Isaiah 8
Legacy Standard Bible
The Coming Assyrian Invasion
8 Then Yahweh said to me, “Take for yourself a large tablet and (A)write on it [a]in ordinary letters: (B)Concerning [b]Maher-shalal-hash-baz. 2 And [c]I will take to Myself faithful witnesses for testimony, (C)Uriah the priest and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah.” 3 Then I drew near to the prophetess, and she conceived and bore a son. Then Yahweh said to me, “Call his name [d](D)Maher-shalal-hash-baz, 4 for (E)before the boy knows how to cry out ‘My father’ or ‘My mother,’ the wealth of (F)Damascus and the spoil of Samaria will be carried away before the king of Assyria.”
5 Again Yahweh spoke to me further, saying,
6 “Inasmuch as these people have (G)rejected the gently flowing waters of Shiloah
And rejoice in (H)Rezin and the son of Remaliah;
7 Now therefore, behold, the Lord is about to bring on them the (I)mighty and abundant waters of the [e](J)River—
The (K)king of Assyria and all his glory;
And it will (L)rise up over all its channels and go over all its banks.
8 Then (M)it will sweep on into Judah; it will overflow and pass through;
It will (N)reach even to the neck;
And the spread of its wings will [f]fill the breadth of [g]Your land, O (O)Immanuel.
Yahweh, a Sanctuary and a Stumbling Stone
9 “(P)Be broken, O peoples, and be [h](Q)shattered;
And give ear, all remote places of the earth.
Gird yourselves, yet be [i]shattered;
Gird yourselves, yet be [j]shattered.
10 (R)Devise counsel, but it will be thwarted;
Speak a word, but (S)it will not stand,
For [k](T)God is with us.”
11 For thus Yahweh spoke to me with a (U)strong hand and disciplined me (V)not to walk in the way of this people, saying,
12 “You are not to say, ‘It is a (W)conspiracy!’
In regard to all that this people call a conspiracy;
And (X)you are not to fear [l]what they fear, and you shall not tremble.
13 It is (Y)Yahweh of hosts (Z)whom you should regard as holy.
And He shall be your fear,
And He shall be your cause of trembling.
14 Then He shall become a (AA)sanctuary;
But to both the houses of Israel, a (AB)stone to strike and a rock to stumble over,
And a snare and a (AC)trap for the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
15 And many (AD)will stumble over them;
Then they will fall and be broken;
They will even be snared and caught.”
16 (AE)Bind up the testimony, (AF)seal the [m]law among (AG)my disciples. 17 And I will (AH)wait for Yahweh (AI)who is hiding His face from the house of Jacob; and I will hope for Him. 18 (AJ)Behold, I and the children whom Yahweh has given me are for (AK)signs and wonders in Israel from Yahweh of hosts, who (AL)dwells on Mount Zion.
Darkness to Light Through the Prince of Peace
19 Now when they say to you, “(AM)Inquire of the mediums and the spiritists who whisper and mutter,” should not a people (AN)inquire of their God? Should they (AO)inquire of the dead on behalf of the living? 20 To the [n](AP)law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because (AQ)they have no dawn. 21 And they will pass through [o]the land (AR)hard-pressed and hungry, and it will be that when they are hungry, they will be angry and curse [p]their king and their God as they face upward. 22 Then they will (AS)look to the earth, and behold, distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish; and they will be (AT)banished into thick darkness.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 8:1 Lit with the stylus of man
- Isaiah 8:1 Lit swift is the spoil, speedy is the plunder, cf. 8:1
- Isaiah 8:2 Or take for me
- Isaiah 8:3 Lit swift is the spoil, speedy is the plunder
- Isaiah 8:7 The Euphrates River
- Isaiah 8:8 Lit be the fullness of
- Isaiah 8:8 Or your
- Isaiah 8:9 Or dismayed
- Isaiah 8:9 Or dismayed
- Isaiah 8:9 Or dismayed
- Isaiah 8:10 Heb Immanuel
- Isaiah 8:12 Lit their fear
- Isaiah 8:16 Or teaching
- Isaiah 8:20 Or teaching
- Isaiah 8:21 Lit it
- Isaiah 8:21 Or by their king
Isaiah 8
Evangelical Heritage Version
Isaiah and His Sons Are a Sign
8 The Lord said to me, “Get a large tablet and write on it with a man’s stylus: For Maher Shalal Hash Baz.”
2 I also swore in faithful witnesses: Uriah the priest and Zechariah son of Jeberekiah.[a]
3 I approached the prophetess, and she conceived and gave birth to a son. Then the Lord said to me, “Name him Maher Shalal Hash Baz.[b] 4 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 Then the Lord spoke to me again and said:
6 Because these people have rejected the gently flowing waters of Shiloah, and they rejoice in Rezin and in Remaliah’s son, 7 therefore, the Lord is now about to bring against them the mighty floodwaters of the River,[c] that is, the king of Assyria in all his glory. It will overflow all its channels, and it will flood all its banks. 8 It will sweep onward into Judah. It will overflow and pass through the land. It will rise up all the way to the neck, and its wingspan will reach across the width of your land, Immanuel.
9 Be broken to pieces, you peoples.
Be shattered![d]
Listen, all of you from faraway countries.
Dress for battle, and be shattered!
Dress for battle, and be shattered!
10 Get together, make your plans,
but they will not succeed.
Speak the word, but it will not stand,
for God is with us.[e]
11 Listen! This is how the Lord spoke to me with a strong hand upon me. He instructed me not to walk in the way of this people. He said:
12 Do not say “A conspiracy!” about everything that this people calls a conspiracy. Do not fear what they fear.[f] Do not be terrified. 13 The Lord of Armies is the one you are to respect as holy. He is the one you must fear. He is the one you must dread. 14 He will be a sanctuary, but for both houses of Israel he will be a stone they stumble over and a rock they fall over, and he will be a snare and a trap for the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 15 Many will stumble over it. They will fall and be broken. They will be snared and captured.
16 Roll up the scroll of testimony. Seal the law among my disciples. 17 I will wait for the Lord, who hides his face from the house of Jacob, and I will wait hopefully for him. 18 Look, I and the children whom the Lord has given me are signs and warnings to Israel from the Lord of Armies, who dwells in Mount Zion.
19 When they tell you, “Consult the mediums and the spiritists, who whisper and mutter,” shouldn’t a people consult their God? Should they consult the dead on behalf of the living? 20 To the law and to the testimony! If people do not speak according to this word, there will be no dawn for them. 21 They will pass through the land, distressed and starving, but when this takes place and they are starving, they will be frustrated, and they will curse their king and their God. They will turn their faces upward, 22 and then they will look down to the ground, but I tell you, they will see only distress, darkness, and the gloom that brings anguish. They will be banished into thick darkness.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 8:2 It is uncertain if this verse is part of the Lord’s command or is an action taken by Isaiah.
- Isaiah 8:3 Maher Shalal Hash Baz means quick to the plunder, swift to the prey.
- Isaiah 8:7 That is, the Euphrates
- Isaiah 8:9 Or terrified
- Isaiah 8:10 Hebrew immanu el
- Isaiah 8:12 Or their threats
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