Isaiah Chapter 7 / 2 Nephi 17

 THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET
ISAIAH

CHAPTER 7

Ephraim and Syria wage war against Judah—Christ will be born of a virgin—Compare 2 Nephi 17.

 King James Version

Book of Mormon
2 Nephi 17

Expanded Notes and Commentary

1 ^aAnd it came to pass in the
days of Ahaz the son of
Jotham, the son of Uzziah,
king of Judah, that ^bRezin the 
^cking of Syria, and ^dPekah the
son of Remaliah, king of Israel,
went up toward Jerusalem to
war against it, but could not
prevail against it.

x
x

x
x

x 

1 ^aAnd it came to pass in the
days of ^bAhaz the son of ^cJotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah,
that ^dRezin, king of Syria, and 
^ePekah the son of Remaliah, king
of Israel, went up toward
Jerusalem to war against it, but
could not prevail against it.
x

x

x

x

x

x 

2 And it was told the house of
David, saying, Syria is
confederate with ^aEphraim.
And his heart was moved, and
the heart of his people, as the
trees of the wood are moved
with the wind.

x

x

x 

2 And it was told the house of David, saying: Syria is confederate with Ephraim. And his heart was moved, and the heart of his people, as the trees of the wood are moved with the wind.

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3 Then said the Lord unto
Isaiah, Go forth now to meet
Ahaz, thou, and ^aShearjashub
thy son, at the end of the 
^bconduit of the upper pool^3 cin
the highway of the fuller’s field⁴;

3 Then said the Lord unto
Isaiah: Go forth now to meet
Ahaz, thou and Shearjashub
thy son, at the end of the 
^aconduit of the upper pool³ in
the highway of the fuller’s field⁴

Upper Pool³ and the Highway of the Fuller’s Field⁴

A fuller was one who cleaned, pressed, bleached and dyed cloth for a living. Since this work required a great deal of water, the “fuller’s field” or place of work was always near a pool or spring of water. The Spring of Gihon was a natural water source in the Kidron Valley. In early times, before Israelite occupation, the inhabitants of Jerusalem sent their women to the spring for water. Standing on an elevated platform, the women let their leather buckets down a forty-foot shaft, or conduit, that led to the spring below and hauled up their water. Some think this was the “conduit of the Upper Pool.” Located nearby was the “fuller’s field.” (See Miller and Miller, Harper’s Bible Dictionary, s.v. “Gihon.”) Remains of a large, man-made pool west of the city have been found, however, and some scholars think that may have been the location. OTSM

4 And say unto him, ^aTake heed,
and be quiet; fear not, neither
be fainthearted for the two tails
of these smoking firebrands³, for
the fierce anger of Rezin with
Syria, and of the son of
Remaliah.x
x
x

4 And say unto him: Take heed, and be quiet; fear not, neither be faint-hearted for the two tails of these smoking firebrands, for the fierce anger of Rezin with Syria, and of the son of Remaliah.

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5 Because Syria, Ephraim, and
the son of Remaliah, have taken
evil counsel against thee, saying,

5 Because Syria, Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah, have taken evil counsel against thee, saying:

x 

6 Let us go up against Judah,
and vex it, and let us ^amake a
breach therein for us, and set a
king in the midst of it, even the
son of Tabeal:

x

6 Let us go up against Judah and vex it, and let us make a breach therein for us, and set a king in the midst of it, yea, the son of Tabeal.

x

7 Thus saith the Lord God, It
shall not stand, neither shall
it come to pass.
x

7 Thus saith the Lord God: ^aIt
shall not stand, neither shall it
come to pass.
x

8 For the head of Syria is
^aDamascus, and the head of
Damascus is Rezin; and within
threescore and five years shall
^bEphraim be broken, that it be
not a people.x

x

8 For the head of Syria is
Damascus, and the head of
Damascus, Rezin; and within
threescore and five years shall
Ephraim be ^abroken that it be
not a people.x

x

Because the chronologies of biblical and contemporary texts are neither complete nor in harmony, it is difficult to review the history with year-to-year precision. The fulfilment of this prophecy, however, is generally regarded as extending past the initial invasions of both Tiglath-pileser III and Shalmaneser V to the final conquest and displacement of the majority of the population under the Assyrian king Esarhaddon. Throughout the period of disruption and migrations, Ephraim, the Northern Kingdom, was able to maintain some identity until the final deportation. (See OTSM Enrichment F; see also Keil and Delitzsch, Commentary,7:1:211–12; Young, Book of Isaiah 1:275–76.)

9 And the head of Ephraim is
Samaria, and the head of
Samaria is Remaliah’s son. ^aIf
ye will not believe, surely ye
shall not be established.

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9 And the head of Ephraim is
Samaria, and the head of
Samaria is Remaliah’s son. If
ye will ^anot believe surely ye
shall not be established.

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x

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10 ¶ Moreover the Lord spake
again unto Ahaz, saying,

10 Moreover, the Lord spake again unto Ahaz, saying:

11 Ask thee a sign of the Lord
thy God; ask it either in the
depth, or in the height above.
x

11 Ask thee a ^asign of the Lord
thy God; ask it either in the
depths, or in the heights above.
x

12 But Ahaz said, I will not ask,
neither will I ^atempt the Lord.

x

12 But Ahaz said: I will not ask,
neither will I ^atempt the Lord.

x

13 And he said, Hear ye now,
O house of David; Is it a small
thing for you to weary men,
but will ye weary my God also?
x

13 And he said: Hear ye now, O house of David; is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will ye weary my God also?
x

14 Therefore the Lord himself
shall give you a ^asign; ^bBehold,
a ^cvirgin shall conceive, and
bear a ^dson, and shall call his
name ^eImmanuel.

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 x

14 Therefore, the Lord himself
shall give you a sign—Behold,
a ^avirgin shall conceive, and
shall bear a son, and shall call
his name ^bImmanuel⁴.

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 x

This passage is cited in the New Testament as being fulfilled by the birth of Jesus Christ (see Matthew 1:25). Some commentators point out that the word translated virgin means only a young woman and not someone who has never had sexual relations. They do this in an attempt to refute this passage as proof of the virgin birth of Jesus Christ. But it can be shown that the term is properly translated and did mean an unmarried woman (Young, Book of Isaiah, 1:286–88).
The Book of Mormon, likewise, testifies of Mary’s virginity at the time of Christ’s conception (see 1 Nephi 11:13, 15, 18, 20–21). Thus, the vision of Nephi affirms Isaiah’s ancient prophecy that it was indeed a virgin who would conceive. (OTSM ).
President Marion G. Romney spoke of the importance of spiritual direction in understanding the prophet Isaiah’s declaration: “Here is another example in which men revise the scriptures without the inspiration of the Spirit. Isaiah, in predicting the birth of Christ, said: ‘Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.’ (Isaiah 7:14. Italics added.) When Isaiah used the word virgin, he was saying that a woman who had not known a man should bear a son.
“The modern translators say: ‘Behold, a young woman shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.’ (Holy Bible, Revised Standard Version [1952], Isaiah 7:14. Italics added.) You see, they do not believe that Christ was divine, so it does not make any difference to them whether they say a ‘young woman’ or a ‘virgin.’” (In Conference Report, Tokyo Japan Area Conference 1975, p. 46.)

15 ^aButter and honey shall he
eat, that he may know to
refuse the evil, and choose the
good.
x

15 Butter and ^ahoney shall he
eat, that he may know to refuse
the evil and to choose the good

x

16 For ^abefore the child shall
know to refuse the ^bevil, and
choose the good, the land that
thou abhorrest shall be forsaken
of both her kings.
x

x

16 For ^abefore the child shall
know to refuse the evil and
choose the good, the land that
thou abhorrest shall be forsaken
of ^bboth her kings.
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x

17 ¶ ^aThe Lord shall bring upon
thee, and upon thy people, and
upon thy father’s house, days
that have not come, from the day
that ^bEphraim departed from
^cJudah; even the king of Assyria.

x

17 The Lord shall ^abring upon
thee, and upon thy people,
and upon thy father’s house,
days that have not come from
the day that ^bEphraim departed
from Judah, the king of Assyria.x
x

18 And it shall come to pass in
that day, that the Lord shall 
^ahiss ^bfor the fly that is in the
uttermost part of the rivers of
Egypt, and for the bee that is in
the land of Assyria.

x

18 And it shall come to pass in
that day that the Lord shall hiss
for the fly that is in the uttermost
part of Egypt, and for the bee
that is in the land of Assyria.

x

x

19 And they shall come, and
shall rest all of them in the
desolate valleys, and in the holes
of the rocks, and upon all thorns,
and upon all bushes.

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19 And they shall come, and shall rest all of them in the desolate valleys, and in the holes of the rocks, and upon all thorns, and upon all bushes.

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20 In the same day shall the
Lord ^ashave with a razor that is
hired, namely, by them beyond
the river, by the king of Assyria,
the head, and the hair of the feet:
and it shall also consume the
beard.

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x

20 In the same day shall the
Lord shave with a ^arazor that is
hired, by them beyond the river,
by the king of Assyria, the head,
and the hair of the feet; and it
shall also consume the beard.
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x

21 And it shall come to pass in
that day, that ^aa man shall
nourish a young cow, and two
sheep;x

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21 And it shall come to pass in that day, a man shall nourish a young cow and two sheep;

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22 And it shall come to pass, for
the abundance of milk that they
shall give he shall eat butter: for
^abutter and honey shall every one
eat that is left in the land.

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22 And it shall come to pass, for the abundance of milk they shall give he shall eat butter; for butter and honey shall every one eat that is left in the land.

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23 And it shall come to pass in
that day, that every place shall be,
where there were a thousand vines
at a thousand ^asilverlings, it shall
even be for briers and thorns.
 

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23 And it shall come to pass in that day, every place shall be, where there were a thousand vines at a thousand silverlings, which shall be for briers and thorns. 

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24 With arrows and with bows
shall men come thither; because
all the land shall become briers
and thorns.

x

24 With arrows and with bows shall men come thither, because all the land shall become briers and thorns.

x