Isaiah 8
New King James Version
Assyria Will Invade the Land
8 Moreover the Lord said to me, “Take a large scroll, and (A)write on it with a man’s pen concerning [a]Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz. 2 And I will take for Myself faithful witnesses to record, (B)Uriah the priest and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah.”
3 Then 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 (C)for before the child [b]shall have knowledge to cry ‘My father’ and ‘My mother,’ (D)the riches of Damascus and the [c]spoil of Samaria will be taken away before the king of Assyria.”
5 The Lord also spoke to me again, saying:
6 “Inasmuch as these people refused
The waters of (E)Shiloah that flow softly,
And rejoice (F)in Rezin and in Remaliah’s son;
7 Now therefore, behold, the Lord brings up over them
The waters of [d]the River, strong and mighty—
The king of Assyria and all his glory;
He will [e]go up over all his channels
And go over all his banks.
8 He will pass through Judah,
He will overflow and pass over,
(G)He will reach up to the neck;
And the stretching out of his wings
Will [f]fill the breadth of Your land, O (H)Immanuel.[g]
9 “Be(I) shattered, O you peoples, and be broken in pieces!
Give ear, all you from far countries.
Gird yourselves, but be broken in pieces;
Gird yourselves, but be broken in pieces.
10 (J)Take counsel together, but it will come to nothing;
Speak the word, (K)but it will not stand,
(L)For [h]God is with us.”
Fear God, Heed His Word
11 For the Lord spoke thus to me with [i]a strong hand, and instructed me that I should not walk in the way of this people, saying:
12 “Do not say, ‘A conspiracy,’
Concerning all that this people call a conspiracy,
Nor be afraid of their [j]threats, nor be [k]troubled.
13 The Lord of hosts, Him you shall hallow;
Let Him be your fear,
And let Him be your dread.
14 (M)He will be as a [l]sanctuary,
But (N)a stone of stumbling and a rock of [m]offense
To both the houses of Israel,
As a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
15 And many among them shall (O)stumble;
They shall fall and be broken,
Be snared and [n]taken.”
16 Bind up the testimony,
Seal the law among my disciples.
17 And I will wait on the Lord,
Who (P)hides His face from the house of Jacob;
And I (Q)will hope in Him.
18 (R)Here am I and the children whom the Lord has given me!
We (S)are for signs and wonders in Israel
From the Lord of hosts,
Who dwells in Mount Zion.
19 And when they say to you, (T)“Seek those who are mediums and wizards, (U)who whisper and mutter,” should not a people seek their God? Should they (V)seek the dead on behalf of the living? 20 (W)To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because (X)there[o] is no light in them.
21 They will pass through it hard-pressed and hungry; and it shall happen, when they are hungry, that they will be enraged and (Y)curse [p]their king and their God, and look upward. 22 Then they will look to the earth, and see trouble and darkness, gloom of anguish; and they will be driven into darkness.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 8:1 Lit. Speed the Spoil, Hasten the Booty
- Isaiah 8:4 knows how
- Isaiah 8:4 plunder
- Isaiah 8:7 The Euphrates
- Isaiah 8:7 Overflow
- Isaiah 8:8 Lit. be the fullness of
- Isaiah 8:8 Lit. God-With-Us
- Isaiah 8:10 Heb. Immanuel
- Isaiah 8:11 Mighty power
- Isaiah 8:12 Lit. fear or terror
- Isaiah 8:12 Lit. in dread
- Isaiah 8:14 holy abode
- Isaiah 8:14 stumbling over
- Isaiah 8:15 captured
- Isaiah 8:20 Or they have no dawn
- Isaiah 8:21 Or by their king and by their God
Isaiah 8
New Living Translation
The Coming Assyrian Invasion
8 Then the Lord said to me, “Make a large signboard and clearly write this name on it: Maher-shalal-hash-baz.[a]” 2 I asked Uriah the priest and Zechariah son of Jeberekiah, both known as honest men, to witness my doing this.
3 Then I slept with my wife, and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. And the Lord said, “Call him Maher-shalal-hash-baz. 4 For before this child is old enough to say ‘Papa’ or ‘Mama,’ the king of Assyria will carry away both the abundance of Damascus and the riches of Samaria.”
5 Then the Lord spoke to me again and said, 6 “My care for the people of Judah is like the gently flowing waters of Shiloah, but they have rejected it. They are rejoicing over what will happen to[b] King Rezin and King Pekah.[c] 7 Therefore, the Lord will overwhelm them with a mighty flood from the Euphrates River[d]—the king of Assyria and all his glory. This flood will overflow all its channels 8 and sweep into Judah until it is chin deep. It will spread its wings, submerging your land from one end to the other, O Immanuel.
9 “Huddle together, you nations, and be terrified.
Listen, all you distant lands.
Prepare for battle, but you will be crushed!
Yes, prepare for battle, but you will be crushed!
10 Call your councils of war, but they will be worthless.
Develop your strategies, but they will not succeed.
For God is with us![e]”
A Call to Trust the Lord
11 The Lord has given me a strong warning not to think like everyone else does. He said,
12 “Don’t call everything a conspiracy, like they do,
and don’t live in dread of what frightens them.
13 Make the Lord of Heaven’s Armies holy in your life.
He is the one you should fear.
He is the one who should make you tremble.
14 He will keep you safe.
But to Israel and Judah
he will be a stone that makes people stumble,
a rock that makes them fall.
And for the people of Jerusalem
he will be a trap and a snare.
15 Many will stumble and fall,
never to rise again.
They will be snared and captured.”
16 Preserve the teaching of God;
entrust his instructions to those who follow me.
17 I will wait for the Lord,
who has turned away from the descendants of Jacob.
I will put my hope in him.
18 I and the children the Lord has given me serve as signs and warnings to Israel from the Lord of Heaven’s Armies who dwells in his Temple on Mount Zion.
19 Someone may say to you, “Let’s ask the mediums and those who consult the spirits of the dead. With their whisperings and mutterings, they will tell us what to do.” But shouldn’t people ask God for guidance? Should the living seek guidance from the dead?
20 Look to God’s instructions and teachings! People who contradict his word are completely in the dark. 21 They will go from one place to another, weary and hungry. And because they are hungry, they will rage and curse their king and their God. They will look up to heaven 22 and down at the earth, but wherever they look, there will be trouble and anguish and dark despair. They will be thrown out into the darkness.
Isaiah 8
Good News Translation
Isaiah's Son as a Sign to the People
8 The Lord said to me, “Take a large piece of writing material and write on it in large letters:[a] ‘Quick Loot, Fast Plunder.’ 2 Get two reliable men, the priest Uriah and Zechariah son of Jeberechiah, to serve as witnesses.”
3 Some time later my wife became pregnant. When our son was born, the Lord said to me, “Name him ‘Quick-Loot-Fast-Plunder.’ 4 Before the boy is old enough to say ‘Mamma’ and ‘Daddy,’ all the wealth of Damascus and all the loot of Samaria will be carried off by the king of Assyria.”
The Emperor of Assyria Is Coming
5 The Lord spoke to me again. 6 He said, “Because these people have rejected the quiet waters of Shiloah Brook[b] and tremble[c] before King Rezin and King Pekah, 7 I, the Lord, will bring the emperor of Assyria and all his forces to attack Judah. They will advance like the flood waters of the Euphrates River, overflowing all its banks. 8 They will sweep through Judah in a flood, rising shoulder high and covering everything.”
God is with us! His outspread wings protect the land.[d]
9 Gather together in fear, you nations! Listen, you distant parts of the earth. Get ready to fight, but be afraid! Yes, get ready, but be afraid! 10 Make your plans! But they will never succeed. Talk all you want to! But it is all useless, because God is with us.
The Lord Warns the Prophet
11 With his great power the Lord warned me not to follow the road which the people were following. He said, 12 (A)“Do not join in the schemes of the people and do not be afraid of the things that they fear. 13 Remember that I, the Lord Almighty, am holy; I am the one you must fear. 14 (B)Because of my awesome holiness I am like a stone that people stumble over; I am like a trap that will catch the people of the kingdoms of Judah and Israel and the people of Jerusalem. 15 Many will stumble; they will fall and be crushed. They will be caught in a trap.”
Warning against Consulting the Dead
16 You, my disciples, are to guard and preserve the messages that God has given me. 17 (C)The Lord has hidden himself from his people, but I trust him and place my hope in him.
18 (D)Here I am with the children the Lord has given me. The Lord Almighty, whose throne is on Mount Zion, has sent us as living messages to the people of Israel.
19 But people will tell you to ask for messages from fortunetellers and mediums, who chirp and mutter. They will say, “After all, people should ask for messages from the spirits and consult the dead on behalf of the living.”
20 You are to answer them, “Listen to what the Lord is teaching you! Don't listen to mediums—what they tell you cannot keep trouble away.”[e]
A Time of Trouble
21 The people will wander through the land, discouraged and hungry. In their hunger and their anger they will curse their king and their God. They may look up to the sky 22 or stare at the ground, but they will see nothing but trouble and darkness, terrifying darkness into which they are being driven.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 8:1 large letters; or letters that everyone can read.
- Isaiah 8:6 A stream which flowed from the large spring on the eastern side of Jerusalem.
- Isaiah 8:6 Probable text tremble; Hebrew rejoice.
- Isaiah 8:8 everything.” God … land; or everything. They will spread out over the land. God be with us!”
- Isaiah 8:20 Verse 20 in Hebrew is unclear.
Isaiah 8
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Isaiah’s Son a Sign of the Assyrian Invasion
8 Then the Lord said to me, “Take a large tablet and write on it in common characters, ‘Belonging to Maher-shalal-hash-baz,’[a](A) 2 and have it attested[b] for me by reliable witnesses, the priest Uriah and Zechariah son of Jeberechiah.”(B) 3 And I went to the prophetess, and she conceived and bore a son. Then the Lord said to me, “Name him Maher-shalal-hash-baz, 4 for before the child knows how to call ‘My father’ or ‘My mother,’ the wealth of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria will be carried away by the king of Assyria.”(C)
5 The Lord spoke to me again: 6 “Because this people has refused the waters of Shiloah that flow gently and melt in fear before[c] Rezin and the son of Remaliah,(D) 7 therefore the Lord is bringing up against it the mighty flood waters of the River, the king of Assyria and all his glory; it will rise above all its channels and overflow all its banks; 8 it will sweep on into Judah as a flood and, pouring over, will reach up to the neck, and its outspread wings will fill the breadth of your land, O Immanuel.(E)
9 Take notice,[d] you peoples, and be dismayed;
listen, all you far countries;
gird yourselves and be dismayed![e]
10 Take counsel together, but it shall be brought to naught;
speak a word, but it will not stand,
for God is with us.”(F)
11 The Lord spoke thus to me while his hand was strong upon me and warned me not to walk in the way of this people, saying:(G) 12 “Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and do not fear what it fears or be in dread.(H) 13 But the Lord of hosts, him you shall regard as holy; let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.(I) 14 He will become a sanctuary, a stone one strikes against; for both houses of Israel he will become a rock one stumbles over, a trap and a snare for the inhabitants of Jerusalem.(J) 15 And many among them shall stumble; they shall fall and be broken; they shall be snared and taken.”(K)
Disciples of Isaiah
16 Bind up the testimony; seal the teaching among my disciples.(L) 17 I will wait for the Lord, who is hiding his face from the house of Jacob, and I will hope in him.(M) 18 See, I and the children whom the Lord has given me are signs and portents in Israel from the Lord of hosts, who dwells on Mount Zion.(N) 19 Now if people say to you, “Consult the ghosts and the familiar spirits that chirp and mutter; should not a people consult their gods, the dead on behalf of the living,(O) 20 for teaching and for instruction?” surely those who speak like this will have no dawn!(P) 21 They will pass through the land,[f] greatly distressed and hungry; when they are hungry, they will be enraged and will curse[g] their king and their gods. They will turn their faces upward,(Q) 22 or they will look to the earth, but they will see only distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish, and they will be thrust into thick darkness.[h](R)
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.