Isaiah 7:4

Contemporary English Version

Tell Ahaz to stop worrying. There's no need for him to be afraid of King Rezin and King Pekah. They are very angry, but they are nothing more than a dying fire. Ahaz doesn't need to fear

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Say to him: Calm down and be quiet. Don’t be afraid or cowardly because of these two smoldering sticks, the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram, and the son of Remaliah.

Hebrew Names Version
and say to him, 'Take heed, and be quiet; don't be afraid, neither let your heart be faint, because of these two tails of smoking firebrands, for the fierce anger of Retzin and Aram, and of the son of Remalyahu.

King James Version
And say unto him, Take heed, and be quiet; fear not, neither be fainthearted for the two tails of these smoking firebrands, for the fierce anger of Rezin with Syria, and of the son of Remaliah.

English Standard Version
And say to him, ‘Be careful, be quiet, do not fear, and do not let your heart be faint because of these two smoldering stumps of firebrands, at the fierce anger of Rezin and Syria and the son of Remaliah.

New American Standard Bible
and say to him, 'Take care and be calm, have no fear and do not be fainthearted because of these two stumps of smoldering logs, on account of the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram and the son of Remaliah.

New Century Version
Tell Ahaz, ‘Be careful. Be calm and don't worry. Don't let those two men, Rezin and Pekah son of Remaliah, scare you. Don't be afraid of their anger or Aram's anger, because they are like two barely burning sticks that are ready to go out.

Amplified Bible
and say to him, 'Take care and be calm, do not fear and be weak-hearted because of these two stumps of smoldering logs, on account of the fierce anger of [King] Rezin and Aram and of the son of Remaliah (Pekah, usurper of the throne of Israel).

World English Bible
and say to him, 'Take heed, and be quiet; don't be afraid, neither let your heart be faint, because of these two tails of smoking firebrands, for the fierce anger of Rezin and Syria, and of the son of Remaliah.

Geneva Bible (1587)
And say vnto him, Take heede, and be still: feare not, neither be faint hearted for the two tailes of these smoking firebrands, for the furious wrath of Rezin and of Aram, and of Remaliahs sonne:

Legacy Standard Bible
and say to him, ‘Take care and stay quiet, have no fear and do not be fainthearted because of these two stubs of smoldering firebrands, on account of the burning anger of Rezin and Aram and the son of Remaliah.

Berean Standard Bible
and say to him: 'Calm down and be quiet. Do not be afraid or fainthearted over these two smoldering stubs of firewood, over the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram and of the son of Remaliah.

Complete Jewish Bible
and say to him, ‘Take care to stay calm and unafraid; don't be demoralized by these two smoldering stumps of firewood, by the blazing anger of Retzin and Aram or the son of Remalyah;

Darby Translation
and thou shalt say unto him, Take heed and be quiet; fear not, and let not thy heart faint before these two ends of smoking firebrands, because of the fierce anger of Rezin and Syria, and of the son of Remaliah.

Easy-to-Read Version
"Tell Ahaz, ‘Be careful, but be calm. Don't be afraid. Don't let those two men, Rezin and Remaliah's son, frighten you! They are like two burning sticks. They might be hot now, but soon they will be nothing but smoke. Rezin, Aram, and Remaliah's son became angry

George Lamsa Translation
And say to him, Take heed and be quiet; fear not, neither be frightened by these two weakening trouble-makers, by the fierce anger of Rezin, and by the son of Romaliah

Good News Translation
Tell him to keep alert, to stay calm, and not to be frightened or disturbed. The anger of King Rezin and his Syrians and of King Pekah is no more dangerous than the smoke from two smoldering sticks of wood.

Lexham English Bible
And you must say to him, ‘Take heed and be quiet! You must not fear, and your heart must not be faint because of these two stumps of smoldering firebrands, because of the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram and the son of Remaliah.

Literal Translation
And say to him, Be on guard and be calm. Do not fear nor be timid of heart because of the two tails of these smoking firebrands, because of the fierce anger of Rezin and Syria, and of the son of Remaliah.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
and saye vnto him: take hede to thyself and be still, but feare not, nether be faynt harted, for these two tales: that is: for these two smokynge fyre brandes, the wrath and furiousnes of Rezin the Sirian and Romelies sonne:

American Standard Version
and say unto him, Take heed, and be quiet; fear not, neither let thy heart be faint, because of these two tails of smoking firebrands, for the fierce anger of Rezin and Syria, and of the son of Remaliah.

Bible in Basic English
And say to him, Take care and be quiet; have no fear, and do not let your heart be feeble, because of these two ends of smoking fire-wood, because of the bitter wrath of Rezin and Aram, and of the son of Remaliah.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
and say unto him: Keep calm, and be quiet; fear not, neither let thy heart be faint, because of these two tails of smoking firebrands, for the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram, and of the son of Remaliah.

King James Version (1611)
And say vnto him; Take heede and be quiet: feare not, neither be faint hearted for the two tailes of these smoking firebrands, for the fierce anger of Rezin with Syria, and of the sonne of Remaliah.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And say vnto him: Take heede to thy selfe and be styll, feare not, neither be faynt hearted, for these two tayles, that is, for these two smoking firebrandes, the wrath and furiousnesse of Razin the Syrian, and Romelies sonne:

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And thou shalt say to him, Take care to be quiet, and fear not, neither let thy soul be disheartened because of these two smoking firebrands: for when my fierce anger is over, I will heal again.

English Revised Version
and say unto him, Take heed, and be quiet; fear not, neither let thine heart be faint, because of these two tails of smoking firebrands, for the fierce anger of Rezin and Syria, and of the son of Remaliah.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And thou schalt seie to hym, Se thou, that thou be stille; nyle thou drede, and thin herte be not aferd of twei tailis of these brondis smokynge in the wraththe of woodnesse, of Rasyn, kynge of Sirie, and of the sone of Romelye.

Update Bible Version
and say to him, Take heed, and be quiet; don't be afraid, neither let your heart be faint, because of these two tails of smoking firebrands, for the fierce anger of Rezin and Syria, and of the son of Remaliah.

Webster's Bible Translation
And say to him, Take heed, and be quiet; fear not, neither be faint-hearted for the two tails of these smoking fire-brands, for the fierce anger of Rezin with Syria, and of the son of Remaliah.

New English Translation
Tell him, ‘Make sure you stay calm! Don't be afraid! Don't be intimidated by these two stubs of smoking logs, or by the raging anger of Rezin, Syria, and the son of Remaliah.

New King James Version
and say to him: "Take heed, and be quiet; do not fear or be fainthearted for these two stubs of smoking firebrands, for the fierce anger of Rezin and Syria, and the son of Remaliah.

New Living Translation
Tell him to stop worrying. Tell him he doesn't need to fear the fierce anger of those two burned-out embers, King Rezin of Syria and Pekah son of Remaliah.

New Life Bible
Say to him, ‘Be careful and quiet. Do not be afraid or weak in your heart because of these two pieces of burnt and smoking wood. Do not be afraid of the burning anger of Rezin and Syria and the son of Remaliah.

New Revised Standard
and say to him, Take heed, be quiet, do not fear, and do not let your heart be faint because of these two smoldering stumps of firebrands, because of the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram and the son of Remaliah.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
and say unto him - Take heed and keep thyself calm - do not fear, neither let thy heart be faint, because of these two fag-ends of smoking firebrands, - in spite of the glow of the anger of Rezin and Syria and the son of Remaliah.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And thou shalt say to him: See thou be quiet: fear not, and let not thy heart be afraid of the two tails of these firebrands, smoking with the wrath of the fury of Rasin king of Syria, and of the son of Romelia.

Revised Standard Version
and say to him, 'Take heed, be quiet, do not fear, and do not let your heart be faint because of these two smoldering stumps of firebrands, at the fierce anger of Rezin and Syria and the son of Remali'ah.

Young's Literal Translation
and thou hast said unto him: `Take heed, and be quiet, fear not, And let not thy heart be timid, Because of these two tails of smoking brands, For the fierceness of the anger of Rezin and Aram, And the son of Remaliah.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
and say to him, 'Take care and be calm, have no fear and do not be fainthearted because of these two stubs of smoldering firebrands, on account of the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram and the son of Remaliah.

Contextual Overview

¹ Ahaz, the son of Jotham and the grandson of Uzziah, was king of Judah when King Rezin of Syria and King Pekah son of Remaliah of Israel went to attack Jerusalem. But they were not able to do what they had planned. ² When news reached the royal palace that Syria had joined forces with Israel, King Ahaz and everyone in Judah were so terrified that they shook like trees in a windstorm. ³ Then the Lord said to me: Take your son Shearjashub and go see King Ahaz. You will find him on the road near the cloth makers' shops at the end of the canal that brings water from the upper pool. ⁴ Tell Ahaz to stop worrying. There's no need for him to be afraid of King Rezin and King Pekah. They are very angry, but they are nothing more than a dying fire. Ahaz doesn't need to fear ⁵ their evil threats ⁶ to invade and defeat Judah and Jerusalem and to let the son of Tabeel be king in his place. ⁷ I, the Lord , promise that this will never happen. ⁸Damascus is just the capital of Syria, and King Rezin rules only in Damascus. Samaria is just the capital of Israel, and King Pekah rules only in Samaria. But in less than sixty-five years, Israel will be destroyed. And if Ahaz and his officials don't trust me, they will be defeated.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Take heed: Isaiah 30:7, Isaiah 30:15, Exodus 14:13, Exodus 14:14, 2 Chronicles 20:17, Lamentations 3:26

fear not: Isaiah 8:11-14, Isaiah 35:4, Isaiah 41:14, Isaiah 51:12, Isaiah 51:13, Matthew 10:28, Matthew 24:6

neither be fainthearted: Heb. let not they heart be tender, Deuteronomy 20:3, 1 Samuel 17:32

the two tails: Isaiah 7:8, Isaiah 8:4, 2 Kings 15:29, 2 Kings 15:30, Amos 4:11

Reciprocal: Leviticus 26:36 - I will send 2 Samuel 3:39 - weak 2 Kings 15:27 - Pekah 2 Kings 16:5 - but could not 2 Chronicles 28:6 - Pekah Isaiah 7:1 - but could Isaiah 8:12 - fear ye Isaiah 37:6 - Be not Amos 6:13 - Have

Cross-References

Genesis 2:5
no grass or plants were growing anywhere. God had not yet sent any rain, and there was no one to work the land.

Genesis 6:3
Then the Lord said, "I won't let my life-giving breath remain in anyone forever. No one will live for more than one hundred twenty years."

Genesis 6:7
and he said, "I'll destroy every living creature on earth! I'll wipe out people, animals, birds, and reptiles. I'm sorry I ever made them."

Genesis 6:13
So he told Noah: Cruelty and violence have spread everywhere. Now I'm going to destroy the whole earth and all its people.

Genesis 6:17
I'm going to send a flood that will destroy everything that breathes! Nothing will be left alive.

Genesis 7:10
Seven days later a flood began to cover the earth.

Genesis 7:11
Noah was six hundred years old when the water under the earth started gushing out everywhere. The sky opened like windows, and rain poured down for forty days and nights. All this began on the seventeenth day of the second month of the year.

Genesis 7:17
For forty days the rain poured down without stopping. And the water became deeper and deeper, until the boat started floating high above the ground.

Genesis 7:21
Not a bird, animal, reptile, or human was left alive anywhere on earth.

Genesis 8:10
Seven days later Noah sent the dove out again.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And say unto him, take heed, and be quiet,.... Or "keep" thyself, not within the city, and from fighting with his enemies, but from unbelief, fear, and dread; or, as the Septuagint version, "keep" thyself, "that thou mayest be quiet" a; be easy, still, and silent, and see the salvation of God: the Jewish writers interpret the first word of resting and settling, as wine upon the lees: see

Jeremiah 48:11:

fear not; this explains the former:

neither be fainthearted; or "let thy heart soft" b, and melt like wax, through dread and diffidence:

for the two tails of these smoking firebrands: meaning the two kings of Syria and Israel: and so the Targum,

"for these two kings, who are as smoking firebrands;''

a metaphor used to express the weakness of these princes, their vain wrath and impotent fury, and the short continuance of it; they being like to firebrands wholly burnt and consumed to the end; a small part remaining, which could not be laid hold upon to light fires or burn with, and that only smoking, and the smoke just ready to vanish.

For the fierce anger of Rezin with Syria, and of the son of Remaliah; this shows who are meant by the two firebrands, Rezin king of Syria, and Pekah king of Israel; and what by the smoke of them, their fierce anger; which, though it seemed to threaten with utter destruction, in the opinion of Ahaz and his court, was only like the smoke of a firebrand burnt to the end, weak and vanishing.

a השמר והשקט φυλαξαι, Sept.; "observa ut sis quieto animo", Vatablus. b אל ירך "ne mollescas", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Take heed - Hebrew ‘Keep thyself;’ that is, from fear.

Neither be fainthearted - Hebrew, ‘Let not thy heart be tender;’ that is, let it not be easily moved; be strong, fearless.

For the tails ... - There is much beauty and force in this comparison. The “design” of Isaiah is to diminish the fear of Ahaz. Instead, therefore, of calling them “firebrands” - burning and setting on fire everything in their way - he calls them the “tails, that is, the ends,” or remains of firebrand - almost consumed themselves, and harmless. And instead of saying that they were “burning and blazing,” he says that they were merely “smoking” - the half-burned, decaying remains of what might have been once formidable. The prophet also is just about to announce their approaching destruction by the Assyrians; see Isaiah 7:8. He, therefore, speaks of them as already almost extinguished, and incapable of doing extensive injury.

Son of Remaliah - Pekah, Isaiah 7:1. ‘It is by way of contempt that the king of Israel is not called by his own name. The Hebrews and Arabians, when they wish to speak reproachfully of anyone, omit his proper name and call him merely the son of this or that, especially when his father is but little known or respected. So Saul names David, in contempt, the son of Jesse; 1 Samuel 20:27, 1 Samuel 20:31.’ - “Hengstenberg.”

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Isaiah 7:4. The Syriac omits וארם vearam, "and Syria;" the Vulgate reads מלך ארם melech aram, "king of Syria:" one or the other seems to be the true reading. I prefer the former: or, instead of וארם ובן vearam uben, read ופקח בן vepekach ben, and pekah son, MS.