Isaiah 8

1 And Jehovah said to me, Take thee a great tablet, and write thereon with a man's style, concerning Maher-shalal-hash-baz.

And the Lord said to me, Take to yourself a volume of a great new [book], and write in it with a man's pen concerning the making a rapid plunder of spoils; for it is near at hand.

2 And I took unto me to witness, sure witnesses, Urijah the priest, and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah.

And make me witnesses [of] faithful men, Urias, and Zacharias the son of Barachias.

3 And I came near to the prophetess, and she conceived and bore a son; and Jehovah said unto me, Call his name, Maher-shalal-hash-baz.

And I went in to the prophetess; and she conceived, and bore a son. And the Lord said to me, Call his name, Spoil quickly, plunder speedily.

4 For before the lad knoweth 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.

For before the child shall know [how] to call [his] father or [his] mother, [one] shall take the power of Damascus and the spoils of Samaria before the king of the Assyrians.

5 And Jehovah spoke again to me, saying,

And the Lord spoke to me yet again, [saying],

6 Forasmuch as this people refuseth the waters of Shiloah which flow softly, and rejoiceth in Rezin and in the son of Remaliah,

Because this people chooses not the water of Siloam that goes softly, but wills to have Rassin, and the son of Romelias [to be] king over you;

7 therefore behold, the Lord will bring up upon them the waters of the river, strong and many, the king of Assyria and all his glory; and he shall mount up over all his channels, and go over all his banks:

therefore, behold, the Lord brings up upon you the water of the river, strong and abundant, [even] the king of the Assyrians, and his glory: and he shall come up over every valley of yours, and shall walk over every wall of yours:

8 and he shall pass through Judah; he shall overflow it and go further, he shall reach even to the neck; and the stretching out of his wings shall fill the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel!

and he shall take away from Juda [every] man who shall be able to lift up his head, [and every one] able to accomplish anything; and his camp shall fill the breadth of your land, [O] God with us.

9 Rage, ye peoples, and be broken in pieces! And give ear, all ye distant parts of the earth: Gird yourselves, and be broken in pieces; gird yourselves, and be broken in pieces!

Know, you Gentiles, and be conquered; listen you, even to the extremity of the earth: be conquered, after you strengthened yourselves; for even if you should again strengthen yourselves, you shall again be conquered.

10 Settle a plan, and it shall come to nought; speak a word, and it shall not stand: for God is with us.

And whatever counsel you shall take, the Lord shall bring it to nothing; and whatever word you shall speak, it shall not stand amongst you: for God is with us.

11 For Jehovah spoke thus to me with a strong hand, and he instructed me not to walk in the way of this people, saying,

Thus says the Lord, With a strong hand they revolt from the course of the way of this people, saying,

12 Ye shall not say, Conspiracy, of everything of which this people saith, Conspiracy; and fear ye not their fear, and be not in dread.

Let them not say, [It is] hard, for whatever this people says, is hard: but fear not you their fear, neither be dismayed.

13 Jehovah of hosts, him shall ye sanctify; and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.

Sanctify you the Lord himself; and he shall be your fear.

14 And he will be for a sanctuary; and for a stone of stumbling, and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

And if you shall trust in him, he shall be to you for a sanctuary; and you shall not come against [him] as against a stumbling-stone, neither as against the falling of a rock: but the houses of Jacob are in a snare, and the dwellers in Jerusalem in a pit.

15 And many among them shall stumble, and fall, and be broken, and snared, and taken.

Therefore many amongst them shall be weak, and fall, and be crushed; and they shall draw near, and men shall be taken securely.

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

Then shall those who seal themselves that they may not learn the law be made manifest.

17 And I will wait for Jehovah, who hideth his face from the house of Jacob; and I will look for him.

And [one] shall say, I will wait for God, who has turned away his face from the house of Jacob, and I will trust in him.

18 Behold, I and the children that Jehovah hath given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel, from Jehovah of hosts, who dwelleth in mount Zion.

Behold I and the children which God has given me: and they shall be [for] signs and wonders in the house of Israel from the Lord of hosts, who dwells in mount Sion.

19 And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto the necromancers and unto the soothsayers, who chirp and who mutter, [say, ] Shall not a people seek unto their God? [Will they go] for the living unto the dead?

And if they should say to you, Seek those who have in them a divining spirit, and them that speak out of the earth, them that speak vain words, who speak out of their belly: shall not a nation diligently seek to their God? why do they seek to the dead concerning the living?

20 To the law and the testimony! If they speak not according to this word, for them there is no daybreak.

For he has given the law for a help, that they should not speak according to this word, concerning which there are no gifts to give for it.

21 And they shall pass through it, hard pressed and hungry; and it shall come to pass when they are hungry, they will fret themselves, and curse their king and their God, and will gaze upward:

And famine shall come sorely upon you, and it shall come to pass, [that] when you shall be hungry, you shall be grieved, and you shall speak ill of the prince and your fathers' ordinances: and they shall look up to heaven above,

22 and they will look to the earth; and behold, trouble and darkness, gloom of anguish; and they shall be driven into thick darkness.

and they shall look on the earth below, and behold severe distress, and darkness, affliction, and anguish, and darkness so that [one can’t] see; and he that is in anguish shall not be distressed only for a time.