Isaiah 8

¹And Jehovah said to me, Take thee a great tablet, and with a man’s writing-instrument write on it, Hasteth-the-prey, Speedeth-the-spoil.

²And I took with me faithful witnesses, Uriah the priest, and Zechariah, the son of Berechiah.

³I went in to the prophetess, and she conceived and bore a son. Then said Jehovah to me, Call his name, Hasteth-the-prey, Speedeth-the-spoil.

⁴For before the child shall learn to say, My father, and My mother, the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria shall be borne away before the king of Assyria.

⁵Moreover, Jehovah spake to me again, saying:

⁶Because this people despiseth The soft-flowing waters of Siloah, And rejoiceth in Rezin, and the son of Remaliah,

⁷Therefore, behold, the Lord bringeth upon them the strong and mighty waters of the river; [The king of Assyria and all his glory.] He shall rise above all his channels, And go over all his banks.

⁸And he shall pass through Judah, overflowing and spreading; Even to the neck shall he reach, And his stretched-out wings shall fill the whole breadth of thy land, O Immanuel!

⁹Rage, ye nations, and despair! Give ear, all ye distant parts of the earth! Gird yourselves, and despair! Gird yourselves, and despair!

¹⁰Form your plan, and it shall come to naught; Give the command, and it shall not stand; For God is with us.

¹¹For thus spake Jehovah to me with a strong hand, Instructing me not to walk in the way of this people:

¹²Call not everything a confederacy which this people calleth a confederacy; Fear ye not what they fear, Neither be afraid!

¹³Jehovah of hosts, sanctify ye him; Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread!

¹⁴And he shall be to you a sanctuary; But a stone of stumbling, and a rock to strike against, To the two houses of Israel, A trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

¹⁵And many among them shall stumble; They shall fall, and be broken; They shall be ensnared and taken.

¹⁶Bind up the revelation, Seal the word, with my disciples!

¹⁷I will, therefore, wait for Jehovah, Who now hideth his face from the house of Jacob; Yet will I look for him.

¹⁸Behold, I, and the children which Jehovah hath given me, Are signs and tokens in Israel From Jehovah of hosts, who dwelleth upon mount Zion.

¹⁹And when they shall say to you, "Inquire of the necromancers and the wizards, That chirp, and that murmur," [Then say ye,] "Should not a people inquire of their God? Should they inquire of the dead for the living?"

²⁰To the word, to the revelation! If they speak not according to this, For them no bright morning shall arise.

²¹They shall pass through the land distressed and famished; And when they are famished, they shall be enraged, and curse their king and their God, And look upward.

²²And if they look to the earth, Behold distress and darkness, fearful darkness! And into darkness shall they be driven.

Isaiah 8

¹Moreover the Lord said unto me, Take thee a great roll, and write in it with a man’s pen concerning Maher–shalal–hash–baz.

²And I took unto me faithful witnesses to record, Uriah the priest, and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah.

³And I went unto the prophetess; and she conceived, and bare a son. Then said the Lord to me, Call his name Maher–shalal–hash–baz.

⁴For 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 before the king of Assyria.

⁵The Lord spake also unto me again, saying,

⁶Forasmuch as this people refuseth the waters of Shiloah that go softly, and rejoice in Rezin and Remaliah’s son;

⁷Now 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:

⁸And 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.

⁹Associate yourselves, O ye people, and 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.

¹⁰Take counsel together, and it shall come to nought; speak the word, and it shall not stand: for God is with us.

¹¹For the Lord spake thus to me with a strong hand, and instructed me that I should not walk in the way of this people, saying,

¹²Say ye not, A confederacy, to all them to whom this people shall say, A confederacy; neither fear ye their fear, nor be afraid.

¹³Sanctify the Lord of hosts himself; and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.

¹⁴And he shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

¹⁵And many among them shall stumble, and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken.

¹⁶Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples.

¹⁷And I will wait upon the Lord, that hideth his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him.

¹⁸Behold, I and the children whom the Lord hath given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the Lord of hosts, which dwelleth in mount Zion.

¹⁹And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead?

²⁰To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.

²¹And they shall pass through it, hardly bestead 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.

²²And they shall look unto the earth; and behold trouble and darkness, dimness of anguish; and they shall be driven to darkness.