And he will be called Immanuel.

15 "The time will come when he is old enough to decide between what is wrong and what is right. By that time he will have only butter and honey to eat.

16 But even before that happens, the lands of the two kings you are afraid of will be completely destroyed.

17 "The LORD will also bring the king of Assyria against you. And he will bring him against your people and the whole royal family. That will be a time of trouble unlike any since the people of Ephraim broke away from Judah."

18 At that time the LORD will whistle for the Egyptians. They will come like flies from the streams of Egypt. He will also whistle for the Assyrians. They will come from their country like bees.

19 All of them will come and camp in the deep valleys. They will camp in caves in the rocks. And they'll camp near bushes and water holes.

20 At that time the Lord will use the Assyrians to punish you. Ahaz had hired them earlier from east of the Euphrates River. Now their king will be like a razor in the Lord's hand. He will shave the hair from your head and legs. He will also shave off your beards.

21 At that time a man will only be able to keep one young cow and two goats alive.

22 But they will give enough milk and butter to live on. Everyone who is left alive in the land will have nothing but butter and honey to eat.

23 The land used to have vineyards with 1,000 vines worth 25 pounds of silver. But soon the whole land will be covered with thorns and bushes.

24 Men will go there to hunt with bows and arrows. That's because it will be covered with bushes and thorns.

25 All of the hills used to be plowed with hoes. But you won't go there anymore. That's because you will be afraid of the thorns and bushes. Cattle will be turned loose on those hills. And sheep will run there.

1 The LORD said to me, "Get a large scroll. Write 'Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz' on it with a pen.

2 I will send for Zechariah and the priest Uriah. They can be trusted. They will be witnesses for me. Zechariah is the son of Jeberekiah."

3 Then I went and made love to my wife, who was a prophet. She became pregnant and had a baby boy. The LORD said to me, "Name him Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz.

4 "The king of Assyria will carry off the wealth of Damascus. He will also carry away the goods that were taken from Samaria. That will happen before the boy knows how to say 'My father' or 'My mother.' "

5 The LORD continued,

6 "I am like the gently flowing stream of Siloam. But the people of Judah have turned their backs on me. They are filled with joy because of the fall of Rezin and the son of Remaliah.

7 So I am about to bring against these people the king of Assyria and his whole army. The Assyrians will be like the mighty Euphrates River when it is flooding. They will run over everything in their path.

8 They will sweep on into Judah like a flood. They will pass through Judah and reach all the way to Jerusalem. Immanuel, they will attack your land like an eagle. Their wings will spread out and cover it."

9 Sound the battle cry, you nations! But you will be torn apart. Listen, all of you lands far away! Prepare for battle! But you will be torn apart. Prepare for battle! But you will be torn apart.

10 Make your battle plans! But you won't succeed. Give your orders! But they won't be carried out. That's because God is with us.

11 The LORD put his powerful hand on me and spoke to me. He warned me not to live the way these people live. He said,

12 "People of Judah, do not agree with those who say Isaiah is guilty of treason. Do not fear what they fear. Do not be afraid.

13 I am the LORD who rules over all. You must think about me as holy. You must have respect for me. You must fear me.

14 Then I will be a holy place of safety for you. But for many people in Israel and Judah I will be a stone that causes them to trip. I will be a rock that makes them fall. And for the people of Jerusalem I will be a trap and a snare.

15 Many of them will trip. They will fall and be broken. They will be trapped and captured."

16 Keep safe what the LORD said to you through me. Seal up among my followers what he taught you through me.

17 I will wait for the Lord. He is turning his face away from Jacob's people. I will put my trust in him.

18 Here I am. Here are the children the LORD has given me. We are signs and reminders to Israel from the LORD who rules over all. He lives on Mount Zion.

19 Some will tell you to ask for advice from people who get messages from those who have died. Others will tell you to ask for advice from people who talk to the spirits of the dead. But those people only whisper. Their words are barely heard. So shouldn't you ask for advice from your God? Why should you get advice from dead people to help those who are alive?

20 Follow what the LORD taught you and said to you through me. People who don't speak in keeping with those words won't have any hope in the morning.

21 They will suffer and be hungry. They'll wander through the land. When they are very hungry, they will become angry. They'll look up toward heaven. They'll call down curses on their king and their God.

22 Then they will look at the earth. They'll see nothing but suffering and darkness. They'll see terrible sadness. They'll be driven into total darkness.

1 You were living in your sins and lawless ways. But in fact you were dead.

2 You used to live as sinners when you followed the ways of this world. You served the one who rules over the spiritual forces of evil. He is the spirit who is now at work in those who don't obey God.

3 At one time we all lived among them. We tried to satisfy what our sinful nature wanted to do. We followed its longings and thoughts. God was angry with us and everyone else because of the kind of people we were.

4 But God loves us deeply. He is full of mercy.

5 So he gave us new life because of what Christ has done. He gave us life even when we were dead in sin. God's grace has saved you.

6 God raised us up with Christ. He has seated us with him in his heavenly kingdom because we belong to Christ Jesus.

7 He has done it to show the riches of his grace for all time to come. His grace can't be compared with anything else. He has shown it by being kind to us because of what Christ Jesus has done.

8 God's grace has saved you because of your faith in Christ. Your salvation doesn't come from anything you do. It is God's gift.

9 It is not based on anything you have done. No one can brag about earning it.

10 God made us. He created us to belong to Christ Jesus. Now we can do good things. Long ago God prepared them for us to do.

11 You who are not Jews by birth, here is what I want you to remember. You are called "uncircumcised" by those who call themselves "circumcised." But they have only been circumcised in their bodies by human hands.

12 Before you believed in Christ, you were separated from him. You were not considered to be citizens of Israel. You were not included in what the covenants promised. You were without hope and without God in the world.

13 At one time you were far away from God. But now you belong to Christ Jesus. He spilled his blood for you. That has brought you near to God.

14 Christ himself is our peace. He has made Jews and non-Jews into one group of people. He has destroyed the hatred that was like a wall between us.

15 Through his body on the cross, Christ put an end to the law with all its commands and rules. He wanted to create one new group of people out of the two. He wanted to make peace between them.

16 He planned to bring both of them as one body back to God because of the cross. Christ put their hatred to death on that cross.

17 He came and preached peace to you who were far away. He also preached peace to those who were near.

18 Through Christ we both come to the Father by the power of one Holy Spirit.

19 So you are no longer strangers and outsiders. You are citizens together with God's people. You are members of God's family.

20 You are a building that is built on the apostles and prophets. They are the foundation. Christ Jesus himself is the most important stone in the building.

21 The whole building is held together by him. It rises to become a holy temple because it belongs to the Lord.

22 And because you belong to him, you too are being built together. You are being made into a house where God lives through his Spirit.