The Lord of Hosts, the Only Refuge

11 For this is what the Lord said to me with great power, to keep[a] me from going the way of this people:(A)

12 Do not call everything an alliance
these people say is an alliance.(B)
Do not fear what they fear;(C)
do not be terrified.
13 You are to regard only the Lord of Hosts as holy.(D)
Only He should be feared;(E)
only He should be held in awe.
14 He will be a sanctuary;(F)
but for the two houses of Israel,
He will be a stone(G) to stumble over
and a rock to trip over,(H)
and a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
15 Many will stumble over these;(I)
they will fall and be broken;
they will be snared and captured.

16 Bind up the testimony.(J)
Seal up the instruction(K) among my disciples.
17 I will wait for the Lord,(L)
who is hiding His face from the house of Jacob.(M)
I will wait for Him.

18 Here I am with the children the Lord has given me(N) to be signs and wonders in Israel from the Lord of Hosts who dwells on Mount Zion.

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 8:11 DSS; MT reads instruct

Waiting on God

11 For[a] this is what the Lord spoke to me, as his forceful hand was resting on me, and as he was warning me not to live the way this people were living:[b]

12 “Don’t call conspiracy everything
    that this people calls conspiracy,
and don’t fear what they fear,
    or live in terror.
13 The Lord of the Heavenly Armies—
    he’s the one you are to regard as holy.
Let him be the one whom you fear,
    and let him be the one before whom you stand in terror!
14 Then he will be a sanctuary,
    but for both houses of Israel
he’ll also be a stone with which someone strikes himself,
    a rock one stumbles over,
        a trap and a snare to those who live in Jerusalem.
15 Many will stumble on them;
    They’ll fall and be broken;
        They’ll be snared and captured.

16 “Bind up the testimony,
    and seal up the teaching among my disciples.
17 I’ll wait for the Lord,
    who is hiding his face from the house of Jacob,
        and I’ll put my trust in him.
18 Watch out! I and the children
    whom the Lord has given me
are a sign and a wonder[c] in Israel
    from the Lord of the Heavenly Armies,
        who resides on Mount Zion.”

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 8:11 So 1QIsaa 4QIsae MT; 4QIsaf LXX Syr lack For
  2. Isaiah 8:11 Lit. not to walk in the way of this people
  3. Isaiah 8:18 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read are signs and wonders