Isaiah 8

1 Then the LORD said to me, “Take a large scroll and write on it with an ordinary stylus: Maher-shalal-hash-baz.

And the Lord said to me, Take a great writing-board, and on it put down in common letters, Maher-shalal-hash-baz;

2 And I will appoint for Myself trustworthy witnesses—Uriah the priest and Zechariah son of Jeberekiah.”

And take true witnesses to the writing, Uriah the priest, and Zechariah, the son of Jeberechiah.

3 And I had relations with the prophetess, and she conceived and gave birth to a son. The LORD said to me, “Name him Maher-shalal-hash-baz.

And I went in to my wife, and she became with child, and gave birth to a son. Then the Lord said to me, Give him the name Maher-shalal-hash-baz,

4 For before the boy knows how to cry ‘Father’ or ‘Mother,’ the wealth of Damascus and the plunder of Samaria will be carried off by the king of Assyria.”

For before the child is able to say, Father, or, Mother, the wealth of Damascus and the goods of Samaria will be taken away by the king of Assyria.

5 And the LORD spoke to me further:

And the Lord said again to me,

6 “Because this people has rejected the gently flowing waters of Shiloah and rejoiced in Rezin and the son of Remaliah,

Because this people will have nothing to do with the softly-flowing waters of Shiloah, and have fear of Rezin and Remaliah's son;

7 the Lord will surely bring against them the mighty floodwaters of the Euphrates — the king of Assyria and all his pomp. It will overflow its channels and overrun its banks.

For this cause the Lord is sending on them the waters of the River, deep and strong, even the king of Assyria and all his glory: and it will come up through all its streams, overflowing all its edges:

8 It will pour into Judah, swirling and sweeping over it, reaching up to the neck; its spreading streams will cover your entire land, O Immanuel!

And it will come on into Judah; rushing on and overflowing, till the waters are up to the neck; and his outstretched wings will be covering the land from side to side: for God is with us.

9 Huddle together, O peoples, and be shattered; pay attention, all you distant lands; prepare for battle, and be shattered; prepare for battle, and be shattered!

Have knowledge, O peoples, and be in fear; give ear, all you far-off parts of the earth:

10 Devise a plan, but it will be thwarted; state a proposal, but it will not happen. For God is with us.”

Let your designs be formed, and they will come to nothing; give your orders, and they will not be effected: for God is with us.

11 For this is what the LORD has spoken to me with a strong hand, instructing me not to walk in the way of this people:

For the Lord, controlling me with a strong hand, gave me orders not to go in the way of this people, saying,

12 “Do not call conspiracy everything these people regard as conspiracy. Do not fear what they fear; do not live in dread.

Do not say, It is holy, about everything of which this people says, It is holy; and do not be in fear of what they go in fear of.

13 The LORD of Hosts is the One you shall regard as holy. Only He should be feared; only He should be dreaded.

But let the Lord of armies be holy to you, and go in fear of him, giving honour to him.

14 And He will be a sanctuary— but to both houses of Israel a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense, to the dwellers of Jerusalem a trap and a snare.

And he will be for a holy place: but for a stone of falling and a rock of trouble to the two houses of Israel, and to the men of Jerusalem, for a net in which they may be taken.

15 Many will stumble over these; they will fall and be broken; they will be ensnared and captured.”

And numbers of them, falling on the stone, will be broken, and will be taken in the net.

16 Bind up the testimony and seal the law among my disciples.

Let my teaching be kept secret: and my words be given to my disciples only.

17 I will wait for the LORD, who is hiding His face from the house of Jacob. I will put my trust in Him.

And I will be waiting for the Lord, whose face is veiled from the house of Jacob, and I will be looking for him.

18 Here am I, and the children the LORD has given me as signs and symbols in Israel from the LORD of Hosts, who dwells on Mount Zion.

See, I and the children whom the Lord has given me, are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the Lord of armies, whose resting-place is in Mount Zion.

19 When men tell you to consult the spirits of the dead and the spiritists who whisper and mutter, shouldn’t a people consult their God instead? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living?

And when they say to you, Make request for us to those who have control of spirits, and to those wise in secret arts, who make hollow bird-like sounds; is it not right for a people to make request to their gods, to make request for the living to the dead?

20 To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn.

Then say to them, Put your faith in the teaching and the witness. ... If they do not say such things. ... For him there is no dawn. ...

21 They will roam the land, dejected and hungry. When they are famished, they will become enraged; and looking upward, they will curse their king and their God.

And he will go through the land in bitter trouble and in need of food; and when he is unable to get food, he will become angry, cursing his king and his God, and his eyes will be turned to heaven on high;

22 Then they will look to the earth and see only distress and darkness and the gloom of anguish. And they will be driven into utter darkness.

And he will be looking down on the earth, and there will be trouble and dark clouds, black night where there is no seeing.