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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The Holy Bible, New Century Version, Copyright © 2005 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
Isaiah 8
8
The Coming Assyrian Invasion
1Then the Lord said to me, “Make a large signboard and clearly write this name on it: Maher-shalal-hash-baz.#8:1 Maher-shalal-hash-baz means “Swift to plunder and quick to carry away.”” 2I asked Uriah the priest and Zechariah son of Jeberekiah, both known as honest men, to witness my doing this.
3Then I slept with my wife, and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. And the Lord said, “Call him Maher-shalal-hash-baz. 4For before this child is old enough to say ‘Papa’ or ‘Mama,’ the king of Assyria will carry away both the abundance of Damascus and the riches of Samaria.”
5Then the Lord spoke to me again and said, 6“My care for the people of Judah is like the gently flowing waters of Shiloah, but they have rejected it. They are rejoicing over what will happen to#8:6a Or They are rejoicing because of. King Rezin and King Pekah.#8:6b Hebrew and the son of Remaliah. 7Therefore, the Lord will overwhelm them with a mighty flood from the Euphrates River#8:7 Hebrew the river.—the king of Assyria and all his glory. This flood will overflow all its channels 8and sweep into Judah until it is chin deep. It will spread its wings, submerging your land from one end to the other, O Immanuel.
9“Huddle together, you nations, and be terrified.
Listen, all you distant lands.
Prepare for battle, but you will be crushed!
Yes, prepare for battle, but you will be crushed!
10Call your councils of war, but they will be worthless.
Develop your strategies, but they will not succeed.
For God is with us!#8:10 Hebrew Immanuel!”
A Call to Trust the Lord
11The Lord has given me a strong warning not to think like everyone else does. He said,
12“Don’t call everything a conspiracy, like they do,
and don’t live in dread of what frightens them.
13Make the Lord of Heaven’s Armies holy in your life.
He is the one you should fear.
He is the one who should make you tremble.
14He will keep you safe.
But to Israel and Judah
he will be a stone that makes people stumble,
a rock that makes them fall.
And for the people of Jerusalem
he will be a trap and a snare.
15Many will stumble and fall,
never to rise again.
They will be snared and captured.”
16Preserve the teaching of God;
entrust his instructions to those who follow me.
17I will wait for the Lord,
who has turned away from the descendants of Jacob.
I will put my hope in him.
18I and the children the Lord has given me serve as signs and warnings to Israel from the Lord of Heaven’s Armies who dwells in his Temple on Mount Zion.
19Someone may say to you, “Let’s ask the mediums and those who consult the spirits of the dead. With their whisperings and mutterings, they will tell us what to do.” But shouldn’t people ask God for guidance? Should the living seek guidance from the dead?
20Look to God’s instructions and teachings! People who contradict his word are completely in the dark. 21They will go from one place to another, weary and hungry. And because they are hungry, they will rage and curse their king and their God. They will look up to heaven 22and down at the earth, but wherever they look, there will be trouble and anguish and dark despair. They will be thrown out into the darkness.
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Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright 1996, 2004, 2007, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation.
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