Isaiah 7-8

New International Version

The Sign of Immanuel

7 When Ahaz^(A) son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, was king of Judah, King Rezin^(B) of Aram^(C) and Pekah^(D) son of Remaliah^(E) king of Israel marched up to fight against Jerusalem, but they could not overpower it.

²Now the house of David^(F) was told, “Aram has allied itself with^[a] Ephraim^(G)”; so the hearts of Ahaz and his people were shaken,^(H) as the trees of the forest are shaken by the wind.

³Then the Lord said to Isaiah, “Go out, you and your son Shear-Jashub,^[b]^(I) to meet Ahaz at the end of the aqueduct of the Upper Pool, on the road to the Launderer’s Field.^(J) ⁴Say to him, ‘Be careful, keep calm^(K) and don’t be afraid.^(L) Do not lose heart^(M) because of these two smoldering stubs^(N) of firewood—because of the fierce anger^(O) of Rezin and Aram and of the son of Remaliah.^(P) ⁵Aram, Ephraim and Remaliah’s^(Q) son have plotted^(R) your ruin, saying, ⁶“Let us invade Judah; let us tear it apart and divide it among ourselves, and make the son of Tabeel king over it.” ⁷Yet this is what the Sovereign Lord says:^(S)

“‘It will not take place,
    it will not happen,^(T)
⁸for the head of Aram is Damascus,^(U)
    and the head of Damascus is only Rezin.^(V)
Within sixty-five years
    Ephraim will be too shattered^(W) to be a people.
⁹The head of Ephraim is Samaria,^(X)
    and the head of Samaria is only Remaliah’s son.
If you do not stand^(Y) firm in your faith,^(Z)
    you will not stand at all.’”^(AA)

¹⁰Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, ¹¹“Ask the Lord your God for a sign,^(AB) whether in the deepest depths or in the highest heights.^(AC)”

¹²But Ahaz said, “I will not ask; I will not put the Lord to the test.^(AD)”

¹³Then Isaiah said, “Hear now, you house of David!^(AE) Is it not enough^(AF) to try the patience of humans? Will you try the patience^(AG) of my God^(AH) also? ¹⁴Therefore the Lord himself will give you^[c] a sign:^(AI) The virgin^[d]^(AJ) will conceive and give birth to a son,^(AK) and^[e] will call him Immanuel.^[f]^(AL) ¹⁵He will be eating curds^(AM) and honey^(AN) when he knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, ¹⁶for before the boy knows^(AO) enough to reject the wrong and choose the right,^(AP) the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste.^(AQ) ¹⁷The Lord will bring on you and on your people and on the house of your father a time unlike any since Ephraim broke away^(AR) from Judah—he will bring the king of Assyria.^(AS)”

Assyria, the Lord’s Instrument

¹⁸In that day^(AT) the Lord will whistle^(AU) for flies from the Nile delta in Egypt and for bees from the land of Assyria.^(AV) ¹⁹They will all come and settle in the steep ravines and in the crevices^(AW) in the rocks, on all the thornbushes^(AX) and at all the water holes. ²⁰In that day^(AY) the Lord will use^(AZ) a razor hired from beyond the Euphrates River^(BA)—the king of Assyria^(BB)—to shave your head and private parts, and to cut off your beard^(BC) also.^(BD) ²¹In that day,^(BE) a person will keep alive a young cow and two goats.^(BF) ²²And because of the abundance of the milk they give, there will be curds to eat. All who remain in the land will eat curds^(BG) and honey.^(BH) ²³In that day,^(BI) in every place where there were a thousand vines worth a thousand silver shekels,^[g]^(BJ) there will be only briers and thorns.^(BK) ²⁴Hunters will go there with bow and arrow, for the land will be covered with briers^(BL) and thorns. ²⁵As for all the hills^(BM) once cultivated by the hoe, you will no longer go there for fear of the briers and thorns;^(BN) they will become places where cattle are turned loose and where sheep run.^(BO)

Isaiah and His Children as Signs

8 The Lord said to me, “Take a large scroll^(BP) and write on it with an ordinary pen: Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz.”^[h]^(BQ) ²So I called in Uriah^(BR) the priest and Zechariah son of Jeberekiah as reliable witnesses^(BS) for me. ³Then I made love to the prophetess,^(BT) and she conceived and gave birth to a son.^(BU) And the Lord said to me, “Name him Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz.^(BV) ⁴For before the boy knows^(BW) how to say ‘My father’ or ‘My mother,’ the wealth of Damascus^(BX) and the plunder of Samaria will be carried off by the king of Assyria.^(BY)”

⁵The Lord spoke to me again:

⁶“Because this people has rejected^(BZ)
    the gently flowing waters of Shiloah^(CA)
and rejoices over Rezin
    and the son of Remaliah,^(CB)
⁷therefore the Lord is about to bring against them
    the mighty floodwaters^(CC) of the Euphrates—
    the king of Assyria^(CD) with all his pomp.^(CE)
It will overflow all its channels,
    run over all its banks^(CF)
⁸and sweep on into Judah, swirling over it,^(CG)
    passing through it and reaching up to the neck.
Its outspread wings^(CH) will cover the breadth of your land,
    Immanuel^[i]!”^(CI)

⁹Raise the war cry,^[j]^(CJ) you nations, and be shattered!^(CK)
    Listen, all you distant lands.
Prepare^(CL) for battle, and be shattered!
    Prepare for battle, and be shattered!
¹⁰Devise your strategy, but it will be thwarted;^(CM)
    propose your plan, but it will not stand,^(CN)
    for God is with us.^[k]^(CO)

¹¹This is what the Lord says to me with his strong hand upon me,^(CP) warning me not to follow^(CQ) the way of this people:

¹²“Do not call conspiracy^(CR)
    everything this people calls a conspiracy;
do not fear what they fear,^(CS)
    and do not dread it.^(CT)
¹³The Lord Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy,^(CU)
    he is the one you are to fear,^(CV)
    he is the one you are to dread.^(CW)
¹⁴He will be a holy place;^(CX)
    for both Israel and Judah he will be
a stone^(CY) that causes people to stumble^(CZ)
    and a rock that makes them fall.^(DA)
And for the people of Jerusalem he will be
    a trap and a snare.^(DB)
¹⁵Many of them will stumble;^(DC)
    they will fall and be broken,
    they will be snared and captured.”

¹⁶Bind up this testimony of warning^(DD)
and seal^(DE) up God’s instruction among my disciples.
¹⁷I will wait^(DF) for the Lord,
who is hiding^(DG) his face from the descendants of Jacob.
I will put my trust in him.^(DH)

¹⁸Here am I, and the children the Lord has given me.^(DI) We are signs^(DJ) and symbols^(DK) in Israel from the Lord Almighty, who dwells on Mount Zion.^(DL)

The Darkness Turns to Light

¹⁹When someone tells you to consult^(DM) mediums and spiritists,^(DN) who whisper and mutter,^(DO) should not a people inquire^(DP) of their God? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living? ²⁰Consult God’s instruction^(DQ) and the testimony of warning.^(DR) If anyone does not speak according to this word, they have no light^(DS) of dawn. ²¹Distressed and hungry,^(DT) they will roam through the land;^(DU) when they are famished, they will become enraged and, looking upward, will curse^(DV) their king and their God. ²²Then they will look toward the earth and see only distress and darkness and fearful gloom,^(DW) and they will be thrust into utter darkness.^(DX)

Footnotes

Isaiah 7:2 Or has set up camp in
Isaiah 7:3 Shear-Jashub means a remnant will return.
Isaiah 7:14 The Hebrew is plural.
Isaiah 7:14 Or young woman
Isaiah 7:14 Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scrolls son, and he or son, and they
Isaiah 7:14 Immanuel means God with us.
Isaiah 7:23 That is, about 25 pounds or about 12 kilograms
Isaiah 8:1 Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz means quick to the plunder, swift to the spoil; also in verse 3.
Isaiah 8:8 Immanuel means God with us.
Isaiah 8:9 Or Do your worst
Isaiah 8:10 Hebrew Immanuel

Mark 3:1-19

New International Version

Jesus Heals on the Sabbath

3 Another time Jesus went into the synagogue,^(A) and a man with a shriveled hand was there. ²Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely^(B) to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath.^(C) ³Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand, “Stand up in front of everyone.”

⁴Then Jesus asked them, “Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they remained silent.

⁵He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored. ⁶Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians^(D) how they might kill Jesus.^(E)

Crowds Follow Jesus^(F)

⁷Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the lake, and a large crowd from Galilee followed.^(G) ⁸When they heard about all he was doing, many people came to him from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, and the regions across the Jordan and around Tyre and Sidon.^(H) ⁹Because of the crowd he told his disciples to have a small boat ready for him, to keep the people from crowding him. ¹⁰For he had healed many,^(I) so that those with diseases were pushing forward to touch him.^(J) ¹¹Whenever the impure spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, “You are the Son of God.”^(K) ¹²But he gave them strict orders not to tell others about him.^(L)

Jesus Appoints the Twelve^(M)

¹³Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him.^(N) ¹⁴He appointed twelve^[a]^(O) that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach ¹⁵and to have authority to drive out demons.^(P) ¹⁶These are the twelve he appointed: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter),^(Q) ¹⁷James son of Zebedee and his brother John (to them he gave the name Boanerges, which means “sons of thunder”), ¹⁸Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot ¹⁹and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.