Isaiah 8
Christian Standard Bible
The Coming Assyrian Invasion
8 Then the Lord said to me, “Take a large piece of parchment[a] and write on it with an ordinary pen:[b](A) Maher-shalal-hash-baz.[c] 2 I have appointed[d] trustworthy witnesses—the priest Uriah and Zechariah son of Jeberechiah.”(B)
3 I was then intimate with the prophetess, and she conceived and gave birth to a son. The Lord said to me, “Name him Maher-shalal-hash-baz, 4 for before the boy knows how to call ‘Father,’ or ‘Mother,’(C) the wealth of Damascus and the spoils of Samaria will be carried off to the king of Assyria.”(D)
5 The Lord spoke to me again:
6 Because these people rejected
the slowly flowing water of Shiloah
and rejoiced with[e] Rezin
and the son of Remaliah,(E)
7 the Lord will certainly bring against them
the mighty rushing water of the Euphrates River—
the king of Assyria and all his glory.
It will overflow its channels
and spill over all its banks.
8 It will pour into Judah,
flood over it, and sweep through,
reaching up to the neck;(F)
and its flooded banks[f]
will fill your entire land, Immanuel!(G)
9 Band together,[g] peoples, and be broken;
pay attention, all you distant lands;
prepare for war, and be broken;
prepare for war, and be broken.
10 Devise a plan; it will fail.(H)
Make a prediction; it will not happen.
For God is with us.[h](I)
The Lord of Armies, the Only Refuge
11 For this is what the Lord said to me with great power, to keep[i] me from going the way of this people:(J)
12 Do not call everything a conspiracy
that these people say is a conspiracy.(K)
Do not fear what they fear;(L)
do not be terrified.
13 You are to regard only the Lord of Armies as holy.(M)
Only he should be feared;(N)
only he should be held in awe.
14 He will be a sanctuary;(O)
but for the two houses of Israel,
he will be a stone(P) to stumble over
and a rock to trip over,(Q)
and a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
15 Many will stumble over these;(R)
they will fall and be broken;
they will be snared and captured.
16 Bind up the testimony.(S)
Seal up the instruction(T) among my disciples.
17 I will wait for the Lord,(U)
who is hiding his face from the house of Jacob.(V)
I will wait for him.
18 Here I am with the children the Lord has given me(W) to be signs and wonders in Israel from the Lord of Armies who dwells on Mount Zion. 19 When they say to you, “Inquire of the mediums and the spiritists who chirp and mutter,”(X) shouldn’t a people inquire of their God?[j] Should they inquire of the dead on behalf of the living?(Y) 20 Go to God’s instruction and testimony!(Z) If they do not speak according to this word, there will be no dawn for them.
21 They will wander through the land, dejected and hungry. When they are famished, they will become enraged, and, looking upward, will curse their king and their God. 22 They will look toward the earth(AA) and see only distress, darkness, and the gloom of affliction, and they will be driven into thick darkness.
Footnotes
- 8:1 Hb obscure
- 8:1 Lit with the pen of a man
- 8:1 = Speeding to the Plunder, Hurrying to the Spoil
- 8:2 Vg; MT, one DSS ms read I will appoint; one DSS ms, LXX, Syr, Tg read Appoint
- 8:6 Or and rejoiced over
- 8:8 Lit its outspread wings
- 8:9 Or Raise the war cry, or Be shattered
- 8:10 Hb Immanuel
- 8:11 DSS; MT reads instruct
- 8:19 Or gods
Isaiah 8
Modern English Version
The Coming Assyrian Invasion
8 Moreover the Lord said to me, Take for yourself a large book and write in it with a man’s pen: “Swift is the booty, speedy is the prey.”[a] 2 I will take to Myself faithful witnesses for testimony, Uriah the priest and Zechariah the son of Jeberekiah. 3 So I went in to the prophetess, and she conceived and bore a son. Then the Lord said to me, Call his name Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz.[b] 4 For before the child knows how 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 spoke to me again, saying:
6 Because this people refuses
the gently flowing waters of Shiloah
and rejoices in Rezin
and the son of Remaliah,
7 now therefore the Lord certainly is about to bring upon them
the strong and plentiful waters of the River,[c]
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 your land,
O Immanuel.
9 Be broken, O you peoples, and be broken in pieces.
And give ear, all you from far countries.
Gird yourselves, but be broken in pieces;
gird yourselves, but be broken in pieces.
10 Take counsel together, but it shall come to nothing;
speak the word, but it shall not stand
for God is with us.
Fear God
11 For the Lord spoke thus to me with a strong hand and instructed me that I should not walk in the way of this people, saying:
12 You should not say, “It is a conspiracy,”
concerning all that this people calls a conspiracy,
neither fear their threats
nor be afraid of them.
13 Sanctify the Lord of Hosts Himself,
and let Him be your fear,
and let Him be your dread.
14 He shall become a sanctuary,
but a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense
to both the houses of Israel,
and a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
15 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 I will wait on the Lord,
who hides His face from the house of Jacob,
and I will eagerly look for Him.
18 See, I and the children whom the Lord has given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the Lord of Hosts who dwells in Mount Zion.
19 When they say to you, “Seek after the mediums and the wizards, who whisper and mutter,” should not a people seek after their God? Should they consult the dead for the living? 20 To the law and to the testimony; if they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them. 21 They shall pass through the land hard-pressed and hungry; when they are hungry, they shall be furious and curse their king and their God as they look upward. 22 Then they shall look to the earth and see trouble and darkness, gloom of anguish. And they shall be driven away into darkness.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 8:1 See v. 3.
- Isaiah 8:3 See v. 1.
- Isaiah 8:7 Euphrates River.
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.