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.

Moreover, the LORD said to me, Take thee a great roll, and write in it with a man's pen 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 to me faithful witnesses to record, 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 to the prophetess; and she conceived, and bore a son. Then said the LORD to 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 child shall have knowledge 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:

The LORD spoke also 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,

Forasmuch as this people refuseth the waters of Shiloah that flow gently, and rejoice in 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.

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 he shall come up over all its channels, and go over 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!

And he shall pass through Judah; he shall overflow and go over, he shall reach [even] to the neck; and the extension 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!

Associate yourselves, O ye people, and ye shall be broken in pieces; and give ear, all ye of far countries: gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces; gird yourselves, and ye shall 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, and it shall come to naught; speak the 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 the LORD spoke thus to me with a strong hand, and instructed me that I should not 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.

Say ye not, A confederacy, to all [them to] whom this people shall say, A confederacy; neither fear ye their fear, nor be afraid.

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

Sanctify the LORD of hosts himself; 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; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offense to both the houses of Israel, for a trap 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 be insnared, and be 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 upon the LORD, that 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 whom the LORD hath given me [are] for signs and for wonders in Israel from the LORD 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 to you, Seek to them that have familiar spirits, and to wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek to their God? 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.

To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, [it is] because [there is] no light in 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.

And they shall pass through it, distressed and hungry: and it shall come to pass, that when they shall be hungry, they shall fret themselves, and curse their king and their God, and look 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 shall look to the earth; and behold trouble and darkness, dimness of anguish; and [they shall be] driven to darkness.