¶ It happened in the time of Ahaz the son of Ioatham, which was the son of Oziah, king of Iuda: that Razin the king of Syria, and Phakeh the son of Romeliah, king of Israel: went up toward Ierusalem to besiege it, but wanne it not.
Now when the house of David (that is Ahaz) heard word thereof, that Syria and Ephraim were confederate together: His heart quaked (yea and the hearts also of his people) like as a tree in the field, that is moved with the wind.
Then said GOD unto Esay: Go meet Ahaz, (thou, thy son Sear Iasub) at the head of the over pole, in the foot path by the fuller's ground,
and say unto him, take heed to thyself and be still, but fear not, neither be fainthearted, for these two tails: that is: for these two smoking firebrands, the wrath and furriousness of Rezin the Sirian and Romelies' son:
because that the king of Siria, Ephraim, and Romelies' son have wickedly conspired against thee,
saying: We will go down into Iuda, vex them, and bring them under us, and set a king there, even the son of Tabeel.
For thus sayeth the Lord GOD there to; It shall not so go forth, neither come so to pass:
For the head city of the Sirians is Damascus, but the head of Damascus is Razin. And after five and threscore years, shall Ephraim be no more a people.
And the chief city of Ephraim is Samaria, but the head of Samaria is Remaliah's son. And if ye believe not, there shall no promise be kept with you.
¶ Moreover, GOD spake unto Ahaz, saying:
require a token of the LORD thy God, whether it be toward the depth beneath or toward the height above.
Then said Ahaz: I will require none, neither will I tempt the LORD.
The Lord answered: Then hear to, ye of the house of David: Is it not enough for you, that ye be grievous unto men, but ye must grieve my God also?
And therefore the Lord shall give you a token of himself: Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Emmanuel.
Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know the evil, and choose the good.
But or ever the child come to knowledge, to eschew the evil and chose the good: The land (that thou art so afraid for) shall be desolate of both her kings.
¶ The LORD also shall send a time upon thee, upon thy people, and upon thy father's house, (such as never came since the time that Ephraim departed from Iuda) thorow the king of the Assyrians.
For at the same time shall the LORD whistle for the flys that are about the water of Egypt, and for the Bees in the Assirian land.
These shall come, and shall light all in the valleys, and in the vaults of stone, upon all green things, and in all corners.
At the same time shall the Lord shave the hair of the head and the feet and the beard clean off, with the razor that he shall pay them withal beyond the water: namely, with the king of the Assirians.
At the same time shall a man live with a cow, and two sheep.
Then because of the abundance of milk, he shall make butter and eat it. So that every one which remaineth in the land, shall eat butter and honey.
At the same time all vineyards (though there be a thousand vines in one, and were sold for a thousand silverlings) shall be turned to briers and thorns.
Like as they shall come into the land with arrows and bows, so shall all the land become briers and thorns.
And as for all hills that now are hewn down, thou shalt not come upon them, for fear of briers and thorns. But the cattle shall be driven thither, and the sheep shall feed there.
Praise the Everlasting Lord for His Faithful Word.