Yesaya 7:4

7:4 Tell him, ‘Make sure you stay calm! ¹  Don’t be afraid! Don’t be intimidated ²  by these two stubs of smoking logs, ³  or by the raging anger of Rezin, Syria, and the son of Remaliah.

Yesaya 7:17

7:17 The Lord will bring on you, your people, and your father’s family a time ⁴  unlike any since Ephraim departed from Judah – the king of Assyria!” ⁵ 

Yesaya 47:8

47:8 So now, listen to this,

O one who lives so lavishly, ⁶ 

who lives securely,

who says to herself, ⁷ 

‘I am unique! No one can compare to me! ⁸ 

I will never have to live as a widow;

I will never lose my children.’ ⁹ 

[7:4]  ¹ tn Heb “guard yourself and be quiet,” but the two verbs should be coordinated.

[7:4]  ² tn Heb “and let not your heart be weak”; ASV “neither let thy heart be faint.”

[7:4]  ³ sn The derogatory metaphor indicates that the power of Rezin and Pekah is ready to die out.

[7:17]  ⁴ tn Heb “days” (so KJV, NAB); NASB, NRSV “such days.”

[7:17]  ⁵ 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.

[47:8]  ⁶ tn Or perhaps, “voluptuous one” (NAB); NAB “you sensual one”; NLT “You are a pleasure-crazy kingdom.”

[47:8]  ⁷ tn Heb “the one who says in her heart.”

[47:8]  ⁸ tn Heb “I [am], and besides me there is no other.” See Zeph 2:15.

[47:8]  ⁹ tn Heb “I will not live [as] a widow, and I will not know loss of children.”