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 Jehovah said to me, Take thee a great tablet, and with a man's writing-instrument write on it, Hasteth-the-prey, Speedeth-the-spoil.

2 And I cause faithful witnesses to testify to me, Uriah the priest, and Zechariah son of Jeberechiah.

And I took with me 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,

I went in to the prophetess, and she conceived and bore a son. Then said Jehovah to me, Call his name, Hasteth-the-prey, Speedeth-the-spoil.

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 child shall learn to say, My father, and My mother, the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria shall be borne away before the king of Assyria.

5 And Jehovah addeth to speak unto me again, saying:

Moreover, Jehovah spake to me again, 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 despiseth The soft-flowing waters of Siloah, And rejoiceth in 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.

Therefore, behold, the Lord bringeth upon them the strong and mighty waters of the river; [[The king of Assyria and all his glory.]] He shall rise above all his channels, And go over 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 shall pass through Judah, overflowing and spreading; Even to the neck shall he reach, And his stretched-out wings shall fill the whole breadth of thy 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.

Rage, ye nations, and despair! Give ear, all ye distant parts of the earth! Gird yourselves, and despair! Gird yourselves, and despair!

10 Take counsel, and it is broken, Speak a word, and it doth not stand, Because of Emmanu-El!'

Form your plan, and it shall come to naught; Give the command, and it shall not stand; 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 thus spake Jehovah to me with a strong hand, Instructing me not to walk in the way of this people:

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.

Call not everything a confederacy which this people calleth a confederacy; Fear ye not what they fear, Neither be afraid!

13 Jehovah of Hosts — Him ye do sanctify, And He [is] your Fear, and He your Dread,

Jehovah of hosts, sanctify ye him; Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread!

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 he shall be to you a sanctuary; But a stone of stumbling, and a rock to strike against, To the two houses of Israel, A trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

15 And many among them have stumbled and fallen, And been broken, and snared, and captured.

And many among them shall stumble; They shall fall, and be broken; They shall be ensnared and taken.

16 Bind up the testimony, Seal the law among My disciples.

Bind up the revelation, Seal the word, with 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.

I will, therefore, wait for Jehovah, Who now hideth his face from the house of Jacob; Yet will I look for 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 the children which Jehovah hath given me, Are signs and tokens in Israel From Jehovah of hosts, who dwelleth upon 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 when they shall say to you, “Inquire of the necromancers and the wizards, That chirp, and that murmur,” [[Then say ye, ]] “Should not a people inquire of their God? Should they inquire of the dead for the living?”

20 To the law and to the testimony! If not, let them say after this manner, 'That there is no dawn to it.'

To the word, to the revelation! If they speak not according to this, For them no bright morning shall arise.

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.

They shall pass through the land distressed and famished; And when they are famished, they shall be enraged, and curse their king and their God, And look 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 if they look to the earth, Behold distress and darkness, fearful darkness! And into darkness shall they be driven.