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 Jehovah said to me, Take thee a great tablet, and write thereon with a man's style, concerning Maher-shalal-hash-baz.

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

And I took unto me to witness, sure witnesses, Urijah 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 came near to the prophetess, and she conceived and bore a son; and Jehovah said unto me, Call his 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 lad knoweth to cry, My father! and, My mother! the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria shall be taken away before the king of Assyria.

5 And the LORD spoke to me further:

And Jehovah spoke again to me, saying,

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

Forasmuch as this people refuseth the waters of Shiloah which flow softly, and rejoiceth in Rezin and in the son of Remaliah,

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.

therefore behold, the Lord will bring up upon them the waters of the river, strong and many, the king of Assyria and all his glory; and he shall mount up over all his channels, and go over all his banks:

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 he shall pass through Judah; he shall overflow it and go further, he shall reach even to the neck; and the stretching out of his wings shall fill the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel!

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!

Rage, ye peoples, and be broken in pieces! And give ear, all ye distant parts of the earth: Gird yourselves, and be broken in pieces; gird yourselves, and be broken in pieces!

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

Settle a plan, and it shall come to nought; speak a word, and it shall not stand: 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 Jehovah spoke thus to me with a strong hand, and he instructed me not to walk 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.

Ye shall not say, Conspiracy, of everything of which this people saith, Conspiracy; and fear ye not their fear, and be not in dread.

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

Jehovah of hosts, him shall ye sanctify; and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.

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

And many among them shall stumble, and fall, and be broken, and snared, and taken.

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

Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples.

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 wait for Jehovah, who hideth his face from the house of Jacob; and I will look 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.

Behold, I and the children that Jehovah hath given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel, from Jehovah of hosts, who dwelleth 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 shall say unto you, Seek unto the necromancers and unto the soothsayers, who chirp and who mutter, [say, ] Shall not a people seek unto their God? [Will they go] for the living unto 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.

To the law and the testimony! If they speak not according to this word, for them there is no daybreak.

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 they shall pass through it, hard pressed and hungry; and it shall come to pass when they are hungry, they will fret themselves, and curse their king and their God, and will gaze upward:

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 they will look to the earth; and behold, trouble and darkness, gloom of anguish; and they shall be driven into thick darkness.