Charles Ellicott Commentary Isaiah 7:16

"For before the child shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the good, the land whose two kings thou abhorrest shall be forsaken." — Isaiah 7:16 (ASV)

For before the child shall know ... —The words imply the age of approaching manhood, and predict the downfall of Pekah and Rezin, just as the longer period of Isaiah 7:8 predicted the entire downfall and annihilation of one of the two kingdoms they represented. The words “good and evil” are better understood as moral choice (Genesis 3:5; Deuteronomy 1:39) rather than (according to some critics, who appeal to 2 Samuel 19:35) as the child’s discernment of food as pleasant or the reverse. (1 Kings 3:9.)

The land that thou abhorrest. —The words imply the “horror” of fear as well as of dislike. The prediction was fulfilled in the siege of Samaria by Shalmaneser, and its capture by Sargon (1 Kings 16:9; 1 Kings 17:6), a fulfilment all the more remarkable because it was preceded by what seemed an almost decisive victory over Judah (2 Chronicles 28:5–15), of which the prophet makes no mention.