Isaiah 8
Damascus and Samaria Fall
1 Then the LORD said to me, "Take for yourself a large tablet and write on it in ordinary letters: Swift is the booty, speedy is the prey.2 And I will take to Myself faithful witnesses for testimony, Uriah the priest and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah."3 So I approached the prophetess, and she conceived and gave birth to a son. Then the LORD said to me, "Name him tMaher-shalal-hash-baz;4 for before the boy knows how to cry out 'My father' or 'My mother,' the wealth of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria will be carried away before the king of Assyria."
5 Again the LORD spoke to me further, saying,
6 "Inasmuch as these people have rejected the gently flowing waters of Shiloah
And rejoice in Rezin and the son of Remaliah;
7 "Now therefore, behold, the Lord is about to bring on them the strong and abundant waters of the Euphrates,
Even the king of Assyria and all his glory;
And it will rise up over all its channels and go over all its banks.
8 "Then it will sweep on into Judah, it will overflow and pass through,
It will reach even to the neck;
And the spread of its wings will fill the breadth of your land, O Immanuel.
A Believing Remnant
9 "Be broken, O peoples, and be shattered;
And give ear, all remote places of the earth.
Gird yourselves, yet be shattered;
Gird yourselves, yet be shattered.
10 "Devise a plan, but it will be thwarted;
State a proposal, but it will not stand,
For God is with us."
11 For thus the LORD spoke to me with mighty power and instructed me not to walk in the way of this people, saying,
12 "You are not to say, ' It is a conspiracy!'
In regard to all that this people call a conspiracy,
And you are not to fear what they fear or be in dread of it.
13 "It is the LORD of hosts whom you should regard as holy.
And He shall be your fear,
And He shall be your dread.
14 "Then He shall become a sanctuary;
But to both the houses of Israel, a stone to strike and a rock to stumble over,
And a snare and a trap for the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
15 "Many will stumble over them,
Then they will fall and be broken;
They will even be snared and caught."
16 Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples.17 And I will wait for the LORD who is hiding His face from the house of Jacob; I will even look eagerly for Him.18 Behold, I and the children whom the LORD has given me are for signs and wonders in Israel from the LORD of hosts, who dwells on Mount Zion.
19 When they say to you, "Consult the mediums and the spiritists who whisper and mutter," should not a people consult their God? Should they consult the dead on behalf of the living?20 To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because they have no dawn.21 They will pass through the land hard-pressed and famished, and it will turn out that when they are hungry, they will be enraged and curse their king and their God as they face upward.22 Then they will look to the earth, and behold, distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish; and they will be driven away into darkness.
Isaiah 8
1 And Jehovah said unto me, Take thee a great tablet, and write upon it with the pen of a man, For Maher-shalal-hash-baz;2 and I will take unto me faithful witnesses to record, Uriah the priest, and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah.3 And I went unto the prophetess; and she conceived, and bare a son. Then said Jehovah unto me, Call his name Maher-shalal-hash-baz.4 For before the child shall have knowledge to cry, My father, and, My mother, the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria shall be carried away before the king of Assyria.5 And Jehovah spake unto me yet again, saying,6 Forasmuch as this people have refused the waters of Shiloah that go softly, and rejoice in Rezin and Remaliah’s son;7 now therefore, behold, the Lord bringeth up upon them the waters of the River, strong and many, even the king of Assyria and all his glory: and it shall come up over all its channels, and go over all its banks;8 and it shall sweep onward into Judah; it shall overflow and pass through; it shall reach even to the neck; and the stretching out of its wings shall fill the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel.9 Make an uproar, O ye peoples, and be broken in pieces; and give ear, all ye of far countries: gird yourselves, and be broken in pieces; gird yourselves, and be broken in pieces.10 Take counsel together, and it shall be brought to nought; speak the word, and it shall not stand: for God is with us.11 For Jehovah spake thus to me with a strong hand, and instructed me not to walk in the way of this people, saying,12 Say ye not, A conspiracy, concerning all whereof this people shall say, A conspiracy; neither fear ye their fear, nor be in dread thereof.13 Jehovah of hosts, him shall ye sanctify; and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.14 And he shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.15 And many shall stumble thereon, and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken.16 Bind thou up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples.17 And I will wait for Jehovah, that hideth his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him.18 Behold, I and the children whom Jehovah hath given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from Jehovah of hosts, who dwelleth in mount Zion.19 And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits and unto the wizards, that chirp and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? on behalf of the living should they seek unto the dead?20 To the law and to the testimony! if they speak not according to this word, surely there is no morning for them.21 And they shall pass through it, sore distressed and hungry; and it shall come to pass that, when they shall be hungry, they shall fret themselves, and curse by their king and by their God, and turn their faces upward:22 and they shall look unto the earth, and behold, distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish; and into thick darkness they shall be driven away.