Isaiah 8
21st Century King James Version
8 Moreover the Lord said unto me, “Take thee a great scroll, and write in it with a man’s pen concerning Mahershalalhashbaz.”
2 And I took unto me faithful witnesses to attest: Uriah the priest and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah.
3 And I went unto the prophetess, and she conceived and bore 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 to the king of Assyria.”
5 The Lord spoke also unto me again, saying,
6 “Inasmuch as this people refuseth the waters of Shiloah that flow 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, yet 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 spoke 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 those 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 you a sanctuary, but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offense to both the houses of Israel, for a trap 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, who 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, who dwelleth in Mount Zion.
19 And when they shall say unto you, “Seek unto those who have familiar spirits and wizards, who peep and who 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 sorely beset 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.
Isaiah 8
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 8
Isaiah’s Son.[a] 1 The Lord said to me: Take a large scroll and write on it in ordinary letters: “Maher-shalal-hash-baz.” 2 I had it attested for me by reliable witnesses, Uriah, the priest, and Zechariah, son of Jeberechiah.
3 Then I went to the prophetess, and she conceived and bore a son. The Lord said to me: Name him Maher-shalal-hash-baz, 4 for, before the child knows how to say “father” or “mother,” the wealth of Damascus and the spoils of Samaria will be carried off by the king of Assyria.
5 [b]Once again the Lord spoke to me and said:
6 Because this people has rejected
the waters of Shiloah that flow gently
and trembled in fear
before Rezin and the son of Remaliah,
7 the Lord will therefore raise against it
the mighty flood waters of the river
(the king of Assyria and all his glory).
The river will rise above all its channels
and overflow all its banks;
8 it will sweep on into Judah like a flood
reaching up to the neck,
and its wings, spreading out,
will cover the breadth of your land, Immanuel.
9 Realize this, you peoples, and be afraid.
Listen, all you far-distant nations.
Arm yourselves, but be frightened;
arm yourselves, but be frightened.
10 No matter what plans you devise,
they will come to naught,
for God is with us.
11 Isaiah’s Followers. This is what the Lord said to me when he held me firmly with his hand and warned me not to follow the ways of this people:
12 [c]Do not call conspiracy what this people calls conspiracy,
and do not fear what they fear
or stand in awe of them.
13 The Lord is the one whom you should proclaim holy;
he must be the object of your fear and awe.
14 He will become a snare, an obstacle,
a rock over which the two houses of Israel[d] will stumble,
a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
15 And many of them will stumble;
they will fall and be broken;
they will be snared and taken captive.
16 Bind up the testimony and seal the teaching
so that my disciples can keep it in their hearts.
17 I will wait eagerly for the Lord
who has hidden his face from the house of Jacob;
I will place my hope in him.
18 I stand here with the children
whom the Lord has given me
to be signs and portents in Israel
sent by the Lord of hosts
who dwells on Mount Zion.
19 People may say to you,
“Seek guidance from ghosts and mediums
who whisper and mutter.
Should not a people consult its gods
and the dead on behalf of the living
20 while seeking instruction or a message?”
Those who offer suggestions like this
will experience no dawn.
21 They will wander through the land
greatly distressed and starving.
Once their hunger becomes acute,
they will be enraged
and curse their king and their gods.
They will turn their gaze upward,
22 or downward to the earth,
but they will behold only distress and anguish,
confusion and the gloom of darkness.
23 As the land of Zebulun[e] and the land of Naphtali were humbled in the past by the Lord, so in the future he will make glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, the district of the Gentiles.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 8:1 The prophet performs an action rich in symbolism: he sires a boy child whose name has been determined in advance; the name means “Quick to the plunder, swift to the spoil.” In this way, the prophet foretells the punishment in store for those who have formed a coalition against the kingdom of Judah. And in fact, Damascus and the provinces of northern Israel will fall into the hands of the Assyrians in 732 B.C.
- Isaiah 8:5 Jerusalem had but a single reservoir, the spring of Shiloah. Was this not perhaps a sign of the invisible protection of God? But when faced with the threat from Syria, the king and people sought a more obvious form of security. As a result, the flood waters of the Euphrates (the river, v. 7), that is, the hordes of the Assyrian invaders, will overwhelm Judah.
- Isaiah 8:12 The conspiracy is the league between Ahaz and Assyria; the conspiracy which the people fear is the Syro-Ephraimite coalition.
- Isaiah 8:14 Two houses of Israel: that is, the kingdoms of Judah and of Israel.
- Isaiah 8:23 Zebulun . . . Naphtali: Galilee.
Copyright © 1994 by Deuel Enterprises, Inc.
