Isaiah 7:16 - Printer Friendly

ESV: For before the boy knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land whose two kings you dread will be deserted.

NIV: for before the boy knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste.

NASB: For before the boy knows enough to refuse evil and choose good, the land whose two kings you dread will be abandoned.

CSB: For before the boy knows to reject what is bad and choose what is good, the land of the two kings you dread will be abandoned.

NLT: For before the child is that old, the lands of the two kings you fear so much will both be deserted.

KJV: For before the child shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the good, the land that thou abhorrest shall be forsaken of both her kings.

NKJV: For before the Child shall know to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land that you dread will be forsaken by both her kings.

This conversation with King Ahaz happened around 735 BC. At this moment, the armies of Syria and Israel were making their way to attack Jerusalem and remove Ahaz from the throne (Isaiah 7:6). The Lord told Ahaz not to worry about this, because it would not be an issue for long (Isaiah 7:7).

By the year 733 or 732 BC, the Assyrians had defeated Syria and killed its king, aside from its capital of Samaria. They had also conquered much of Israel. Samaria and the rest of the northern kingdom of Israel would fall as well, by around 721 BC.

This all fits exactly with the miraculous sign Isaiah described to Ahaz (Isaiah 7:14). He has said that young maiden or virgin will soon conceive a son and will call him Immanuel, which means "God with us." Now he says that before that boy knows how to tell evil and from good, the land of those two kings Ahaz dreads will be emptied. When the boy is two or three, both Israel and Syria will cease to be a threat. By the time the boy is 13, both will be completely wiped out. Their people will be deported by the Assyrians and the land sitting empty.

This may sound like the best news Ahaz could have hoped to hear. But Isaiah will reveal in the following verse that the enemy who wipes out Judah's current threat will bring far greater devastation than their current enemies could have brought (Isaiah 7:17).

Isaiah 7:10–25 describes the Lord's response, through Isaiah, to King Ahaz's refusal to obey the Lord. He was told to ask for a sign to confirm the prophecy that Israel and Syria would fail to conquer Judah. Isaiah prophecies that a virgin will conceive and name her child Immanuel. Before the child is old enough to reject evil, Israel and Syria will be wiped out. Then the Lord will use the king of Assyria to harshly judge Judah, humiliate His own people, and empty the land of Judah's citizens.

Isaiah 7 begins with the threat of invasion from two of Judah's enemies: Israel and Syria. Judah's King Ahaz and his people are terrified. Speaking for the Lord, Isaiah tells Ahaz to not be afraid because it will not happen. Israel and Syria will soon be gone. Ahaz, though, refuses the Lord's command to ask for a sign. In response, Isaiah tells Ahaz that after Syria and Israel are destroyed, the Lord will use the king of Assyria to bring judgment on Judah through invading armies, emptying the land until little remains.

Isaiah 7 follows the description of Isaiah's commission as a prophet in Isaiah 6. Now the Lord tells him to go and speak to Judah's king Ahaz, who is terrified about an impending invasion from Syria and Israel. Isaiah promises this invasion will not happen. Instead, both nations will soon be destroyed. Ahaz refuses the Lord's command to ask for a sign to confirm His words. Isaiah tells Ahaz that after Israel and Syria are wiped out, the Lord will use the king of Assyria to bring harsh judgment against Judah in the form of relentless invading armies.

Isaiah is among the most important prophetic books in the entire Bible. The first segment details God's impending judgment against ancient peoples for sin and idolatry (Isaiah 1—35). The second part of Isaiah briefly explains a failed assault on Jerusalem during the rule of Hezekiah (Isaiah 36—39). The final chapters predict Israel's rescue from Babylonian captivity (Isaiah 40—48), the promised Messiah (Isaiah 49—57), and the final glory of Jerusalem and God's people (Isaiah 58—66).