Isaiah 8

1 And the LORD said unto me: 'Take thee a great tablet, and write upon it in common script: The spoil speedeth, the prey hasteth;

Then the LORD said to me, “Take a large scroll and write on it with an ordinary stylus: Maher-shalal-hash-baz.

2 and I will take unto Me faithful witnesses to record, Uriah the priest, and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah.'

And I will appoint for Myself trustworthy witnesses—Uriah the priest and Zechariah son of Jeberekiah.”

3 And I went unto the prophetess; and she conceived, and bore a son. Then said the LORD unto me: 'Call his name Maher-shalal-hashbaz.

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.

4 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 carried away before the king of Assyria.'

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.”

5 And the LORD spoke unto me yet again, saying:

And the LORD spoke to me further:

6 Forasmuch as this people hath refused the waters of Shiloah that go softly, and rejoiceth with Rezin and Remaliah's son;

“Because this people has rejected the gently flowing waters of Shiloah and rejoiced in Rezin and the son of Remaliah,

7 Now therefore, behold, the Lord bringeth up upon them the waters of the River, mighty and many, even the king of Assyria and all his glory; and he shall come up over all his channels, and go over all his banks;

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.

8 And he shall sweep through Judah overflowing as he passeth through he shall reach even to the neck; and the stretching out of his wings shall fill the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel.

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!

9 Make an uproar, O ye peoples, 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.

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!

10 Take counsel together, and it shall be brought to nought; speak the word, and it shall not stand; for God is with us.

Devise a plan, but it will be thwarted; state a proposal, but it will not happen. For God is with us.”

11 For the LORD spoke thus to me with a strong hand, admonishing me that I should not walk in the way of this people, saying:

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:

12 'Say ye not: A conspiracy, concerning all whereof this people do say: A conspiracy; neither fear ye their fear, nor account it dreadful.

“Do not call conspiracy everything these people regard as conspiracy. Do not fear what they fear; do not live in dread.

13 The LORD of hosts, Him shall ye sanctify; and let Him be your fear, and let Him be your dread.

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

14 And He shall be for a sanctuary; but 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 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.

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

Many will stumble over these; they will fall and be broken; they will be ensnared and captured.”

16 'Bind up the testimony, seal the instruction among My disciples.'

Bind up the testimony and seal the law among my disciples.

17 And I will wait for the LORD, that hideth His face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for Him.

I will wait for the LORD, who is hiding His face from the house of Jacob. I will put my trust in Him.

18 Behold, I and the children whom the LORD hath given me shall be for signs and for wonders in Israel from the LORD of hosts, who dwelleth in mount Zion.

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.

19 And when they shall say unto you: 'Seek unto the ghosts and the familiar spirits, that chirp and that mutter; should not a people seek unto their God? on behalf of the living unto the dead

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?

20 for instruction and for testimony?' — Surely they will speak according to this word, wherein there is no light. —

To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn.

21 And they shall pass this way that are sore bestead and hungry; and it shall come to pass that, when they shall be hungry, they shall fret themselves, and curse by their king and by their God, and, whether they turn their faces upward,

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.

22 or look unto the earth, behold distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish, and outspread thick darkness.

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.