Isaiah 8
8
Assyria Will Come Soon
1The Lord told me, “Take a large scroll and write on it with an ordinary pen: ‘Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz.’ 2I will gather some men to be reliable witnesses: Uriah the priest and Zechariah son of Jeberekiah.”
3Then I went to the prophetess, and she became pregnant and had a son. The Lord told me, “Name the boy Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz, 4because the king of Assyria will take away all the wealth and possessions of Damascus and Samaria before the boy learns to say ‘my father’ or ‘my mother.’ ”
5Again the Lord spoke to me, saying,
6“These people refuse to accept
the slow-moving waters of the pool of Shiloah
and are terrified of Rezin
and Pekah son of Remaliah.
7So I, the Lord, will bring
the king of Assyria and all his power against them,
like a powerful flood of water from the Euphrates River.
The Assyrians will be like water rising over the banks of the river,
flowing over the land.
8That water will flow into Judah and pass through it,
rising to Judah’s throat.
Immanuel, this army will spread its wings like a bird
until it covers your whole country.”
9Be broken, all you nations,
and be smashed to pieces.
Listen, all you faraway countries.
Prepare for battle and be smashed to pieces!
Prepare for battle and be smashed to pieces!
10Make your plans for the fight,
but they will be defeated.
Give orders to your armies,
but they will be useless,
because God is with us.
Warnings to Isaiah
11The Lord spoke to me with his great power and warned me not to follow the lead of the rest of the people. He said,
12“People are saying that others make plans against them,
but you should not believe them.
Don’t be afraid of what they fear;
do not dread those things.
13But remember that the Lord All-Powerful is holy.
He is the one you should fear;
he is the one you should dread.
14Then he will be a place of safety for you.
But for the two families of Israel,
he will be like a stone that causes people to stumble,
like a rock that makes them fall.
He will be like a trap for the people of Jerusalem,
and he will catch them in his trap.
15Many people will fall over this rock.
They will fall and be broken;
they will be trapped and caught.”
16Make an agreement.
Seal up the teaching while my followers are watching.
17I will wait for the Lord to help us,
the Lord who is ashamed of the family of Israel.
I will wait for him.
18I am here, and with me are the children the Lord has given me. We are signs and proofs for the people of Israel from the Lord All-Powerful, who lives on Mount Zion.
19Some people say, “Ask the mediums and fortune-tellers, who whisper and mutter, what to do.” But I tell you that people should ask their God for help. Why should people who are still alive ask something from the dead? 20You should follow the teachings and the agreement with the Lord. The mediums and fortune-tellers do not speak the word of the Lord, so their words are worth nothing.
21People will wander through the land troubled and hungry. When they become hungry, they will become angry and will look up and curse their king and their God. 22They will look around them at their land and see only trouble, darkness, and awful gloom. And they will be forced into the darkness.
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Isaiah 8: NCV
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The Holy Bible, New Century Version, Copyright © 2005 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
Isaiah 8
8
1Then the Lord said to me, “Take a large tablet and write upon it in common characters, ‘Belonging to Maher-shalal-hashbaz.’ ”#8.1 That is The spoil speeds, the prey hastes 2And I got reliable witnesses, Uriah the priest and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah, to attest for me. 3And I went to the prophetess, and she conceived and bore a son. Then the Lord said to me, “Call his name Maher-shalal-hashbaz; 4for before the child 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.”
5The Lord spoke to me again: 6“Because this people have refused the waters of Shiloah that flow gently, and melt in fear before#8.6 Cn: Heb rejoices in Rezin and the son of Remaliah; 7therefore, behold, the Lord is bringing up against them the waters of the River, 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; 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 Immanu-el.”
9Be broken, you peoples, and be dismayed;
give ear, all you far countries;
gird yourselves and be dismayed;
gird yourselves and be dismayed.
10Take counsel together, but it will come to naught;
speak a word, but it will not stand,
for God is with us.#8.10 Heb immanu el
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: 12#1 Pet 3.14-15. “Do not call conspiracy all that this people call conspiracy, and do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread. 13But the Lord of hosts, him you shall regard as holy; let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. 14#Rom 9.32-33; 1 Pet 2.8. And 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. 15And many shall stumble thereon; they shall fall and be broken; they shall be snared and taken.”
16Bind up the testimony, seal the teaching among my disciples. 17#Heb 2.13. I will wait for the Lord, who is hiding his face from the house of Jacob, and I will hope in him. 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. 19And when they say to you, “Consult the mediums and the wizards who chirp and mutter,” should not a people consult their God? Should they consult the dead on behalf of the living? 20To the teaching and to the testimony! Surely for this word which they speak there is no dawn. 21They will pass through the land,#8.21 Heb it greatly distressed and hungry; and when they are hungry, they will be enraged and will curse#8.21 Or curse by 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.
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Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America