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 unto me, Take thyself a large table, and write on it with distinct letters, Lemaher-shalal-chash-bas.

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

And I was to summon for myself trustworthy witnesses, Uriyah the priest, and Zecharyahu the son of Yeberechyahu.

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 unto the prophetess; and she conceived, and bore a son. Then said the Lord to me, Call his name Maher-shalal-chash-bas.

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 yet the boy shall know to call, My father, and my mother, the wealth of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria shall be carried away before the king of Assyria.

5 And the LORD spoke to me further:

And the Lord continued to speak unto me again, 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 despiseth the waters of Shiloach that flow softly, and rejoice in Rezin and Remalyahu'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.

Yea therefore behold, the Lord bringeth up over them the strong and many waters of the river, —the king of Assyria, and all his glory; and he shall come up over all his channels, and step 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 penetrate into Judah, overflow and flood over, even to the neck shall he reach; and his outstretched wings shall fill the breadth of thy land, O 'Immanu-el.

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!

Associate yourselves, O ye people, yet shall ye be broken in pieces; and give ear, all ye of the far portions of the earth: gird yourselves, yet shall ye be broken in pieces; gird yourselves, yet shall ye 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.”

Take counsel together, yet shall it come to naught; speak the word, and it shall not stand firm; for with us is God.

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 thus said the Lord to me with the strength of prophecy, and warned 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.

Call ye not a conspiracy all that this people may call a conspiracy, and what it feareth shall ye not fear, and be not terrified [thereat].

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

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; but also for a stone of stumbling and for a rock to fall over unto 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 shall stumble over them, and fall, and be broken, and snared, and be caught.

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

Bind up the testimony, seal up 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 the Lord, that hideth his face from the house of Jacob, and I will 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.

Behold, I and the children whom the Lord hath given me are for signs and for tokens in Israel, from the Lord of hosts who dwelleth 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?

And when they shall say unto you, “Inquire of those that have familiar spirits, and of the wizards, that whisper, and that mutter:” should not a people inquire of their God? [should we then] in behalf of the living [inquire] of 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.

[Hold] to the law and to the testimony: if they are not to speak according to this word, in which there is no light.

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 the [people] shall pass through [the land], hard oppressed and hungry: and it shall come to pass, that when they shall be hungry, they will become enraged, and curse their king and their god, and turn toward on high [for aid].

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 unto the earth; and behold there are trouble and darkness, dimness of oppression, and they shall be scattered into obscurity.