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.'

The LORD said to me, “Take a large tablet, and write on it with a man’s pen, ‘For Maher Shalal Hash Baz’;

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

and I will take for myself faithful witnesses to testify: Uriah the priest, and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah.”

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 to the prophetess, and she conceived, and bore a son. Then the LORD said to me, “Call his name ‘Maher Shalal Hash Baz.’

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 knows how to say, ‘My father’ and ‘My mother,’ the riches of Damascus and the plunder of Samaria will be carried away by the king of Assyria.”

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

The LORD spoke to me yet 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 has refused the waters of Shiloah that go softly, and rejoice in Rezin and Remaliah’s son;

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.

now therefore, behold, the Lord brings upon them the mighty flood waters of the River: the king of Assyria and all his glory. It will come up over all its channels, and go over all its 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!

It will sweep onward into Judah. It will overflow and pass through. It will reach even to the neck. The stretching out of its wings will fill the width 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.

Make an uproar, you peoples, and be broken in pieces! Listen, all you from far countries: dress for battle, and be shattered! Dress for battle, and be shattered!

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

Take counsel together, and it will be brought to nothing; speak the word, and it will 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 the LORD spoke this to me with a strong hand, and instructed me not to walk 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.

“Don’t call a conspiracy all that this people call a conspiracy. Don’t fear their threats or be terrorized.

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

The LORD of Hosts is who you must respect as holy. He is the one you must fear. He is the one you must 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.

He will be a sanctuary, but for both houses of Israel, he will be a stumbling stone and a rock that makes them fall. For the people of Jerusalem, he will be a trap and a snare.

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

Many will stumble over it, fall, be broken, be snared, and be captured.”

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

Wrap up the covenant. 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.

I will wait for the LORD, who hides his face from the house of Jacob, and I will 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 whom the LORD has given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the LORD of Hosts, who dwells in 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!

When they tell you, “Consult with those who have familiar spirits and with the wizards, who chirp and who mutter,” shouldn’t a people consult with their God? Should they consult the dead on behalf of 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.'

Turn to the law and to the covenant! If they don’t speak according to this word, surely there is no morning for them.

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 will pass through it, very distressed and hungry. It will happen that when they are hungry, they will worry, and curse their king and their God. They will turn their faces 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!

then look to the earth and see distress, darkness, and the gloom of anguish. They will be driven into thick darkness.