Isaiah 7:16
in Isaiah 7For before the boy knows enough to reject evil and choose good, the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
For before the child shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the good, the land whose two kings thou abhorrest shall be forsaken.
KJV
For before the child shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the good, the land that thou abhorrest shall be forsaken of both her kings.
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This verse in Isaiah 7
Commentary
14 notes on this verse(Verse 16) For before the boy knows how to reject evil and choose good, the land that you detest will be abandoned by the face of its two kings. In the sixth year of the reign of Hezekiah, Samaria was captured by the Assyrians (2 Kings 18), that is, in his thirty-first year of age.
This site's exposition
By the time He knows
on Isaiah 7:15-16
The "curds and honey" allow two readings: the diet of a land stripped to pasture by invasion, or the ordinary food of a weaned child. Before the boy can "reject evil and choose good," the land of the two kings Ahaz dreads, Aram and Israel, "will be laid waste."
This site's exposition
the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste
Barnes reads the land as one because Aram and Ephraim were then bound in one alliance. Jerome dates the fulfillment by the capture of Samaria in the sixth year of Hezekiah, recorded in 2 Kings 18. The measure of time is a child's early years.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
I will say something even more amazing, so that you do not think that he is born in a fantasy, he will use foods of infancy, he will eat butter and milk.
For the one and the same Spirit of God, who proclaimed by the prophets what and of what sort the advent of the Lord should be, did by these elders give a just interpretation of what had been truly prophesied; and He did Himself, by the apostles, announce that the fulness of the times of the adoption had arrived, that the kingdom of heaven had drawn nigh, and that He was dwelling within those that believe on Him who was born Emmanuel of the Virgin.
The Medieval Church2 voices
Third, the adaptation of the sign is set out: for before the child know, that is, before he assumed created knowledge in being born; the land, of Samaria and Syria (2 Kgs 16:9, 17:3–5).
Now, since the Lord was not a mere man but was also God and knew all things, he stood in no need of reflection, inquiry, counsel or judgment. He also had a natural affinity for good and antipathy for evil. Thus it is in this sense that the prophet Isaiah, too, says, "Before the child shall know to refuse the evil, he will choose the good. For before the child knows to refuse the evil and to choose the good, he will reject the evil by choosing the good." The "before" shows that he made no inquiry or investigation in a human manner but that since he was God and divinely subsisted in the flesh—that is to say, was personally united to the flesh—by the fact of his very being and his knowing all things he naturally possessed the good.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
"Before this child (so it should be read), this child which I have now in my arms" (he means not Immanuel, but Shear-jashub his own son, whom he was ordered to take with him for a sign,
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
6 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
Yea - Not only this land shall be preserved until the virgin's son shall be born, but thine enemies land shall be sorely scourged, and these two kings destroyed within a very little time. This child - Shear-Jashub, whom in all probability the prophet pointed at, and who was brought hither by God's special command, ver. 3. for this very use.
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This promised birth supposed the preservation of that city, and nation and tribe, in and of which the Messiah was to be born; and therefore there was no cause to fear that ruin which their enemies now threatened. God dwelling among us, in our nature, John i, 14. God and man meeting in one person, and being a mediator between God and men.
For before the child shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the good,....
A threatening of the great desolation that God would bring upon Ahaz and his kingdom by the Assyrians, notwithstanding their escape from this present storm, because they went on still in their wickedness,
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The land that thou abhorrest - The land concerning which thou art so much “alarmed or distressed;” that is, the united land of Syria and Ephraim. It is mentioned here as ‘the land,’ or as one land, because they were united then in a firm alliance, so as to constitute, in fact, or for the purposes of invasion and conquest, one people or nation. The phrase, ‘which thou abhorrest,’ means properly, which thou loathest, the primary idea of the word - קוץ qûts - being to feel a nausea, or to vomit.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
15:30), just two years after this prophecy, as it foretells. HORSLEY takes it, "The land (Judah and Samaria) of (the former of) which thou art the plague (literally, 'thorn') shall be forsaken," &c.; a prediction thus, that Judah and Israel (appropriately regarded as one "land") should cease to be kingdoms (Lu 2:1;
The words behind it
16 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּ֠י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| בְּטֶ֨רֶם | beterem | <in> before | H2962 → | 56 times |
| יֵדַ֥ע | yeda' | he will know | H3045 → | 945 times |
| הַנַּ֛עַר | hanaar | the lad | H5288 → | 239 times |
| מָאֹ֥ס | maos | to reject | H3988 → | 76 times |
| בָּרָ֖ע | bara' | <in> the evil | H7451 → | 662 times |
| וּבָחֹ֣ר | uvachor | and to choose | H977 → | 171 times |
| בַּטּ֑וֹב | batov | <in> the good | H2896 → | 538 times |
| תֵּעָזֵ֤ב | teazev | it will be forsaken | H5800 → | 215 times |
| הָאֲדָמָה֙ | haadamah | the land | H127 → | 225 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| אַתָּ֣ה | ʾatah | you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| קָ֔ץ | katz | [are] feeling dread | H6973 → | |
| מִפְּנֵ֖י | mipenei | of <the face of> | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| שְׁנֵ֥י | shenei | [the] two | H8147 → | 768 times |
| מְלָכֶֽיהָ׃ | melakheiha | kings its | H4428 → | 2525 times |
כִּ֠יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
בְּטֶ֨רֶם<in> before
beteremH2962 →56 times
יֵדַ֥עhe will know
yeda'H3045 →945 times
הַנַּ֛עַרthe lad
hanaarH5288 →239 times
מָאֹ֥סto reject
maosH3988 →76 times
בָּרָ֖ע<in> the evil
bara'H7451 →662 times
וּבָחֹ֣רand to choose
uvachorH977 →171 times
בַּטּ֑וֹב<in> the good
batovH2896 →538 times
תֵּעָזֵ֤בit will be forsaken
teazevH5800 →215 times
הָאֲדָמָה֙the land
haadamahH127 →225 times
אֲשֶׁ֣רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
אַתָּ֣הyou
ʾatahH859 →1094 times
קָ֔ץ[are] feeling dread
katzH6973 →
מִפְּנֵ֖יof <the face of>
mipeneiH6440 →2123 times
שְׁנֵ֥י[the] two
sheneiH8147 →768 times
מְלָכֶֽיהָ׃kings its
melakheihaH4428 →2525 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Deuteronomy 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.
it leads to
- Isaiah 7:15–16
By the time He knows enough to reject evil and choose good, He will be eating curds and honey.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Jonah 4:11
So 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?”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Numbers 14:3
Why is the LORD bringing us into this land to fall by the sword? Our wives and children will become plunder. Would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?”
- Numbers 14:31
But I will bring your children, whom you said would become plunder, into the land you have rejected—and they will enjoy it.
- Isaiah 7:15–16
Through
Isaiah 8:4For 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.”
it leads to
- Romans 9:11
Yet before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad, in order that God’s plan of election might stand,
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Romans 9:11
Through
2 Kings 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.
it leads to
- Isaiah 22:6
Elam takes up a quiver, with chariots and horsemen, and Kir uncovers the shield.
- Amos 9:7
“Are you not like the Cushites to Me, O children of Israel?” declares the LORD. “Did I not bring Israel up from the land of Egypt, the Philistines from Caphtor, and the Arameans from…
- Isaiah 22:6
Through
Hosea 5:9Ephraim will be laid waste on the day of rebuke. Among the tribes of Israel I proclaim what is certain.
it leads to
- Hosea 9:11–17
Ephraim’s glory will fly away like a bird, with no birth, no pregnancy, and no conception.
- Hosea 9:11–17
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies10
About Isaiah
This page draws on 11 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Isaiah; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Isaiah; Irenaeus, Against Heresies (Book III, Chapter 21), Section 4; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Damascene, ORTHODOX FAITH 3:14; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.