For before the boy knows how to cry ‘Father’ or ‘Mother,’ the wealth of Damascus and the plunder of Samaria will be carried off by the king of Assyria.”
Parallel translations
- WEB For before the child knows how to say, ‘My father,’ and, ‘My mother,’ the riches of Damascus and the plunder of Samaria will be carried away by the king of Assyria.”
- KJV For 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.
- NKJV for before the child shall have knowledge to cry ‘My father’ and ‘My mother,’ the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria will be taken away before the king of Assyria.”
- NASB for before the boy knows how to cry out ‘My father’ or ‘My mother,’ the wealth of Damascus and the spoils of Samaria will be carried away before the king of Assyria.”
- NLT For before this child is old enough to say ‘Papa’ or ‘Mama,’ the king of Assyria will carry away both the abundance of Damascus and the riches of Samaria.”
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 can even say "father" or "mother," Assyria will plunder Damascus and Samaria.
Overview
The brief span of an infant's earliest speech, two or three years, sets the timetable for the destruction of the Syria-Israel alliance. Assyria did indeed carry off the wealth of Damascus and Samaria within that period. The fulfillment proved Isaiah a true prophet and vindicated trust in God's word over fear of human enemies.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Rom 9:11Yet before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad, in order that God’s plan of election might stand,
- Deut 1:39And the little ones you said would become captives—your children who on that day did not know good from evil—will enter the land that I will give them, and they will possess it.
- Isa 7:15–16By the time He knows enough to reject evil and choose good, He will be eating curds and honey.
- Isa 10:6–14I will send him against a godless nation; I will dispatch him against a people destined for My rage, to take spoils and seize plunder, and to trample them down like clay in the streets.
- Isa 7:8–9For the head of Aram is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin. Within sixty-five years Ephraim will be shattered as a people.
- Jonah 4:11So should I not care about the great city of Nineveh, which has more than 120,000 people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well?”
- 2 Kgs 17:3Shalmaneser king of Assyria attacked him, and Hoshea became his vassal and paid him tribute.
- 2 Kgs 16:9So the king of Assyria responded to him, marched up to Damascus, and captured it. He took its people to Kir as captives and put Rezin to death.
- 2 Kgs 17:5–6Then the king of Assyria invaded the whole land, marched up to Samaria, and besieged it for three years.
- 2 Kgs 15:29In the days of Pekah king of Israel, Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria came and captured Ijon, Abel-beth-maacah, Janoah, Kedesh, Hazor, Gilead, and Galilee, including all the land of Naphtali, and he took the people as captives to Assyria.
- Isa 17:3The fortress will disappear from Ephraim, and the sovereignty from Damascus. The remnant of Aram will be like the splendor of the Israelites,” declares the LORD of Hosts.
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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 8:4 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
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