John Calvin Commentary Isaiah 7:5

"Because Syria, Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah, have purposed evil against thee, saying," — Isaiah 7:5 (ASV)

The king of Syria has taken evil counsel against you. Though he foretold that the threats would be empty, and the attempts of the enemies of God's people vain, yet he does not conceal that their devices are cruel if the Lord does not restrain them. By evil counsel he means destructive counsel, for these two kings had leagued together to destroy Judea. To express it more fully, and to place it, as it were, before their eyes, he relates their very words.