Isaiah 8
1 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.'
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.’”
2 And I cause faithful witnesses to testify to me, Uriah the priest, and Zechariah son of Jeberechiah.
And I summoned to myself faithful witnesses: Uriah, the priest, and Zechariah, the son of Berechiah.
3 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,
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.’
4 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.'
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.”
5 And Jehovah addeth to speak unto me again, saying:
And the Lord spoke to me further, saying:
6 'Because that this people hath refused The waters of Shiloah that go softly, And is rejoicing with Rezin and the son of Remaliah,
“Because this people has cast aside the waters of Shiloah, which go forth silently, and has instead chosen Rezin and the son of Remaliah,
7 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.
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.
8 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!
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.”
9 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.
O people, gather together, and be conquered! All distant lands, listen! Be strengthened, and be conquered! Gird yourselves, and be conquered!
10 Take counsel, and it is broken, Speak a word, and it doth not stand, Because of Emmanu-El!'
Undertake a plan, and it will be dissipated! Speak a word, and it will not be done! For God is with us.
11 For thus hath Jehovah spoken unto me with strength of hand, and instructeth me against walking in the way of this people, saying,
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:
12 '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.
“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.
13 Jehovah of Hosts — Him ye do sanctify, And He [is] your Fear, and He your Dread,
Sanctify the Lord of hosts himself. Let him be your dread, and let him be your fear.
14 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.
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.
15 And many among them have stumbled and fallen, And been broken, and snared, and captured.
And very many of them will stumble and fall, and they will be broken and entangled and seized.
16 Bind up the testimony, Seal the law among My disciples.
Bind the testimony, seal the law, among my disciples.”
17 And I have waited for Jehovah, Who is hiding His face from the house of Jacob, And I have looked for Him.
And I will wait for the Lord, who has concealed his face from the house of Jacob, and I will stand before him.
18 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.
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.
19 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!
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?
20 To the law and to the testimony! If not, let them say after this manner, 'That there is no dawn to it.'
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.
21 — 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.
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.
22 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!
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.
