Isaiah 7:17

"For before the child knows to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land whose two kings you abhor shall be forsaken."

Key Reflection

In Isaiah 7:17, before a child in the royal household reaches the age of discernment and is capable of making moral choices, the land of Aram (Syria) and the kingdom of Israel—two nations that King Ahaz feared—would be destroyed. The original audience would have understood this as a prophetic statement indicating that within the lifespan of a young child, these hostile powers would fall due to divine judgment, reassuring Ahaz of God’s protection without resorting to military alliances.

From the Scholars: Barnes' Notes

The Lord shall bring ... -The prophet having assured Ahaz that his kingdom should be free from the invasion that then threatened it, proceeds, however, to state to him that it would be endangered from another source. Thy father’s house -The royal family - the princes and nobles. Days that have not come -Times of calamity that have not been equalled. From the day that Ephraim departed from Judah -From the time of the separation of the ten tribes from the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. Even the king of Assyria -This was done in the following manner.

More from Isaiah 7

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