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.

Then the Lord told me, “Get a large tablet and write on it in with an ordinary pen, ‘Maher-shalal-hash-baz.’

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

I will need Uriah the priest and Zechariah, son of Jeberekiah, to be my trustworthy witnesses.”

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.

Then I slept with my wife the prophetess, and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. The Lord told me, “Call him 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 even before the boy knows how to say ‘Daddy’ or ‘Mommy,’ the king of Assyria will carry off Damascus' wealth and Samaria's possessions.”

5 And the LORD spoke to me further:

Then the Lord spoke to me again, saying,

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

“Because this people has rejected the waters of Shiloah that gently flow and instead have rejoiced with 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.

the Lord is going to bring the powerful floodwaters of the Euphrates River against them—the king of Assyria with all his glorious army. It will flood all its channels and overflow all its 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!

It will sweep on into Judah, overflowing and flooding through, reaching up to the neck. Like outspread wings it will engulf the whole of your land, 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!

Pay attention, you nations, and be smashed! Listen, all you distant lands, get ready, but you will be smashed. Get ready, but you will be smashed.

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

You can plan your strategy, but it will be foiled; you can say what you're intending, but it won't happen, 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 this is what the Lord told me, holding me with a strong hand, instructing me not to follow the way of this people. He said,

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

Don't call a conspiracy everything that these people call a conspiracy. Don't fear what they fear. Don't be overawed!

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

The Lord Almighty is the one you should see as holy. He is the one you should fear, he is the one you should be in awe of.

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.

He will be a sanctuary for you. But to the royal families of both Israel and Judah he will be a stone they trip over and a rock that makes them stumble, a trap and a snare to the people who live in Jerusalem.

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

Many people will stumble over them. They will fall and be broken. They will be trapped and caught.

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

Safeguard this testimony, seal these instructions—they are for 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.

I will wait for the Lord, the one who is hiding his face from Jacob's descendants. I will wait in hope 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.

Look, I'm here, together with the children the Lord has given me. They are signs and wonders in Israel from the Lord Almighty, who lives on 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?

When someone suggests to you, “Go and ask mediums and spiritists who whisper and mutter,” shouldn't people ask their God? Why should they ask the dead on behalf of the living?

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

Go and examine God's law and his instructions! If what they say doesn't correspond with God's word, there will be no dawn for them.

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.

They will wander round the country, depressed and hungry. When they are starving they will become furious, and looking up they will curse their king and their God.

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.

Then they will look towards the earth and see only misery and gloom and agonizing depression, and they will be thrown out into the darkness.