Isaiah 7:17-25

Judgment to Come

17 The LORD will bring on you and on your people and on the house of your father a time unlike any since the day Ephraim separated from Judah—He will bring the king of Assyria.” ¹

18 On that day the LORD will whistle to the flies at the farthest streams of the Nile and to the bees in the land of Assyria.

19 And they will all come and settle in the steep ravines and clefts of the rocks, in all the thornbushes and watering holes.

20 On that day the Lord will use a razor hired from beyond the Euphrates ^[a]—the king of Assyria—to shave your head and the hair of your legs, and to remove your beard as well.

21 On that day a man will raise a young cow and two sheep,

22 and from the abundance of milk they give, he will eat curds; for all who remain in the land will eat curds and honey.

23 And on that day, in every place that had a thousand vines worth a thousand shekels of silver, ^[b] only briers and thorns will be found.

24 Men will go there with bow and arrow, for the land will be covered with briers and thorns.

25 For fear of the briers and thorns, you will no longer traverse the hills once tilled by the hoe; they will become places for oxen to graze and sheep to trample.

Isaiah 7:17-25 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO ISAIAH 7

This chapter contains a prophecy of the preservation of the kingdom of Judah, from its enemies; a confirmation of it by a sign; and a prediction of various calamities that should come upon it, antecedent to the accomplishment of that sign. The enemies of Judea are named, and the besieging of Jerusalem by them, and the date of it, which was without effect, are mentioned, Isa 7:1 the fear and dread which seized the house of David upon the news of this confederacy, Isa 7:2 the orders given by the Lord to the Prophet Isaiah, to take with him his son, and meet Ahaz, at a certain place pointed at, Isa 7:3 whose errand was to comfort him, and exhort him to be quiet and easy; since the conspiracy formed against him should be fruitless, and the kingdom of Israel should be broken to pieces, Isa 7:4-9 after which the king is put upon asking a sign of the Lord, for the confirmation of it; which he refusing to do, under a pretence of tempting the Lord, is reproved; and a sign nevertheless is given; which is that of the birth of the Messiah of a virgin, who would be truly God, as his name Immanuel shows, and truly man, as his birth, his food, and gradual knowledge of good and evil, prove, Isa 7:10-15 yea, it is suggested that the deliverance of Judea from the two kings of Syria and Israel should be very speedy; even before the young child Isaiah had with him was capable of knowing to refuse evil, and chose good, Isa 7:16 but as a chastisement of the house of David for their incredulity in this matter, and slight of the divine goodness, various things are threatened to befall them, before the birth of the Messiah; even such as had not been since the revolt of the ten tribes; as that their enemies, the Assyrians and others, should come upon them in great numbers, and fill all places, so that they would be in the utmost distress, and not be able to escape, Isa 7:17-19 there would be a great consumption of men of all sorts, high and low, signified by shaving off the hair of the head, beard, and feet; so that the few that remained would enjoy plenty, Isa 7:20-22 and for want of men to till the land, it would be covered with thorns and briers; and because of wild beasts, the few men in it would be obliged to defend themselves with bows and arrows, Isa 7:23,24 and yet, after this, the land should become fruitful again, before the Messiah's coming, Isa 7:25, as some interpret it.

Cross References

• 1. (Micah 1:1–7)

Footnotes

• [a] Hebrew the River
• [b] Hebrew a thousand of silver; that is, approximately 25.1 pounds or 11.4 kilograms of silver