Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good.
Isaiah
The Book of Isaiah is one of the most expansive and theologically rich books in Scripture, combining warnings of judgment with some of the Bible’s most profound promises of hope and redemption. Written by Isaiah, the book spans decades of prophetic ministry and addresses both immediate historical crises and God’s long-range redemptive plan.
Isaiah speaks primarily to Judah and Jerusalem during times of political instability, moral decline, and looming foreign threat. From the opening chapters, the prophet confronts sin directly—exposing rebellion, injustice, hypocrisy, and empty religious observance. God’s people continue ritual worship, yet their hearts are far from Him. Isaiah makes clear that holiness and justice are inseparable in true devotion to the LORD.
A defining theme of Isaiah is the holiness of God. In his famous vision of the LORD seated on a high and exalted throne, Isaiah is overwhelmed by God’s purity and majesty. This encounter shapes the entire book: God is utterly holy, humanity is deeply flawed, and only divine grace can bridge the gap.
Isaiah also addresses international affairs, declaring that God is sovereign not only over Israel but over all nations. Assyria, Babylon, and other world powers rise and fall according to God’s purpose. Political strength, alliances, and military power are shown to be unreliable when separated from trust in God.
At the heart of Isaiah is the promise of a coming Deliverer. The book contains some of Scripture’s clearest messianic prophecies—foretelling a child born to rule with righteousness, a servant who suffers for the sins of others, and a king whose reign brings peace and justice. These passages reveal that God’s ultimate answer to sin and exile is not merely restoration, but redemption.
The latter portion of Isaiah shifts toward comfort and hope. God promises forgiveness, renewal, and a future beyond judgment. Themes of restoration, return from exile, and new creation emerge, culminating in a vision of renewed heavens and a renewed earth. Suffering gives way to joy, and mourning to lasting peace.
The Book of Isaiah weaves together judgment and mercy, warning and promise, history and eternity. It reveals a God who is both just and compassionate—one who confronts sin honestly while offering salvation freely. Isaiah calls readers to trust the LORD, walk in righteousness, and place hope not in nations or power, but in God’s faithful promises.
Isaiah 7:16
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.
Isaiah 7:17
The LORD shall bring upon thee, and upon thy people, and upon thy father’s house, days that have not come, from the day that Ephraim departed from Judah; even the king of Assyria.
Isaiah 7:18
And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall hiss for the fly that is in the uttermost part of the rivers of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria.
Isaiah 7:19
And they shall come, and shall rest all of them in the desolate valleys, and in the holes of the rocks, and upon all thorns, and upon all bushes.
Isaiah 7:2
And it was told the house of David, saying, Syria is confederate with Ephraim. And his heart was moved, and the heart of his people, as the trees of the wood are moved with the wind.
Isaiah 7:20
In the same day shall the Lord shave with a rasor that is hired, namely, by them beyond the river, by the king of Assyria, the head, and the hair of the feet: and it shall also consume the beard.
Isaiah 7:21
And it shall come to pass in that day, that a man shall nourish a young cow, and two sheep;
Isaiah 7:22
And it shall come to pass, for the abundance of milk that they shall give he shall eat butter: for butter and honey shall every one eat that is left in the land.
Isaiah 7:23
And it shall come to pass in that day, that every place shall be, where there were a thousand vines at a thousand silverlings, it shall even be for briers and thorns.
Isaiah 7:24
With arrows and with bows shall men come thither; because all the land shall become briers and thorns.
Isaiah 7:25
And on all hills that shall be digged with the mattock, there shall not come thither the fear of briers and thorns: but it shall be for the sending forth of oxen, and for the treading of lesser cattle.
Isaiah 7:3
Then said the LORD unto Isaiah, Go forth now to meet Ahaz, thou, and Shearjashub thy son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool in the highway of the fuller’s field;
Isaiah 7:4
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.
Isaiah 7:5
Because Syria, Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah, have taken evil counsel against thee, saying,
Isaiah 7:6
Let us go up against Judah, and vex it, and let us make a breach therein for us, and set a king in the midst of it, even the son of Tabeal:
Isaiah 7:7
Thus saith the Lord GOD, It shall not stand, neither shall it come to pass.
Isaiah 7:8
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.
Isaiah 7:9
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.
Isaiah 8:1
Moreover the LORD said unto me, Take thee a great roll, and write in it with a man’s pen concerning Mahershalalhashbaz.
Isaiah 8:10
Take counsel together, and it shall come to nought; speak the word, and it shall not stand: for God is with us.
Isaiah 8:11
For the LORD spake thus to me with a strong hand, and instructed me that I should not walk in the way of this people, saying,
Isaiah 8:12
Say ye not, A confederacy, to all them to whom this people shall say, A confederacy; neither fear ye their fear, nor be afraid.
Isaiah 8:13
Sanctify the LORD of hosts himself; and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.
Isaiah 8:14
And he shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
Isaiah 8:15
And many among them shall stumble, and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken.
Isaiah 8:16
Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples.
Isaiah 8:17
And I will wait upon the LORD, that hideth his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him.
Isaiah 8:18
Behold, I and the children whom the LORD hath given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the LORD of hosts, which dwelleth in mount Zion.
Isaiah 8:19
And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead?