8 Moreover the Lord said unto me, Take thee a great roll, and write in it with a man's pen concerning Mahershalalhashbaz.

² And I took unto me faithful witnesses to record, Uriah the priest, and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah.

³ And I went unto the prophetess; and she conceived, and bare a son. Then said the Lord to me, Call his name Mahershalalhashbaz.

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 taken away before the king of Assyria.

⁵ The Lord spake also unto me again, saying,

⁶ Forasmuch as this people refuseth the waters of Shiloah that go softly, and rejoice in Rezin and Remaliah's son;

⁷ Now therefore, behold, the Lord bringeth up upon them the waters of the river, strong 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:

⁸ And he shall pass through Judah; he shall overflow and go over, he shall reach even to the neck; and the stretching out of his wings shall fill the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel.

⁹ Associate yourselves, O ye people, 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.

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

¹¹ For the Lord spake thus to me with a strong hand, and instructed me that I should not walk in the way of this people, saying,

¹² Say ye not, A confederacy, to all them to whom this people shall say, A confederacy; neither fear ye their fear, nor be afraid.

¹³ Sanctify the Lord of hosts himself; and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.

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.

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

¹⁶ Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples.

¹⁷ And I will wait upon the Lord, that hideth his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him.

¹⁸ Behold, I and the children whom the Lord hath given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the Lord of hosts, which dwelleth in mount Zion.

¹⁹ And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead?

²⁰ To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.

²¹ And they shall pass through it, hardly bestead and hungry: and it shall come to pass, that when they shall be hungry, they shall fret themselves, and curse their king and their God, and look upward.

²² And they shall look unto the earth; and behold trouble and darkness, dimness of anguish; and they shall be driven to darkness.

9 Nevertheless the dimness shall not be such as was in her vexation, when at the first he lightly afflicted the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, and afterward did more grievously afflict her by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, in Galilee of the nations.

² The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.

³ Thou hast multiplied the nation, and not increased the joy: they joy before thee according to the joy in harvest, and as men rejoice when they divide the spoil.

⁴ For thou hast broken the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, as in the day of Midian.

⁵ For every battle of the warrior is with confused noise, and garments rolled in blood; but this shall be with burning and fuel of fire.

⁶ For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

⁷ Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

⁸ The Lord sent a word into Jacob, and it hath lighted upon Israel.

⁹ And all the people shall know, even Ephraim and the inhabitant of Samaria, that say in the pride and stoutness of heart,

¹⁰ The bricks are fallen down, but we will build with hewn stones: the sycomores are cut down, but we will change them into cedars.

¹¹ Therefore the Lord shall set up the adversaries of Rezin against him, and join his enemies together;

¹² The Syrians before, and the Philistines behind; and they shall devour Israel with open mouth. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.

¹³ For the people turneth not unto him that smiteth them, neither do they seek the Lord of hosts.

¹⁴ Therefore the Lord will cut off from Israel head and tail, branch and rush, in one day.

¹⁵ The ancient and honourable, he is the head; and the prophet that teacheth lies, he is the tail.

¹⁶ For the leaders of this people cause them to err; and they that are led of them are destroyed.

¹⁷ Therefore the Lord shall have no joy in their young men, neither shall have mercy on their fatherless and widows: for every one is an hypocrite and an evildoer, and every mouth speaketh folly. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.

¹⁸ For wickedness burneth as the fire: it shall devour the briers and thorns, and shall kindle in the thickets of the forest, and they shall mount up like the lifting up of smoke.

¹⁹ Through the wrath of the Lord of hosts is the land darkened, and the people shall be as the fuel of the fire: no man shall spare his brother.

²⁰ And he shall snatch on the right hand, and be hungry; and he shall eat on the left hand, and they shall not be satisfied: they shall eat every man the flesh of his own arm:

²¹ Manasseh, Ephraim; and Ephraim, Manasseh: and they together shall be against Judah. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.

12 It is not expedient for me doubtless to glory. I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord.

² I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven.

³ And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;)

⁴ How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.

⁵ Of such an one will I glory: yet of myself I will not glory, but in mine infirmities.

⁶ For though I would desire to glory, I shall not be a fool; for I will say the truth: but now I forbear, lest any man should think of me above that which he seeth me to be, or that he heareth of me.

⁷ And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.

⁸ For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.

⁹ And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

¹⁰ Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.

Read full chapter

55 Give ear to my prayer, O God; and hide not thyself from my supplication.

² Attend unto me, and hear me: I mourn in my complaint, and make a noise;

³ Because of the voice of the enemy, because of the oppression of the wicked: for they cast iniquity upon me, and in wrath they hate me.

⁴ My heart is sore pained within me: and the terrors of death are fallen upon me.

⁵ Fearfulness and trembling are come upon me, and horror hath overwhelmed me.

⁶ And I said, Oh that I had wings like a dove! for then would I fly away, and be at rest.

⁷ Lo, then would I wander far off, and remain in the wilderness. Selah.

⁸ I would hasten my escape from the windy storm and tempest.

⁹ Destroy, O Lord, and divide their tongues: for I have seen violence and strife in the city.

¹⁰ Day and night they go about it upon the walls thereof: mischief also and sorrow are in the midst of it.

¹¹ Wickedness is in the midst thereof: deceit and guile depart not from her streets.

¹² For it was not an enemy that reproached me; then I could have borne it: neither was it he that hated me that did magnify himself against me; then I would have hid myself from him:

¹³ But it was thou, a man mine equal, my guide, and mine acquaintance.

¹⁴ We took sweet counsel together, and walked unto the house of God in company.

¹⁵ Let death seize upon them, and let them go down quick into hell: for wickedness is in their dwellings, and among them.

¹⁶ As for me, I will call upon God; and the Lord shall save me.

¹⁷ Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice.

¹⁸ He hath delivered my soul in peace from the battle that was against me: for there were many with me.

¹⁹ God shall hear, and afflict them, even he that abideth of old. Selah. Because they have no changes, therefore they fear not God.

²⁰ He hath put forth his hands against such as be at peace with him: he hath broken his covenant.

²¹ The words of his mouth were smoother than butter, but war was in his heart: his words were softer than oil, yet were they drawn swords.

²² Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.

²³ But thou, O God, shalt bring them down into the pit of destruction: bloody and deceitful men shall not live out half their days; but I will trust in thee.

Read full chapter