Isaiah 8
Expanded Bible
Assyria Will Come Soon
8 The Lord told me, “Take a large ·scroll [or tablet] and write on it with ·an ordinary pen [or ordinary letters/script; L the stylus of a man]: ‘Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz [C “quick to the plunder; swift to the spoil”].’ 2 ·I will call [or So I called; or Call…!] some men to be reliable witnesses: Uriah the priest and Zechariah son of Jeberekiah.”
3 Then I ·went to [C euphemism for sexual relations] the prophetess, and she became ·pregnant [conceived] and had a son. The Lord told me, “Name the boy Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz [v. 1], 4 because the king of Assyria will ·take away [carry off] the wealth of Damascus and the ·possessions [spoil; plunder] of Samaria before the boy learns to say ‘my father’ or ‘my mother’ [C about age two; the first stage of the destruction, which culminated in 722 bc; see 7:15–16].”
5 Again the Lord spoke to me, saying,
6 “[L Because] These people refuse to accept
the ·slow-moving [gently flowing] waters of the pool of Shiloah [C probably the stream flowing from the Gihon Spring to the Pool of Siloam (John 9:7); God’s gentle influence is contrasted with the “flood” of the Assyrian invasion; v. 7]
and ·are terrified of [or rejoice over] Rezin
and the son of Remaliah [C Pekah; 7:1, 4–5].
7 So ·I, the Lord, [L look/behold, the Lord] will bring against them
a powerful flood of water from the ·Euphrates River [L River]—
the king of Assyria and all his ·power [glory].
·The Assyrians will be like water rising [L It will rise] over ·the banks of the river [its channels],
flowing over ·the land [its banks].
8 That water will ·flow [sweep] into Judah and pass through it,
rising to ·Judah’s throat [L the neck].
·This army [L It] will spread its wings like a bird
until it covers ·your whole country [the breadth of our land], ·Immanuel [or God is with us].”
9 ·Be broken [or You will be broken], all you nations,
and [L you will] be ·smashed to pieces [shattered].
Listen, all you faraway ·countries [lands].
·Prepare for battle [T Gird yourselves] and [you will] be ·smashed to pieces [shattered]!
·Prepare for battle [T Gird yourselves] and [you will] be ·smashed to pieces [shattered]!
10 ·Make your plans for the fight [Devise your strategy],
but ·they will be defeated [it will be thwarted].
·Give orders to your armies [L Speak a command/word],
but ·they will be useless [L it will not stand],
because ·God is with us [L Immanuel].
Warnings to Isaiah
11 [L For] The Lord spoke to me with his ·great power [L strong hand] and warned me not to ·follow the lead [L walk in the way] of ·the rest of the [L this] people. He said,
12 “·People are saying that others make plans against them,
but you should not believe them [L Don’t call ‘conspiracy’ everything this people calls ‘conspiracy’].
Don’t be afraid of what they fear;
do not dread those things.
13 But remember that the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts] is holy.
He is ·the one you should [L your] fear;
he is ·the one you should [L your] dread.
14 Then he will be a ·place of safety for you [sanctuary; holy place; or snare].
·But [or And] for the two ·families [houses] of Israel [C Israel and Judah],
he will be like a stone that causes people to stumble,
like a rock that makes them fall [Rom. 9:33; 1 Pet. 2:6–8].
He will be like a trap for the ·people [inhabitants] of Jerusalem,
and he will catch them in his ·trap [snare].
15 Many people will ·fall over this rock [L stumble over them].
They will fall and be broken;
they will be ·trapped [snared] and caught.”
16 ·Make an agreement [or Preserve this prophecy; L Bind up this testimony].
Seal up the teaching ·while my followers are watching [or and entrust it to my followers/disciples; L among my followers/disciples].
17 I will ·wait for [patiently trust] the Lord [C for his help],
the Lord who is ·ashamed of [L hiding his face from] the ·family of Israel [L house of Jacob].
I will ·wait for [hope in; trust in] him.
18 ·I am here, and with me are [L Look/T Behold, I and] the children the Lord has given me. We are signs and ·proofs [symbols; warnings; omens] for the people of Israel from the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts], who ·lives [dwells] on Mount Zion.
19 Some people say, “Ask the mediums and ·fortune-tellers [necromancers; spiritists], who ·whisper [or chirp] and mutter [C using incantations to call up spirits; 1 Sam. 28:8–11], what to do.” ·But I tell you that people should ask their God for help. Why should people who are still alive ask something from the dead? [or “Should not a nation consult their gods, asking the dead on behalf of the living?”; C in this interpretation the quotation continues to the end of the verse]. 20 ·You should follow the teachings and the agreement with the Lord [L (Look) to the law/instruction and to the testimony]. ·The mediums and fortune-tellers do not [L Those who do not; or If they do not] speak ·the word of the Lord [L according to this word], ·so their words are worth nothing [or they are spiritually blinded; L they have no dawn].
21 ·People will wander through the land [L They will pass through] ·troubled [or destitute] and hungry. When they become hungry, they will become angry and will look up and curse their king and their God. 22 They will look around them at their land and see only ·trouble [distress], darkness, and awful gloom. And they will be forced into the darkness.
Isaiah 8
Amplified Bible
Damascus and Samaria Fall
8 Then the Lord said to me, “Take for yourself a large tablet [for public display] and write on it in ordinary characters: Belonging to [a]Maher-shalal-hash-baz. 2 And I will get faithful witnesses to attest [to this prophecy] for me, Uriah the priest and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah.” 3 So I approached [my wife] the prophetess, and she conceived and gave birth to a son. Then the Lord said to me, “Name him Maher-shalal-hash-baz [to remind the people of the prophecy]; 4 for before the boy knows how to say, ‘My father’ or ‘My mother,’ the riches of Damascus (Aram’s capital) and the spoil of Samaria (Israel’s capital) [b]will be carried away by the king of Assyria.”
5 Again the Lord spoke to me, saying,
6
“Because these people (Judah) have refused the gently flowing waters of [c]Shiloah
And rejoice in Rezin [the king of Aram] and Remaliah’s son [Pekah the king of Israel],
7
Now therefore, listen carefully, the Lord is about to bring on them the waters of the [Euphrates] River, strong and abundant—
The king of Assyria and all his glory;
And it will rise over all its channels and canals and go far beyond its banks.(A)
8
“Then it will [d]sweep on into Judah; it will overflow and pass through [the hills],
Reaching even to the neck [of which Jerusalem is the head],
And its outstretched wings (the armies of Assyria) will fill the width of Your land, O Immanuel.(B)
A Believing Remnant
9
“Be broken [in pieces], O peoples, and be shattered!
Listen, all you [our enemies from the] far countries.
Prepare yourselves [for war], and be shattered;
Prepare yourselves [for war], and be shattered.
10
“Take counsel together [against Judah], but it will come to nothing;
Speak the word, but it will not stand,
For God is with us (Immanuel).”
11 For in this way the Lord spoke to me with His strong hand [upon me] and instructed me not to walk in the way of this people [behaving as they do], saying,
12
“You are not to say, ‘It is a conspiracy!’
In regard to all that this people call a conspiracy,
And you are not to fear what they fear nor be in dread of it.
13
“It is the Lord of hosts whom you are to regard as holy and awesome.
He shall be your [source of] fear,
He shall be your [source of] dread [not man].
14
“Then He shall be a sanctuary [a sacred, indestructible shelter for those who fear and trust Him];
But to both the houses of Israel [both the northern and southern kingdoms—Israel and Judah, He will be] a stone on which to stumble and a rock on which to trip,
A trap and a snare for the inhabitants of Jerusalem.(C)
15
“Many [among them] will stumble over them;
Then they will fall and be broken,
They will even be snared and trapped.”
16 Bind up the testimony, seal the law and the teaching among my (Isaiah’s) disciples. 17 And I will wait for the Lord who is hiding His face from the house of Jacob; and I will look eagerly for Him. 18 Listen carefully, I and the children whom the Lord has given me are [e]for signs and wonders [that will occur] in Israel from the Lord of hosts, who dwells on Mount Zion.
19 When the people [instead of trusting God] say to you, “Consult the mediums [who try to talk to the dead] and the soothsayers who chirp and whisper and mutter,” should not a people consult their God? Should they consult the dead on behalf of the living? 20 [Direct those people] to the law and to the testimony! If their teachings are not in accord with this word, it is because they have no dawn. 21 They [who consult mediums and soothsayers] will pass through the land deeply distressed and hungry, and when they are hungry, they will become enraged and will curse their king and their God as they look upward. 22 Then they will look to the earth, they will see only distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish; and they will be driven away into darkness and overwhelming night.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 8:1 I.e. swift is the plunder, speedy is the prey.
- Isaiah 8:4 Samaria was overthrown by Assyria in 722 b.c., ten years after the downfall of Damascus, fulfilling this prophecy.
- Isaiah 8:6 The perennial spring outside Jerusalem that flowed to the Pool of Siloam, Jerusalem’s water supply. The spring was a symbol of God’s protection and sustaining power.
- Isaiah 8:8 This prophecy was literally fulfilled, and although Aram and Israel were conquered and led into captivity, the kingdom of Judah was spared and continued for over 130 years.
- Isaiah 8:18 Isaiah’s own name means “Salvation of the Lord.” His two children’s names were “signs” as well, the one (see note v 1) pointing to the coming military crisis and the other (see note 7:3) to the future restoration.
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