English Standard Version
Isaiah 7:8
8For the head of Syria is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin. And within sixty-five years Ephraim will be shattered from being a people.
Isaiah 7:8 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)For the head of Syria is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin; and within threescore and five years shall Ephraim be broken, that it be not a people.
- New International Version (NIV)for the head of Aram is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is only Rezin. Within sixty-five years Ephraim will be too shattered to be a people.
- New King James Version (NKJV)For the head of Syria is Damascus, And the head of Damascus is Rezin. Within sixty-five years Ephraim will be broken, So that it will not be a people.
- New Living Translation (NLT)for Syria is no stronger than its capital, Damascus, and Damascus is no stronger than its king, Rezin. As for Israel, within sixty-five years it will be crushed and completely destroyed.
Context of Isaiah 7:8
6"Let us go up against Judah and terrify it, and let us conquer it for ourselves, and set up the son of Tabeel as king in the midst of it," 7thus says the Lord God: "'It shall not stand, and it shall not come to pass. For the head of Syria is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin. And within sixty-five years Ephraim will be shattered from being a people. 9And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is the son of Remaliah. If you are not firm in faith, you will not be firm at all.'" 10Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz:
Read all of Isaiah 7Isaiah 7:8 word by word
כִּ֣י רֹ֤אשׁ אֲרָם֙ דַּמֶּ֔שֶׂק וְרֹ֥אשׁ דַּמֶּ֖שֶׂק רְצִ֑ין וּבְע֗וֹד שִׁשִּׁ֤ים וְחָמֵשׁ֙ שָׁנָ֔ה יֵחַ֥ת אֶפְרַ֖יִם מֵעָֽם׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- For the headרֹאשׁrô'sh · head: leaderH7218
- of Syriaאֲרָם'ărâm · SyriaH758
- Damascusדַּמֶּ֫שֶׂקdammeώeq dûmeώeq darmeώeq · DamascusH1834
- Rezinרְצִיןretsîyn · RezinH7526
- and within threescoreשִׁשִּׁיםshishshîym · sixtyH8346
- and fiveחָמֵשׁchâmêsh chămishshâh · fiveH2568
- yearsשָׁנָהshâneh shânâh · yearH8141
- shall Ephraimאֶפְרַ֫יִם'ephrayim · EphraimH669
- be brokenחָתַתchâthath · to to be dismayedH2865
- that it be not a peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
Cross-references for Isaiah 7:8
- Isaiah 7:9And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is the son of Remaliah. If you are not firm in faith, you will not be firm at all.'"
- 2 Samuel 8:6Then David put garrisons in Aram of Damascus, and the Syrians became servants to David and brought tribute. And the Lord gave victory to David wherever he went.
- Isaiah 8:4for before the boy knows how to cry 'My father' or 'My mother,' the wealth of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria will be carried away before the king of Assyria."
- Isaiah 17:1An oracle concerning Damascus. Behold, Damascus will cease to be a city and will become a heap of ruins.
- 2 Kings 17:5Then the king of Assyria invaded all the land and came to Samaria, and for three years he besieged it.
- Ezra 4:2they approached Zerubbabel and the heads of fathers' houses and said to them, "Let us build with you, for we worship your God as you do, and we have been sacrificing to him ever since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assyria who brought us here."
- Hosea 1:6She conceived again and bore a daughter. And the Lord said to him, "Call her name No Mercy, for I will no more have mercy on the house of Israel, to forgive them at all.
Commentaries on Isaiah 7:8
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 8For the head of Syria, etc. - "Though the head of Syria be Damascus, And the head of Damascus Retsin; Yet within threescore and five years Ephraim shall be broken, that he be no more a people: And the head of Ephraim be Samaria; And the head of Samaria Remaliah's son. "Here are six lines, or three distichs, the order of which seems to have been disturbed by a transposition, occasioned by three of the lines beginning with the same word וראש verosh, "and…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 8For the head of Syria - The “capital.” The “head” is often used in this sense. Is Damascus - For an account of this city, see the notes at Isaiah 17:1; compare the notes at Acts 9:2. The sense of this passage is, Do not be alarmed as if Rezin was about to enlarge his kingdom, by taking Judea and making Jerusalem his capital. The revolution which these kings contemplate cannot be accomplished. The kingdoms of Syria and Israel shall not be enlarged by the…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 8The Assyrian kings Esarhaddon and Ashurbanipal had Israel resettled with people from other places within 65years (by 670 BC; see 2 Kings 17:24–34). Damascus was defeated and destroyed by 732 BC. Samaria was also defeated by 722 BC.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 88. head--that is, in both Syria and Israel the capital shall remain as it is; they shall not conquer Judah, but each shall possess only his own dominions. threescore and five ... not a people--As these words break the symmetry of the parallelism in this verse, either they ought to be placed after "Remaliah's son," in Is 7:9, or else they refer to some older prophecy of Isaiah, or of Amos (as the Jewish writers represent), parenthetically; to which, in Is…Read the comment
Topics related to Isaiah 7:8
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Isaiah 7
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
Commentaries