The people of Judah rejected "the gently flowing waters of Shiloah" at Jerusalem, waters which signify the tender blessings of the divine provision (8:6a). Furthermore, the people exulted in Rezin and the son of Remaliah (v. 6b). Therefore, the Lord said that He would bring upon them "the mighty and abundant waters of the Euphrates" (signifying the strong and great army), the king of Assyria and all his glory (v. 7). It would overflow all its channels and go over all its banks. It would sweep through Judah, overflowing and rising until it reached the neck, and the spreading out of its wings would fill the breadth of the land of Immanuel (v. 8). Here we have the fifth party—Immanuel.
Jehovah would whistle for the flies (signifying the soldiers) which are at the ends of the rivers of Egypt and for the bees (signifying the soldiers) which are in the land of Assyria, and they would all come and settle in different places of the land of Judah (7:18-19).
In that day the Lord would shave with a razor hired from beyond the Euphrates, that is, with the king of Assyria, the head and the hair of the legs, and the beard as well (7:20). The hair on the head signifies glory, and the hair on other parts of the body signifies strength. Thus, the glory and strength of Judah would be removed through the "razor" of the king of Assyria.
In that day everyone left behind in the land would eat curds and honey, because the vineyard, all the land, and all the hills would grow thorns and thistles and would be good for the cattle to roam in and for the sheep to trample, but not good for the harvest to grow in for producing grain as people's food (7:21-25). This indicates that the land of Judah would be devastated and destroyed.