Lectionary Calendar
Tuesday, July 15th, 2025
the Week of Proper 10 / Ordinary 15
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Read the Bible

New Century Version

Isaiah 7:9

Israel is led by the city of Samaria, and Samaria is led by its weak king, the son of Remaliah. If your faith is not strong, you will not have strength enough to last.'"

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Armies;   Ephraim;   Isaiah;   Pekah;   Rezin;   Samaria;   Syria;   Unbelief;   Scofield Reference Index - Christ;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Ephraim, Tribe of;   Protection;   Samaria, Ancient;   Unbelief;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Ahaz;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Assyria;   Ephraim;   Syria;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Faith;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Remaliah;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Jehoshaphat;   Pekah;   Remaliah;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Faith;   Isaiah;   Rhetoric;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Alliance;   Aram, Aramaeans;   Damascus;   Faith;   Immanuel;   Isaiah;   Isaiah, Book of;   Rezin;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Faith ;   Immanuel ;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Damascus;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Immanuel;   Pekah;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Remali'ah;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Kingdom of Judah;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Ahaz;   Faithful;   God;   Immanuel;   Isaiah;   Prophecy;   Kitto Biblical Cyclopedia - Assyria;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Damascus;   Faith;   Pekah;   Samaria;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
the chief city of Ephraim is Samaria,and the chief of Samaria is the son of Remaliah.If you do not stand firm in your faith,then you will not stand at all.
Hebrew Names Version
and the head of Efrayim is Shomron, and the head of Shomron is Remalyahu's son. If you will not believe, surely you shall not be established.'"
King James Version
And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is Remaliah's son. If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established.
English Standard Version
And 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.'"
New American Standard Bible
and the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is the son of Remaliah. If you will not believe, you certainly shall not last."'"
Amplified Bible
"And the head (capital) of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is Remaliah's son [King Pekah]. If you will not believe [and trust in God and His message], be assured that you will not be established."'"
World English Bible
and the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is Remaliah's son. If you will not believe, surely you shall not be established.'"
Geneva Bible (1587)
And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is Remaliahs sonne. If ye beleeue not, surely ye shall not be established.
Legacy Standard Bible
and the head of Ephraim is Samaria and the head of Samaria is the son of Remaliah. If you do not establish your faith in Yahweh, you surely shall not be established."'"
Berean Standard Bible
The head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is the son of Remaliah. If you do not stand firm in your faith, then you will not stand at all."
Complete Jewish Bible
The head of Efrayim is Shomron, and the head of Shomron is the son of Remalyah. Without firm faith, you will not be firmly established."'"
Darby Translation
and the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is Remaliah's son. If ye believe not, surely ye shall not be established.
Easy-to-Read Version
Ephraim depends on its capital Samaria, and Samaria is led by Remaliah's son. So you have no reason to fear. Believe this, or you will not survive."
George Lamsa Translation
And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is Romaliahs son. If you do not believe, surely you shall not understand.
Good News Translation
Israel is no stronger than Samaria, its capital city, and Samaria is no stronger than King Pekah. "If your faith is not enduring, you will not endure."
Lexham English Bible
And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is the son of Remaliah. If you do not believe then you will not endure."'"
Literal Translation
And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is Remaliah's son. If you will not be firm, surely you will not be established.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And the chefe citie of Ephraim is Samaria, but the head of Samaria is Romelies sonne. And yf ye beleue not, there shall no promyse be kepte with you.
American Standard Version
and the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is Remaliah's son. If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established.
Bible in Basic English
And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is Remaliah's son. If you will not have faith, your kingdom will be broken.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is Remaliah's son. If ye will not have faith, surely ye shall not be established.'
King James Version (1611)
And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is Remaliahs sonne: if yee will not beleeue, surely yee shall not be established.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, but the head of Samaria is Romelies sonne: if ye beleue not, surely ye shall not be established.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And the head of Ephraim is Somoron, and the head of Somoron the son of Romelias: but if ye believe not, neither will ye at all understand.
English Revised Version
and the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is Remaliah's son. If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
and Samarie shal faile to be the heed of Effraym, and the sone of Romelie `schal faile to be heed of Samarie. Forsothe if ye schulen not bileue, ye schulen not dwelle.
Update Bible Version
and the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is Remaliah's son. If you will not believe, surely you shall not be established.
Webster's Bible Translation
And the head of Ephraim [is] Samaria, and the head of Samaria [is] Remaliah's son. If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established.
New English Translation
Ephraim's leader is Samaria, and Samaria's leader is the son of Remaliah. If your faith does not remain firm, then you will not remain secure."
New King James Version
The head of Ephraim is Samaria, And the head of Samaria is Remaliah's son. If you will not believe, Surely you shall not be established.""'
New Living Translation
Israel is no stronger than its capital, Samaria, and Samaria is no stronger than its king, Pekah son of Remaliah. Unless your faith is firm, I cannot make you stand firm."
New Life Bible
The head of Ephraim is Samaria. And the head of Samaria is the son of Remaliah. If you will not believe, for sure you will not last."'"
New Revised Standard
The head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is the son of Remaliah. If you do not stand firm in faith, you shall not stand at all.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Even though the head of Ephraim is Samaria, And, the head of Samaria, is the son of Remaliah. If ye trust not, Surely, ye cannot be trusted!
Douay-Rheims Bible
And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is the son of Romelia. If you will not believe, you shall not continue.
Revised Standard Version
And the head of E'phraim is Sama'ria, and the head of Sama'ria is the son of Remali'ah. If you will not believe, surely you shall not be established.'"
Young's Literal Translation
And the head of Ephraim [is] Samaria, And the head of Samaria [is] the son of Remaliah. If ye do not give credence, Surely ye are not stedfast.'
New American Standard Bible (1995)
and the head of Ephraim is Samaria and the head of Samaria is the son of Remaliah. If you will not believe, you surely shall not last."'"

Contextual Overview

1 Now Ahaz was the son of Jotham, who was the son of Uzziah. When Ahaz was king of Judah, Rezin king of Aram and Pekah son of Remaliah, the king of Israel, went up to Jerusalem to fight against it. But they were not able to defeat the city. 2 Ahaz king of Judah received a message saying, "The armies of Aram and Israel have joined together." When Ahaz heard this, he and the people were frightened. They shook with fear like trees of the forest blown by the wind. 3 Then the Lord told Isaiah, "You and your son Shear-Jashub should go and meet Ahaz at the place where the water flows into the upper pool, on the road where people do their laundry. 4 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. 5 They have made plans against you, saying, 6 "Let's fight against Judah and tear it apart. We will divide the land for ourselves and make the son of Tabeel the new king of Judah." 7 But I, the Lord God , say, "‘Their plan will not succeed; it will not happen, 8 because Aram is led by the city of Damascus, and Damascus is led by its weak king, Rezin. Within sixty-five years Israel will no longer be a nation. 9 Israel is led by the city of Samaria, and Samaria is led by its weak king, the son of Remaliah. If your faith is not strong, you will not have strength enough to last.'"

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

the head: 1 Kings 16:24-29, 2 Kings 15:27

If ye: etc. or, ye not believe, it is because ye are not stable, 2 Chronicles 20:20, Acts 27:11, Acts 27:25, Romans 11:20, Hebrews 11:6, 1 John 5:10

Reciprocal: Exodus 4:5 - That they Exodus 16:28 - General Exodus 19:9 - believe Numbers 20:12 - Because ye believed Deuteronomy 1:32 - General Deuteronomy 32:20 - children 1 Kings 12:26 - Now shall 2 Kings 7:2 - thou shalt see it 2 Kings 7:20 - General 2 Chronicles 28:6 - Pekah Psalms 78:22 - General Isaiah 7:8 - For the head Isaiah 9:9 - even Ephraim Isaiah 28:1 - whose Jeremiah 43:2 - Thou speakest Hosea 5:3 - Ephraim Hosea 13:16 - Samaria Mark 11:22 - Have Luke 1:20 - because Acts 16:5 - so Romans 4:20 - staggered

Cross-References

Genesis 2:19
From the ground God formed every wild animal and every bird in the sky, and he brought them to the man so the man could name them. Whatever the man called each living thing, that became its name.
Genesis 7:6
Noah was six hundred years old when the flood came.
Genesis 7:9
came to Noah. They went into the boat in groups of two, male and female, just as God had commanded Noah.
Genesis 7:11
When Noah was six hundred years old, the flood started. On the seventeenth day of the second month of that year the underground springs split open, and the clouds in the sky poured out rain.
Genesis 7:12
The rain fell on the earth for forty days and forty nights.
Genesis 7:16
One male and one female of every living thing came, just as God had commanded Noah. Then the Lord closed the door behind them.
Isaiah 65:25
Wolves and lambs will eat together in peace. Lions will eat hay like oxen, and a snake on the ground will not hurt anyone. They will not hurt or destroy each other on all my holy mountain," says the Lord .
Jeremiah 8:7
Even the birds in the sky know the right times to do things. The storks, doves, swifts, and thrushes know when it is time to migrate. But my people don't know what the Lord wants them to do.
Galatians 3:28
In Christ, there is no difference between Jew and Greek, slave and free person, male and female. You are all the same in Christ Jesus.
Colossians 3:11
In the new life there is no difference between Greeks and Jews, those who are circumcised and those who are not circumcised, or people who are foreigners, or Scythians. There is no difference between slaves and free people. But Christ is in all believers, and Christ is all that is important.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And the head of Ephraim [is] Samaria,..... Samaria was the metropolis or chief city of Ephraim, or the ten tribes of Israel:

and the head of Samaria [is] Remaliah's son; Pekah, son of Remaliah, was king of Samaria, as of all Israel. The sense is, that, until the sixty five years were ended, there should be no enlargement of the kingdom of Israel; Judah should not be added to it; Samaria should continue, and not Jerusalem be the metropolis of it; and Pekah, during his life, should be king of Israel, but not of Judah.

If ye will not believe; the Targum adds,

"the words of the prophet;''

surely ye shall not be established, or remain g; that is, in their own land, but should be carried captive, as they were after a time; or it is, "because ye are not true and firm"; in the faith of God, as Kimchi interprets it; or, "because ye are not confirmed" h; that is, by a sign; wherefore it follows:

g כי לא תאמנו "non permanebitis", V. L. Cocceius. h "Quod non confirmamini", Junius & Tremellius.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

And the head of Ephraim - The capital city of Ephraim, or of Israel.

Is Samaria - This was long the capital of the kingdom of Israel. For a description of this city, see the notes at Isaiah 28:1. The meaning of the prophet is, that Samaria should continue to be the head of Ephraim; that is, Jerusalem should not be made its capital.

If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established - There is considerable variety in the interpretation of these words, though the general sense is evident. The Chaldee renders them, ‘If ye will not believe the words of the prophet, ye shall not remain.’ It is probable that Ahaz, who was greatly alarmed, and who trembled at the formidable power of Syria and Israel united, received the annunciation of the prophet with much distrust. He was anxious about the means of defense, but did not trust in the promise of God by the prophet. Isaiah, therefore, assures him, that if he did not believe him; if he did not put confidence in God, and his promises, he should not be protected from Syria and Ephraim. They would come and destroy his kingdom. ‘You have no occasion,’ is the language of the prophet, ‘to fear. God has resolved to protect you, and no portion of your land shall be taken by your enemies. Nevertheless, in order that you may obtain deliverance, you must believe his promise, and put your confidence in him, and not in the aid of the Assyrians. If you do this, your mind shall be calm, peaceful, and happy. But if you do “not” do this; if you rely on the aid of Assyria, you shall be troubled, alarmed, unsuccessful, and bring ruin upon yourself and nation.’ This, therefore, is an exhortation to confide solely in the promises of God, and is one of the instances constantly occurring in the Old Testament and the New, showing, that by faith or confidence in God only, can the mind he preserved calm when in the midst of dangers.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Isaiah 7:9. Isaiah 7:8.


 
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