Isaiah 8

1 The LORD said to me, “Take a large tablet, and write on it with a man’s pen, ‘For Maher Shalal Hash Baz’;

And the Lord said to me, Take a great writing-board, and on it put down in common letters, Maher-shalal-hash-baz;

2 and I will take for myself faithful witnesses to testify: Uriah the priest, and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah.”

And take true witnesses to the writing, Uriah the priest, and Zechariah, the son of Jeberechiah.

3 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.’

And I went in to my wife, and she became with child, and gave birth to a son. Then the Lord said to me, Give him the name Maher-shalal-hash-baz,

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.”

For before the child is able to say, Father, or, Mother, the wealth of Damascus and the goods of Samaria will be taken away by the king of Assyria.

5 The LORD spoke to me yet again, saying,

And the Lord said again to me,

6 “Because this people has refused the waters of Shiloah that go softly, and rejoice in Rezin and Remaliah’s son;

Because this people will have nothing to do with the softly-flowing waters of Shiloah, and have fear of Rezin and Remaliah's son;

7 now therefore, behold, the Lord brings upon them the mighty flood waters of the River: the king of Assyria and all his glory. It will come up over all its channels, and go over all its banks.

For this cause the Lord is sending on them the waters of the River, deep and strong, even the king of Assyria and all his glory: and it will come up through all its streams, overflowing all its edges:

8 It will sweep onward into Judah. It will overflow and pass through. It will reach even to the neck. The stretching out of its wings will fill the width of your land, O Immanuel.

And it will come on into Judah; rushing on and overflowing, till the waters are up to the neck; and his outstretched wings will be covering the land from side to side: for God is with us.

9 Make an uproar, you peoples, and be broken in pieces! Listen, all you from far countries: dress for battle, and be shattered! Dress for battle, and be shattered!

Have knowledge, O peoples, and be in fear; give ear, all you far-off parts of the earth:

10 Take counsel together, and it will be brought to nothing; speak the word, and it will not stand, for God is with us.”

Let your designs be formed, and they will come to nothing; give your orders, and they will not be effected: for God is with us.

11 For the LORD spoke this to me with a strong hand, and instructed me not to walk in the way of this people, saying,

For the Lord, controlling me with a strong hand, gave me orders not to go in the way of this people, saying,

12 “Don’t call a conspiracy all that this people call a conspiracy. Don’t fear their threats or be terrorized.

Do not say, It is holy, about everything of which this people says, It is holy; and do not be in fear of what they go in fear of.

13 The LORD of Hosts is who you must respect as holy. He is the one you must fear. He is the one you must dread.

But let the Lord of armies be holy to you, and go in fear of him, giving honour to him.

14 He will be a sanctuary, but for both houses of Israel, he will be a stumbling stone and a rock that makes them fall. For the people of Jerusalem, he will be a trap and a snare.

And he will be for a holy place: but for a stone of falling and a rock of trouble to the two houses of Israel, and to the men of Jerusalem, for a net in which they may be taken.

15 Many will stumble over it, fall, be broken, be snared, and be captured.”

And numbers of them, falling on the stone, will be broken, and will be taken in the net.

16 Wrap up the covenant. Seal the law among my disciples.

Let my teaching be kept secret: and my words be given to my disciples only.

17 I will wait for the LORD, who hides his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him.

And I will be waiting for the Lord, whose face is veiled from the house of Jacob, and I will be looking for him.

18 Behold, 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.

See, I and the children whom the Lord has given me, are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the Lord of armies, whose resting-place is in Mount Zion.

19 When they tell you, “Consult with those who have familiar spirits and with the wizards, who chirp and who mutter,” shouldn’t a people consult with their God? Should they consult the dead on behalf of the living?

And when they say to you, Make request for us to those who have control of spirits, and to those wise in secret arts, who make hollow bird-like sounds; is it not right for a people to make request to their gods, to make request for the living to the dead?

20 Turn to the law and to the covenant! If they don’t speak according to this word, surely there is no morning for them.

Then say to them, Put your faith in the teaching and the witness. ... If they do not say such things. ... For him there is no dawn. ...

21 They will pass through it, very distressed and hungry. It will happen that when they are hungry, they will worry, and curse their king and their God. They will turn their faces upward,

And he will go through the land in bitter trouble and in need of food; and when he is unable to get food, he will become angry, cursing his king and his God, and his eyes will be turned to heaven on high;

22 then look to the earth and see distress, darkness, and the gloom of anguish. They will be driven into thick darkness.

And he will be looking down on the earth, and there will be trouble and dark clouds, black night where there is no seeing.