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.
Parallel translations
- WEB For before the child knows to refuse the evil, and choose the good, the land whose two kings you abhor shall be forsaken.
- BSB For before the boy knows enough to reject evil and choose good, the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste.
- 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.
- NASB For before the boy knows enough to refuse evil and choose good, the land whose 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.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Before the child reaches the age of discernment, the two enemy kings threatening Judah will be removed.
Overview
Isaiah assures Ahaz that the alliance of Syria (Rezin) and Israel (Pekah), which he so dreaded, would be broken within a few short years. Assyria did indeed crush both kingdoms soon after. This near-term fulfillment confirmed Isaiah's word and demonstrated that God, not political alliances, controls the rise and fall of nations.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Isa 8:4For before the child shall have knowledge to cry, My father, and my mother, the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria shall be taken away before the king of Assyria.
- Deut 1:39Moreover your little ones, which ye said should be a prey, and your children, which in that day had no knowledge between good and evil, they shall go in thither, and unto them will I give it, and they shall possess it.
- Isa 17:1–3The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.
- 2 Kgs 15:29–30In the days of Pekah king of Israel came Tiglathpileser king of Assyria, and took Ijon, and Abelbethmaachah, and Janoah, and Kedesh, and Hazor, and Gilead, and Galilee, all the land of Naphtali, and carried them captive to Assyria.
- Hos 5:9Ephraim shall be desolate in the day of rebuke: among the tribes of Israel have I made known that which shall surely be.
- Jonah 4:11And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?
- 2 Kgs 16:9And the king of Assyria hearkened unto him: for the king of Assyria went up against Damascus, and took it, and carried the people of it captive to Kir, and slew Rezin.
- Isa 9:11Therefore the LORD shall set up the adversaries of Rezin against him, and join his enemies together;
- Amos 1:3–5Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have threshed Gilead with threshing instruments of iron:
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Christ at the center
Isaiah sees him most clearly: the virgin's son Immanuel, the child on David's throne, the shoot from Jesse, the light to the nations, and above all the Suffering Servant pierced for our transgressions (ch. 53).
How Isaiah 7:16 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.