Revised Standard Version
Isaiah 7
1: In the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, son of Uzzi'ah, king of Judah, Rezin the king of Syria and Pekah the son of Remali'ah the king of Israel came up to Jerusalem to wage war against it, but they could not conquer it.
2: When the house of David (king Ahaz) was told, "Syria is in league with E'phraim," his heart and the heart of his people shook as the trees of the forest shake before the wind. (Ahaz and the people of Judah were terrified of the defeat they expected from the united efforts of Syria and the northern Kingdom, Israel)
3: And the LORD said to Isaiah, "Go forth to meet Ahaz, (Isaiah sent to talk to Ahaz) you and She'ar-jash'ub (lit. "a remnant shall return") your son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool on the highway to the Fuller's Field,
4: and say to him, `Take heed, be quiet, do not fear, (Isaiah sent to calm the fears of the king of Judah) 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.
5: Because Syria, with E'phraim and the son of Remali'ah, has devised evil against you, saying,
6: "Let us go up against Judah and terrify it, and let us conquer it for ourselves, and set up the son of Ta'be-el as king in the midst of it,"
7: thus says the Lord GOD: It shall not stand, and it shall not come to pass. (the defeat of Judah by Rezin of Syria and Pekah of the northern Kingdom of Israel)
8: For the head of Syria is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin. (Within sixty-five years E'phraim will be broken to pieces so that it will no longer be a people.) (NOTE! a clear timeframe was given from THAT time)
9: 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.'"
10: Again the LORD spoke to Ahaz,
11: "Ask a sign of the LORD your God; (Ahaz is asked to ask for a sign) let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven."
12: But Ahaz said, "I will not ask, and I will not put the LORD to the test."
13: And he said, "Hear then, O house of David! (Ahaz is of the house of David) Is it too little for you to weary men, that you weary my God also?
14: Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, a young woman shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Imman'u-el. (the birth - or the name - was to be a sign to Ahaz. This couldn't possibly be the birth of Messiah, since it was hundreds of years later, long after Ahaz had died! A "sign" to a dead man is useless.)
15: He shall eat curds and honey when he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good.
16: For before the child knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land before whose two kings you are in dread will be deserted. (those united against Judah)
17: The LORD will bring upon you and upon your people and upon your father's house such days as have not come since the day that E'phraim departed from Judah -- the king of Assyria." (Judah would be chastised severely through Assyria because of the wicked rule of Ahaz and other kings that forsook G-d's Torah; however, Assyria would not be the end for Judah.)
18: In that day the LORD will whistle for the fly which is at the sources of the streams of Egypt, and for the bee which is in the land of Assyria.
19: And they will all come and settle in the steep ravines, and in the clefts of the rocks, and on all the thornbushes, and on all the pastures.
20: In that day the Lord will shave with a razor which is hired beyond the River -- with the king of Assyria -- the head and the hair of the feet, and it will sweep away the beard also.
21: In that day a man will keep alive a young cow and two sheep;
22: and because of the abundance of milk which they give, he will eat curds; for every one that is left in the land will eat curds and honey.
23: In that day every place where there used to be a thousand vines, worth a thousand shekels of silver, will become briers and thorns.
24: With bow and arrows men will come there, for all the land will be briers and thorns;
25: and as for all the hills which used to be hoed with a hoe, you will not come there for fear of briers and thorns; but they will become a place where cattle are let loose and where sheep tread.
Isaiah 8
1: Then the LORD said to me, "Take a large tablet and write upon it in common characters, `Belonging to Ma'her-shal'al-hash-baz.'"
2: And I got reliable witnesses, Uri'ah the priest and Zechari'ah the son of Jeberechi'ah, to attest for me.
3: And I went to the prophetess, and she conceived and bore a son. Then the LORD said to me, "Call his name Ma'her-shal'al-hash-baz; (THIS IS THE FULFILLMENT OF 7:14!)
4: for before the child knows how to cry `My father' or `My mother,' the wealth of Damascus and the spoil of Sama'ria will be carried away before the king of Assyria." (repeat of 7:16, further proving this birth to be the fulfillment of Is. 7:14!)
5: The LORD spoke to me again:
6: "Because this people have refused the waters of Shilo'ah that flow gently, and melt in fear before Rezin and the son of Remali'ah;
7: therefore, behold, the Lord is bringing up against them the waters of the River, mighty and many, the king of Assyria and all his glory; and it will rise over all its channels and go over all its banks;
8: and it will sweep on into Judah, it will overflow and pass on, reaching even to the neck; and its outspread wings will fill the breadth of your land, O Imman'u-el." (The use of this term (Immanuel) in 7:14 was part of the sign which was "G-d with us" during the time to soon come when Judah feels threatened from Assyria. Here the name is applied to Judah to insure that divine protection will be extended to it, which of course, it was at that time.)
There are several unambiguous facts seen in the context of these verses.
First, Isaiah is talking to King Ahaz of Judah and tells HIM (Ahaz) that the sign of a birth will be for HIM. This fact alone makes application of Isaiah 7:14 to the birth of J*sus impossible, since Ahaz was long dead by the time J*sus was born; thus proving it is not a Messianic prophesy.
The ENTIRE context of these verses refer to the specific issue of the prophecy regarding what will happen to those that were plotting to destroy Judah, of which Ahaz was King. Even the term Immanuel, "g-d with us", was to assure Judah, as shown in 8:8, that G-d would be "with them" during the time of trial that was to come when Syria and Israel strove against Judah and Assyria invaded. Only a few verses after Isaiah 7:14, in verse 8:3, we probably see the birth he was speaking of in Is. 7:14. It was a birth of a son to Isaiah and his young wife.
Thus, the context is clear that the (young woman) was probably Isaiah's wife, the "prophetess", mentioned in Is. 8:3. This is crystal clear when bias is removed and the Scripture is actually allowed to speak for itself. Some Judaic commentators believe it applies to Hezekiah, the son of Ahaz, who proved to be one of Judah's greatest Kings; however, the context seems to more correctly point to Isaiah's son as the fulfillment.
Either way, the newborn child being prophesied was for THAT PARTICULAR TIMEFRAME as a sign to Ahaz. The prophecy was NOT for a timeframe 700 years after Ahaz was dead (J*sus was born about 700 years after this prophecy)!
Mahershalalhashbaz from the Hebrew
4122 Maher Shalal Chash Baz mah-hare' shaw-lawl' khawsh baz
= Maher-shalal-hash-baz "swift is booty, speedy is prey"
1) symbolic name given by Isaiah by the Lord's direction to Isaiah's son; prophetic indication that Damascus and Samaria were soon to be plundered by the king of Assyria
Additionally, Isaiah 7:16 and 8:4 are almost identical, proving them to reference the same event, which was that while the newborn son of Isaiah was yet young, the prophecy would be accomplished, which was that G-d would eliminate the threat posed to Ahaz by the combined efforts of Ephraim and Damascus. This provides further evidence that the birth foretold as a sign TO AHAZ was fulfilled by the birth of Isaiah's newborn son with the prophetess (Isaiah's wife) as the mother.
The common sense context is clear. The ONLY way Isaiah 7:14 can be a Messianic verse referring to J*sus is to completely rip it free of the clear context in which it resides. The ONLY evidence that this is a Messianic prophecy is the evidence supplied by Constantinian Christian tradition and probable scribal manipulation of the Gospels.