Isaiah 8

Chapter 8

The Coming Assyrian Invasion

1 Then the LORD said to me, “Make a large signboard and clearly write this name on it: Maher-shalal-hash-baz.t”

2 I asked Uriah the priest and Zechariah son of Jeberekiah, both known as honest men, to witness my doing this.
3 Then I slept with my wife, and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. And the LORD said, “Call him Maher-shalal-hash-baz.

4 For before this child is old enough to say ‘Papa’ or ‘Mama,’ the king of Assyria will carry away both the abundance of Damascus and the riches of Samaria.”
5 Then the LORD spoke to me again and said,6 “My care for the people of Judah is like the gently flowing waters of Shiloah, but they have rejected it. They are rejoicing over what will happen tot King Rezin and King Pekah.t7 Therefore, the Lord will overwhelm them with a mighty flood from the Euphrates Rivert—the king of Assyria and all his glory. This flood will overflow all its channels

8 and sweep into Judah until it is chin deep. It will spread its wings, submerging your land from one end to the other, O Immanuel.
9 “Huddle together, you nations, and be terrified.
Listen, all you distant lands.
Prepare for battle, but you will be crushed!
Yes, prepare for battle, but you will be crushed!10 Call your councils of war, but they will be worthless.
Develop your strategies, but they will not succeed.
For God is with us!t”

A Call to Trust the LORD

11 The LORD has given me a strong warning not to think like everyone else does. He said,
12 “Don’t call everything a conspiracy, like they do,
and don’t live in dread of what frightens them.13 Make the LORD of Heaven’s Armies holy in your life.
He is the one you should fear.
He is the one who should make you tremble.14 He will keep you safe.
But to Israel and Judah
he will be a stone that makes people stumble,
a rock that makes them fall.
And for the people of Jerusalem
he will be a trap and a snare.15 Many will stumble and fall,
never to rise again.
They will be snared and captured.”16 Preserve the teaching of God;
entrust his instructions to those who follow me.17 I will wait for the LORD,
who has turned away from the descendants of Jacob.
I will put my hope in him.

18 I and the children the LORD has given me serve as signs and warnings to Israel from the LORD of Heaven’s Armies who dwells in his Temple on Mount Zion.

19 Someone may say to you, “Let’s ask the mediums and those who consult the spirits of the dead. With their whisperings and mutterings, they will tell us what to do.” But shouldn’t people ask God for guidance? Should the living seek guidance from the dead?
20 Look to God’s instructions and teachings! People who contradict his word are completely in the dark.21 They will go from one place to another, weary and hungry. And because they are hungry, they will rage and curse their king and their God. They will look up to heaven

22 and down at the earth, but wherever they look, there will be trouble and anguish and dark despair. They will be thrown out into the darkness.

ISAIAH 8

A Warning and a Hope

1 The [Lord] said, “Isaiah, get something to write on. Then write in big clear letterst the name, MAHER-SHALAL-HASH-BAZ.t

2 I will tell Uriah the priest and Zechariah son of Jeberechiah to serve as witnesses to this.”
3 Sometime later, my wife and I had a son, and the [Lord] said, “Name him Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz.

4 Because before he can say ‘Mommy’ or ‘Daddy,’ the king of Assyria will attack and take everything of value from Damascus and Samaria.”

5 The [Lord] spoke to me again and said:
6 These people have refused the gentle waters of Shiloaht and have gladly gone over to the side of King Rezin and King Pekah. 7 Now I will send the king of Assyria against them with his powerful army, which will attack like the mighty Euphrates River overflowing its banks.

8 Enemy soldiers will cover Judah like a flood reaching up to your neck.
But God is with us.t
He will spread his wings
and protect our land.t

9 All of you foreign nations,
go ahead and prepare for war,
but you will be crushed.

10 Get together and make plans,
but you will fail
because God is with us.

11 The [Lord] took hold of me with his powerful hand and said:
I'm warning you! Don't act like these people. 12 t Don't call something a rebellious plot, just because they do, and don't be afraid of something, just because they are. 13 I am the one you should fear and respect. I am the holy God, the [Lord] All-Powerful!

14-15 t Run to me for protection. I am a rock that will make both Judah and Israel stumble and break their bones. I am a trap that will catch the people of Jerusalem—they will be captured and dragged away.

Isaiah and His Followers

18 t My children and I are warning signs to Israel from the [Lord] All-Powerful, who lives on Mount Zion.
19 Someone may say to you, “Go to the fortunetellers who make soft chirping sounds or ask the spirits of the dead. After all, a nation ought to be able to ask its own gods

20 what it should do.”
None of those who talk like that will live to see the light of day! 21 They will go around in great pain and will become so hungry that they will angrily curse their king and their gods. And when they try to find help in heaven 22 and on earth, they will find only trouble and darkness, terrible trouble and deepest darkness.