I have noticed that some Bible translations change the word "virgin" in Isaiah 7:14 to "young woman." This has been confusing to me. Isn't the word supposed to be "virgin?"

Yes, you are right. Unfortunately some Bible expositors and translators have effectively minimized the truth of this beautiful prophecy by translating the Hebrew word almah as "young woman." The verse from the King James Version reads as follows: "Therefore the Lord Himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call His name Immanuel."

Although the Hebrew word almah is translated "damsel" once, "maid" twice, and "virgin" four times in the Old Testament, there is no instance where it can be proved that almah designates a young woman who is not a virgin. In the verse which you have mentioned, the context of the verses preceding and following make it very clear that the only right translation of almah here is the word "virgin." The verse preceding verse 14 states that this prophecy is given as a sign to the house of David. A sign had to be miraculous, otherwise it would not be distinguished from ordinary events taking place all the time. It certainly would not be miraculous if a woman who was not a virgin were to bear a son. But the miracle was that a virgin was to bear a son and His name was to be called Immanuel—"God with us." The fulfillment of this prophecy took place hundreds of years later in Bethlehem.

The inspired records in Matthew and Luke confirm the translation of the word almah as "virgin." Joseph is told by the angel not to be afraid to take Mary as his wife because "that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call His Name Jesus: for He shall save His people from their sins" (Matthew 1:20,21). Then we are told that this event is the fulfillment of Isaiah 7:14. Luke 1:26-35 also plainly reveals the same truth.

Without the virgin birth we could not have had a Saviour. As William Kelly has said so well:

"Had Joseph been the real father, there could have been no Saviour at all. As it is, the wonder of divine wisdom shines most conspicuously, making Him legally the son of Joseph, really the son of Mary, who in the truth of His nature is the Son of God. And all three met and merged in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. He must be the undisputed heir of Joseph according to the law, and Joseph was espoused to Mary. The child must be born before Joseph ever lived with Mary as his wife, and this we are carefully shown here….He was the Son of God, who had actually taken human nature into His own person, who was perfectly and really a man as much as any of us; but a man without sin, holy, and not merely innocent. Adam was innocent: Jesus was holy. Holiness does not mean mere absence of evil, but inward power according to God, and so power to withstand evil."

Note: Three translations which render almah as "young woman" are the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV), Revised English Bible (REB), and the Today's English Version (TEV).