Isaiah 8

1 And the Lord said to me: “Take up for yourself a large book, and with a man’s pen write in it: ‘Take away the spoils quickly; plunder swiftly.’”

And the Lord said to me, Take a great writing-board, and on it put down in common letters, Maher-shalal-hash-baz;

2 And I summoned to myself faithful witnesses: Uriah, the priest, and Zechariah, the son of Berechiah.

And take true witnesses to the writing, Uriah the priest, and Zechariah, the son of Jeberechiah.

3 And I joined with the prophetess, and she conceived and gave birth to a son. And the Lord said to me: “Call his name: ‘Rush to take away the spoils; Hurry to be plundered.’

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,

4 For before the boy knows how to call to his father and his mother, the strength of Damascus and the spoils of Samaria will be taken away, in the sight of the king of the Assyrians.”

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.

5 And the Lord spoke to me further, saying:

And the Lord said again to me,

6 “Because this people has cast aside the waters of Shiloah, which go forth silently, and has instead chosen Rezin and the son of Remaliah,

Because this people will have nothing to do with the softly-flowing waters of Shiloah, and have fear of Rezin and Remaliah's son;

7 for this reason, behold, the Lord will lead over them the waters of a river, strong and plentiful: the king of the Assyrians with all his glory. And he will rise up throughout all his streams, and he will overflow all his banks.

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:

8 And he will pass through Judah, inundating it, and he will cross over and arrive, even at its neck. And he will extend his wings, filling the breadth of your land, O Immanuel.”

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.

9 O people, gather together, and be conquered! All distant lands, listen! Be strengthened, and be conquered! Gird yourselves, and be conquered!

Have knowledge, O peoples, and be in fear; give ear, all you far-off parts of the earth:

10 Undertake a plan, and it will be dissipated! Speak a word, and it will not be done! For God is with us.

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.

11 For the Lord said this to me, and he has instructed this to me with a strong hand, lest I go forth in the way of this people, saying:

For the Lord, controlling me with a strong hand, gave me orders not to go in the way of this people, saying,

12 “You should not say ‘It is conspiracy!’ For all that this people speaks is a conspiracy. And you should not be frightened or alarmed with their fear.

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.

13 Sanctify the Lord of hosts himself. Let him be your dread, and let him be your fear.

But let the Lord of armies be holy to you, and go in fear of him, giving honour to him.

14 And so shall he be a sanctification to you. But he will be a stone of offense and a rock of scandal to the two houses of Israel, and a snare and a ruin to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

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.

15 And very many of them will stumble and fall, and they will be broken and entangled and seized.

And numbers of them, falling on the stone, will be broken, and will be taken in the net.

16 Bind the testimony, seal the law, among my disciples.”

Let my teaching be kept secret: and my words be given to my disciples only.

17 And I will wait for the Lord, who has concealed his face from the house of Jacob, and I will stand before him.

And I will be waiting for the Lord, whose face is veiled from the house of Jacob, and I will be looking for him.

18 Behold: I and my children, whom the Lord has given to me as a sign and a portent, in Israel, from the Lord of hosts, who lives on Mount Zion.

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.

19 And though they say to you, “Seek from seers and diviners,” they who hiss in their incantations, should not the people seek from their God, for the sake of the living, and not from the dead?

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?

20 And this is, moreover, for the sake of the law and the testimony. But if they do not speak according to this Word, then he will not have the morning light.

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. ...

21 And he will pass by it; he will fall and become hungry. And when he is hungry, he will become angry, and he will speak evil against his king and his God, and he will lift himself upward.

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;

22 And he will gaze downward to the earth, and behold: tribulation and darkness, dissolution and distress, and a pursuing gloom. For he will not be able to fly away from its distress.

And he will be looking down on the earth, and there will be trouble and dark clouds, black night where there is no seeing.