1The Lord said to me, ‘Take a large scroll and write on it with an ordinary pen: Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz.’[1]2So I called in Uriah the priest and Zechariah son of Jeberekiah as reliable witnesses for me.3Then I made love to the prophetess, and she conceived and gave birth to a son. And the Lord said to me, ‘Name him Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz.4For before the boy knows how to say “My father” or “My mother”, the wealth of Damascus and the plunder of Samaria will be carried off by the king of Assyria.’5The Lord spoke to me again:6‘Because this people has rejected the gently flowing waters of Shiloah and rejoices over Rezin and the son of Remaliah,7therefore the Lord is about to bring against them the mighty floodwaters of the Euphrates – the king of Assyria with all his pomp. It will overflow all its channels, run over all its banks8and sweep on into Judah, swirling over it, passing through it and reaching up to the neck. Its outspread wings will cover the breadth of your land, Immanuel[2]!’9Raise the war cry,[3] you nations, and be shattered! Listen, all you distant lands. Prepare for battle, and be shattered! Prepare for battle, and be shattered!10Devise your strategy, but it will be thwarted; propose your plan, but it will not stand, for God is with us.[4]11This is what the Lord says to me with his strong hand upon me, warning me not to follow the way of this people:12‘Do not call conspiracy everything this people calls a conspiracy; do not fear what they fear, and do not dread it.13The Lord Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, he is the one you are to fear, he is the one you are to dread.14He will be a holy place; for both Israel and Judah he will be a stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall. And for the people of Jerusalem he will be a trap and a snare.15Many of them will stumble; they will fall and be broken, they will be snared and captured.’16Bind up this testimony of warning and seal up God’s instruction among my disciples.17I will wait for the Lord, who is hiding his face from the descendants of Jacob. I will put my trust in him.18Here am I, and the children the Lord has given me. We are signs and symbols in Israel from the Lord Almighty, who dwells on Mount Zion.
The darkness turns to light
19When someone tells you to consult mediums and spiritists, who whisper and mutter, should not a people enquire of their God? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living?20Consult God’s instruction and the testimony of warning. If anyone does not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn.21Distressed and hungry, they will roam through the land; when they are famished, they will become enraged and, looking upwards, will curse their king and their God.22Then they will look towards the earth and see only distress and darkness and fearful gloom, and they will be thrust into utter darkness.
Isaiah 8
English Standard Version
The Coming Assyrian Invasion
1Then the Lord said to me, “Take a large tablet and write on it in common characters,[1] ‘Belonging to Maher-shalal-hash-baz.’[2] (Isa 30:8)2And I will get reliable witnesses, Uriah the priest and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah, to attest for me.” (2Ki 16:10; 2Ki 16:15; Isa 43:10)3And 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; (Ho 1:4)4for before the boy knows how to cry ‘My father’ or ‘My mother,’ the wealth of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria will be carried away before the king of Assyria.” (Isa 7:8; Isa 7:16)5The Lord spoke to me again:6“Because this people has refused the waters of Shiloah that flow gently, and rejoice over Rezin and the son of Remaliah, (Ne 3:15; Isa 7:1; Isa 7:4; Joh 9:7; Joh 9:11)7therefore, behold, the Lord is bringing up against them the waters of the River,[3] mighty and many, the king of Assyria and all his glory. And it will rise over all its channels and go over all its banks, (Isa 7:20; Isa 17:12; Jer 46:8)8and it will sweep on into Judah, it will overflow and pass on, reaching even to the neck, and its outspread wings will fill the breadth of your land, O Immanuel.” (Isa 7:14; Isa 30:28; Isa 36:1)9Be broken,[4] you peoples, and be shattered;[5] give ear, all you far countries; strap on your armor and be shattered; strap on your armor and be shattered. (Da 2:34)10Take counsel together, but it will come to nothing; speak a word, but it will not stand, for God is with us.[6] (Isa 7:7; Isa 8:8; Ro 8:31)
Fear God, Wait for the Lord
11For the Lord spoke thus to me with his strong hand upon me, and warned me not to walk in the way of this people, saying: (Eze 2:8)12“Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread. (Isa 7:2; 1Pe 3:14)13But the Lord of hosts, him you shall honor as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. (Nu 20:12)14And he will become a sanctuary and a stone of offense and a rock of stumbling to both houses of Israel, a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. (Isa 28:16; Eze 11:16; Ro 9:33; 1Pe 2:8)15And many shall stumble on it. They shall fall and be broken; they shall be snared and taken.” (Isa 28:13; Mt 21:44; Lu 20:18)16Bind up the testimony; seal the teaching[7] among my disciples. (Isa 8:1; Da 12:4)17I will wait for the Lord, who is hiding his face from the house of Jacob, and I will hope in him. (De 31:17; Ps 27:14; Ps 33:20; Isa 1:15; Isa 54:8; Hab 2:3)18Behold, I and the children whom the Lord has given me are signs and portents in Israel from the Lord of hosts, who dwells on Mount Zion. (Isa 7:3; Heb 2:13)19And when they say to you, “Inquire of the mediums and the necromancers who chirp and mutter,” should not a people inquire of their God? Should they inquire of the dead on behalf of the living? (Le 19:31; 1Sa 28:11; 2Ki 21:6; 2Ki 23:24; 2Ch 33:6; Ps 106:28; Isa 19:3)20To the teaching and to the testimony! If they will not speak according to this word, it is because they have no dawn. (Isa 60:1; Lu 16:29)21They will pass through the land,[8] greatly distressed and hungry. And when they are hungry, they will be enraged and will speak contemptuously against[9] their king and their God, and turn their faces upward.22And they will look to the earth, but behold, distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish. And they will be thrust into thick darkness. (Isa 5:30; Na 1:8)