Discovery BoxIsaiah 7:17 
Context7:17 The Lord will bring on you, your people, and your father’s family a time 1 unlike any since Ephraim departed from Judah – the king of Assyria!” 2
Isaiah 43:14
Context43:14 This is what the Lord says,
your protector, 3 the Holy One of Israel: 4
“For your sake I send to Babylon
and make them all fugitives, 5
turning the Babylonians’ joyful shouts into mourning songs. 6
Isaiah 49:22
Context49:22 This is what the sovereign Lord says:
“Look I will raise my hand to the nations;
I will raise my signal flag to the peoples.
They will bring your sons in their arms
and carry your daughters on their shoulders.
Isaiah 60:16
Context60:16 You will drink the milk of nations;
you will nurse at the breasts of kings. 7
Then you will recognize that I, the Lord, am your deliverer,
1 tn Heb “days” (so KJV, NAB); NASB, NRSV “such days.”
2 sn Initially the prophecy appears to be a message of salvation. Immanuel seems to have a positive ring to it, sour milk and honey elsewhere symbolize prosperity and blessing (see Deut 32:13-14; Job 20:17), verse 16 announces the defeat of Judah’s enemies, and verse 17a could be taken as predicting a return to the glorious days of David and Solomon. However, the message turns sour in verses 17b-25. God will be with his people in judgment, as well as salvation. The curds and honey will be signs of deprivation, not prosperity, the relief announced in verse 16 will be short-lived, and the new era will be characterized by unprecedented humiliation, not a return to glory. Because of Ahaz’s refusal to trust the Lord, potential blessing would be transformed into a curse, just as Isaiah turns an apparent prophecy of salvation into a message of judgment. Because the words “the king of Assyria” are rather awkwardly tacked on to the end of the sentence, some regard them as a later addition. However, the very awkwardness facilitates the prophet’s rhetorical strategy here, as he suddenly turns what sounds like a positive message into a judgment speech. Actually, “the king of Assyria,” stands in apposition to the earlier object “days,” and specifies who the main character of these coming “days” will be.
3 tn Or “kinsman redeemer.” See the note at 41:14.
4 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
5 tn Heb “and I bring down [as] fugitives all of them.”
6 tn The Hebrew text reads literally, “as for the Babylonians, in ships their joyful shout.” This might be paraphrased, “even the Babylonians in the ships [over which] they joyfully shouted.” The point would be that the Lord caused the Babylonians to flee for safety in the ships in which they took such great pride. A slight change in vocalization yields the reading “into mourning songs,” which provides a good contrast with “joyful shout.” The prefixed bet (בְּ) would indicate identity.
7 sn The nations and kings are depicted as a mother nursing her children. Restored Zion will be nourished by them as she receives their wealth as tribute.
8 tn Or “redeemer.” See the note at 41:14.
9 sn See 1:24 and 49:26.
