The Sign of Immanuel

10 Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz: 11 “Ask ^aa sign of the Lord your¹ God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven.” 12 But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test.” 13 And he² said, “Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary men, that you ^bweary my God also? 14 Therefore the ^cLord himself will give you a sign. ^dBehold, the ^evirgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name ^fImmanuel.³ 15 He shall eat ^gcurds and honey when he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good. 16 ^hFor before the boy knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land whose two kings you dread will be ⁱdeserted. 17 ^jThe Lord will bring upon you and upon your people and upon your father’s house such days as have not come since the day that ^kEphraim departed from Judah—the king of Assyria!”

18 In that day the Lord will ^lwhistle for the fly that is at the end of the streams of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria. 19 And they will all come and settle in the steep ravines, and ^min the clefts of the rocks, and on all the thornbushes, and on all the pastures.⁴

20 In that day ⁿthe Lord will ^oshave with a razor that is ^phired beyond ^qthe River⁵—with the king of Assyria—the head and the hair of the feet, and it will sweep away the beard also.

21 ^rIn that day a man will keep alive a young cow and two sheep, 22 and because of the abundance of milk that they give, he will eat curds, for everyone who is left in the land will eat ^scurds and honey.

23 In that day every place where there used to be a thousand vines, worth a thousand shekels⁶ of silver, will become ^tbriers and thorns. 24 ^uWith bow and arrows a man will come there, for all the land will be briers and thorns. 25 ^vAnd as for all the hills that used to be hoed with a hoe, you will not come there for fear ^tof briers and thorns, but they will become a place where cattle are let loose and where sheep tread.

The Coming Assyrian Invasion

1 Then the Lord said to me, “Take a large tablet ^wand write on it in common characters,⁷ ‘Belonging to Maher-shalal-hash-baz.’⁸ 2 And ^xI will get reliable witnesses, ^yUriah the priest and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah, to attest for me.”

3 And I went to the prophetess, and she conceived and bore a son. Then the Lord said to me, ^z“Call his name Maher-shalal-hash-baz; 4 ^afor before the boy knows how to cry ‘My father’ or ‘My mother,’ the ^awealth of ^bDamascus and the spoil of ^bSamaria will be carried away before the king of Assyria.”

5 The Lord spoke to me again: 6 “Because this people has refused the waters of ^cShiloah that flow gently, and rejoice over ^dRezin and the son of Remaliah, 7 therefore, behold, the Lord is bringing up against them ^ethe waters of ^fthe River,⁹ mighty and many, the king of Assyria and all his glory. And it ^gwill rise over all its channels and go over all its banks, 8 and it will sweep on into Judah, it will overflow and pass on, ^hreaching even to the neck, and its ⁱoutspread wings will fill the breadth of your land, ^jO Immanuel.”

Wives and Husbands

1 Likewise, wives, ^kbe subject to your own husbands, so that ^leven if some do not obey the word, ^mthey may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives, 2 when they see your ⁿrespectful and pure conduct. 3 ^oDo not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— 4 but let your adorning be ^pthe hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious. 5 For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their own husbands, 6 as Sarah obeyed Abraham, ^qcalling him lord. And you are her children, if you do good and ^rdo not fear anything that is frightening.

7 Likewise, ^shusbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker ^tvessel, since they are heirs with you¹ of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.

Suffering for Righteousness’ Sake

8 Finally, all of you, ^uhave unity of mind, sympathy, ^vbrotherly love, ^wa tender heart, and ^xa humble mind. 9 ^yDo not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, ^zbless, for ^ato this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing. 10 For

13 Now ^cwho is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? 14 ^dBut even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. ^eHave no fear of them, ^fnor be troubled, 15 but ^gin your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, ^halways being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and ⁱrespect, 16 ^jhaving a good conscience, so that, ^kwhen you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. 17 For ^lit is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.

18 For Christ also ^msuffered^{2 n}once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, ^othat he might bring us to God, being put to death ^pin the flesh but made alive ^qin the spirit, 19 in which³ he went and ^qproclaimed⁴ to the spirits in prison, 20 because⁵ they formerly did not obey, ^rwhen God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, ^swhile the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, ^teight persons, were brought safely through water. 21 Baptism, which corresponds to this, ^unow saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but ^vas an appeal to God for a good conscience, ^wthrough the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who has gone into heaven and ^xis at the right hand of God, ^ywith angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.