Isaiah 8
1 And the Lord said to me, Take a great writing-board, and on it put down in common letters, Maher-shalal-hash-baz;
And Jehovah saith unto me, 'Take to thee a great tablet, and write upon it with a graving tool of man, To haste spoil, enjoy prey.'
2 And take true witnesses to the writing, Uriah the priest, and Zechariah, the son of Jeberechiah.
And I cause faithful witnesses to testify to me, Uriah the priest, and Zechariah son of Jeberechiah.
3 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,
And I draw near unto the prophetess, and she conceiveth, and beareth a son; and Jehovah saith unto me, 'Call his name Maher-shalal-hash-baz,
4 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.
for before the youth doth know to cry, My father, and My mother, one taketh away the wealth of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria, before the king of Asshur.'
5 And the Lord said again to me,
And Jehovah addeth to speak unto me again, saying:
6 Because this people will have nothing to do with the softly-flowing waters of Shiloah, and have fear of Rezin and Remaliah's son;
'Because that this people hath refused The waters of Shiloah that go softly, And is rejoicing with Rezin and the son of Remaliah,
7 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:
Therefore, lo, the Lord is bringing up on them, The waters of the river, the mighty and the great, (The king of Asshur, and all his glory, ) And it hath gone up over all its streams, And hath gone on over all its banks.
8 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.
And it hath passed on into Judah, It hath overflown and passed over, Unto the neck it cometh, And the stretching out of its wings Hath been the fulness of the breadth of thy land, O Emmanu-El!
9 Have knowledge, O peoples, and be in fear; give ear, all you far-off parts of the earth:
Be friends, O nations, and be broken, And give ear, all ye far off ones of earth, Gird yourselves, and be broken, Gird yourselves, and be broken.
10 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.
Take counsel, and it is broken, Speak a word, and it doth not stand, Because of Emmanu-El!'
11 For the Lord, controlling me with a strong hand, gave me orders not to go in the way of this people, saying,
For thus hath Jehovah spoken unto me with strength of hand, and instructeth me against walking in the way of this people, saying,
12 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.
'Ye do not say, A confederacy, To all to whom this people saith, A confederacy, And its fear ye do not fear, Nor declare fearful.
13 But let the Lord of armies be holy to you, and go in fear of him, giving honour to him.
Jehovah of Hosts — Him ye do sanctify, And He [is] your Fear, and He your Dread,
14 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.
And He hath been for a sanctuary, And for a stone of stumbling, and for a rock of falling, To the two houses of Israel, For a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
15 And numbers of them, falling on the stone, will be broken, and will be taken in the net.
And many among them have stumbled and fallen, And been broken, and snared, and captured.
16 Let my teaching be kept secret: and my words be given to my disciples only.
Bind up the testimony, Seal the law among My disciples.
17 And I will be waiting for the Lord, whose face is veiled from the house of Jacob, and I will be looking for him.
And I have waited for Jehovah, Who is hiding His face from the house of Jacob, And I have looked for Him.
18 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.
Lo, I, and the children whom Jehovah hath given to me, [Are] for signs and for wonders in Israel, From Jehovah of Hosts, who is dwelling in Mount Zion.
19 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?
And when they say unto you, 'Seek unto those having familiar spirits, And unto wizards, who chatter and mutter, Doth not a people seek unto its God? — For the living unto the dead!
20 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. ...
To the law and to the testimony! If not, let them say after this manner, 'That there is no dawn to it.'
21 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;
— And it hath passed over into it, hardened and hungry, And it hath come to pass, That it is hungry, and hath been wroth, And made light of its king, and of its God, And hath looked upwards.
22 And he will be looking down on the earth, and there will be trouble and dark clouds, black night where there is no seeing.
And unto the land it looketh attentively, And lo, adversity and darkness! — Dimness, distress, and thick darkness is driven away, But not the dimness for which she is in distress!
