< Isaiah 8 >
1 Moreover, the Lord sayd vnto me, Take thee a great roll, and write in it with a mans penne, Make speede to the spoyle: haste to the praye.
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 Then I tooke vnto me faithfull witnesses to recorde, Vriah the Priest, and Zechariah the sonne of Ieberechiah.
And make me witnesses [of] faithful men, Urias, and Zacharias the son of Barachias.
3 After, I came vnto the Prophetesse, which conceiued, and bare a sonne. Then sayd the Lord to me, Call his name, Mahershalalhash-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 childe shall haue knowledge to crye, My father, and my mother, he shall take away the riches of Damascus and the spoyle of Samaria, before the King of Asshur.
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 the Lord spake yet againe vnto me, saying,
And the Lord spoke to me yet again, [saying],
6 Because this people hath refused the waters of Shiloah that runne softly, and reioyce with Rezin, and the sonne 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 Nowe therefore, beholde, the Lord bringeth vp vpon them the waters of the Riuer mightie and great, euen the King of Asshur with all his glory, and he shall come vp vpon all their riuers, and goe ouer all their 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 shall breake into Iudah, and shall ouerflowe and passe through, and shall come vp to the necke, and the stretching out of his wings shall fill the breadth of thy land, O Immanu-el.
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 Gather together on heapes, O ye people, and ye shalbe broken in pieces, and hearken all ye of farre countreys: gird your selues, and you shalbe broken in pieces: gird your selues, and you shalbe 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 Take counsell together, yet it shall be brought to nought: pronounce a decree, yet shall it not stand: for God is with vs.
And whatever counsel you shall take, the Lord shall bring it to nothing; and whatever word you shall speak, it shall not stand among you: for God is with us.
11 For the Lord spake thus to me in taking of mine hand, and taught me, that I should not walke 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 Say ye not, A confederacie to all them, to whome this people sayth a confederacie, neither feare you their feare, nor be afrayd of them.
Let them not say, [It is] hard, for whatever this people says, is hard: but fear not you their fear, neither be dismayed.
13 Sanctifie the Lord of hostes, and let him be your feare, and let him be your dread,
Sanctify you the Lord himself; and he shall be your fear.
14 And he shalbe as a Sanctuarie: but as a stumbling stone, and as a rocke to fall vpon, to both the houses of Israel, and as a snare and as a net to the inhabitants of Ierusalem.
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 shall fall and shalbe broken and shalbe snared and shalbe taken.
Therefore many among them shall be weak, and fall, and be crushed; and they shall draw near, and men shall be taken securely.
16 Binde vp the testimonie: seale vp the Law among my disciples.
Then shall those who seal themselves that they may not learn the law be made manifest.
17 Therefore I will waite vpon the Lord that hath hid his face from the house of Iaakob, and I wil looke 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 Beholde, I and the children whome the Lord hath giuen me, are as signes and as wonders in Israel, by the Lord of hostes, which 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 vnto you, Enquire at them that haue a spirit of diuination, and at the soothsayers, which whisper and murmure, Should not a people enquire at their God? from the liuing to 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 to the testimonie, if they speake not according to this worde: it is because there is no light in them.
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 Then he that is afflicted and famished, shall go to and from in it: and when he shalbe hungry, he shall euen freat himselfe, and curse his King and his gods, and shall looke vpward.
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 when he shall looke to the earth, beholde trouble, and darkenes, vexation and anguish, and he is driuen to darkenes.
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.