Isaiah 8
8
A Son Becomes a Sign
1The Lord Yahweh said to me, “Take a large tablet # 8:1 See also Hab. 2:2. and engrave upon it these words using the stylus of a man: # 8:1 Or “in the form of a man” or “with an ordinary stylus.” God can use what is written by man to touch man. Weak, ordinary, frail man has the grace to write and speak for God. It was with the hand of a man that God wrote on the wall for Belshazzar and all his guests to see. See Dan. 5. Quickly—to the Plunder! Hurry—to the Loot! # 8:1 This is the meaning of the Hebrew name of Isaiah’s soon-to-be-born son, Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz. 2Then summon two reliable men, Uriah the priest # 8:2 See 2 Kings 16:10. Uriah means “Yahweh is my flame of light.” and Zechariah, son of Jeberechiah, to act as witnesses.” # 8:2 The prophetic act of Isaiah needed to be witnessed by men of stature so that when the fulfillment of the demise of the northern kingdom came to pass, it would be impossible to deny Isaiah’s prophetic message. Perhaps this scroll was unfurled like a banner outside Isaiah’s house or placed over an entrance into the temple area. It would have been publicized in some visible fashion. As the people would pass by this sign, they would wonder what it meant. This was a vivid way to make known the prophecy.
3Then I slept with my wife, the prophetess; # 8:3 Isaiah and his wife were a prophetic duo. Isaiah spoke the word of the Lord, then the prophetess “gave birth” to it. She would literally give birth to the word of God! At the birth of their son, God spoke again and told them the symbolic name of the child, the same message Isaiah had received earlier and had engraved for all to see. Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz was a walking sign; a son became a sign. she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. Then the Lord Yahweh told me, “You will name him Quickly—to the Plunder! Hurry—to the Loot! 4For before the boy knows how to say ‘my father’ or ‘my mother,’ the wealth of Damascus and Samaria will be plundered and carried away by the king of Assyria!”
A Flood or a Peaceful Stream
5The Lord Yahweh spoke to me again: 6“Because these people have rejected the gentle flowing stream of my loving presence # 8:6 Or “Shiloah.” Although some see this as a possible reference to one of the streams of the Gihon Spring, it is more likely a metaphor for the loving care, presence, and blessing of the Lord that flowed to them via David’s monarchy. The rejected blessing contrasts with the overflowing flood of the Euphrates (Assyria) that is about to sweep over the land. Because the Euphrates is a figure of speech for Assyria, Shiloah becomes a figure of speech for God’s loving care; a relational God seeks relationship with his people. He longed to be their fountain of peace, flowing within them like a gentle stream. and melt in fear # 8:6 Or “rejoice,” a Hebrew homophone for “melt in fear” or “rejoice.” before Rezin and the son of Remaliah, 7now, therefore, the Lord is about to bring against them the mighty, massive flood of the Euphrates. The king of Assyria and all his glory # 8:7 That is, his vast armies. will overflow on you like a river flooding its channels and running over all its banks! 8It will flood into Judah, swirling over it, overflowing and reaching up to your neck, O Immanuel, # 8:8 Or “God with us.” and spread out its wings # 8:8 A possible metaphor for the Assyrian armies spreading over the land. God once spread out his wings over the Hebrew people and carried them to Sinai. Now the Assyrian armies spread out their wings and overwhelm them with destruction. over your entire land!”
9You will be broken, # 8:9 Or “Unite [assemble] yourselves.” O nations, and will be shattered.
Listen, all you distant nations. Prepare for war, # 8:9 Or “Gird yourselves.”
though it will backfire on you!
Prepare for war, yet you will be shattered!
10Go ahead, hatch a plot, but it will be foiled!
Go ahead, speak a word,
but it will not stand, for God is with us! # 8:10 The Hebrew is immanuel.
A Snare or a Sanctuary
11Yahweh’s mighty hand rested on me, and he gave me a strong warning # 8:11 Or “he turned me aside” (Dead Sea scroll 1QIsaa). not to act like # 8:11 Or “walk in the way of.” these people.
12“Don’t believe their every conspiracy rumor. And don’t fear what they fear—don’t be moved or terrified. 13Fear nothing and no one except Yahweh, Commander of Angel Armies! Honor him as holy. Be in awe before him with deepest reverence! # 8:13 Or “dread.” 14He will become for you a holy sanctuary but for them a stone people trip over. He is a rock that causes the two houses of Israel to stumble—a trap # 8:14 Or “a noose.” and a snare for the people of Jerusalem. # 8:14 See 1 Peter 2:8. 15Many will stumble and fall and be broken. Yes, they will be snared and taken away captive.”
Trust in the Hidden God
16Now, tie up the scroll and preserve it as legal evidence. Seal my instructions for the future for my disciples. 17I will wait for the Lord Yahweh, who hides his face # 8:17 See Isa. 45:15. from the family of Jacob. And I will place all my hope in him!
18Behold—here I stand, and the children whom the Lord Yahweh has given me are for signs and wonders # 8:18 Or “symbols.” Isaiah’s family was a living prophecy to all who discerned it. in Israel, sent from the Lord Almighty, Commander of Angel Armies, who is enthroned on Mount Zion! # 8:18 This verse has a dual meaning. Historically, it refers to Isaiah and his sons: Shear-Jashub, “a remnant will return,” and Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz, “Quickly—to the Plunder! Hurry—to the Loot.” But there is another meaning to all this. In this verse, Isaiah becomes a type or picture of Christ, who would come to the earth (Immanuel). Hebrews 2:13 quotes this verse about the Lord Jesus Christ and his children. Christ and his disciples (children) will be for signs and wonders (miracles). The Zion-realm is more than just a place. It is the realm where God and his people walk together in fellowship. God wants to dwell in Zion with his consecrated ones.
Darkness or the Light of Dawn
19Now, suppose someone says, “Consult mediums and spiritists who moan and mutter their incantations in their ritual pits; after all, isn’t it right for people to seek oracles from their gods # 8:19 Or “from God.” by asking the dead about the destiny of the living?”
20You are to answer them: “Listen to the teaching and instruction of the Lord! If their speech does not line up with his word, they will have no light of dawn! # 8:20 Or “dayspring.” The implication for the believer is that we will have a “dawn.” The light of dawn is the hope of Jesus Christ that grows inside of us. The path of the righteous is like the light of a sunrise shining in the eastern sky. From dark to dim to bright, it increases (Prov. 4:18). In times of calamity, make sure you quiet your heart and seal up the Word of God in your soul. The dawning of Christ’s glory is coming. For us, the early rays of morning light are already shining. 21They will wander here and there, distressed and hungry. And when they are famished, they will be enraged and begin to curse their king and their God. # 8:21 Or “gods.” If they look to the heavens 22or to the earth, they will find only despair and darkness and fearful gloom, and they will be thrust into obscure darkness!” # 8:22 Or “with no dawn.” The exact meaning of the Hebrew phrase is uncertain.
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Isaiah 8: TPT
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Learn More About The Passion TranslationIsaiah 8
8
VIII
1And Jehovah said unto me: Take unto thee a large roll; and write upon it, in the style of man, Hasten the spoil, take quickly the prey. 2And I took unto me faithful witnesses; Uriah the priest, and Zachariah the son of Jerebechiah. 3And I approached unto the prophetess; and she conceived and bare a son. And Jehovah said unto 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 face of the king of Assyria.
5Yet again Jehovah spoke unto me, saying:
6Because this people hath rejected
The waters of Shiloah, which flow gently;
And rejoiceth in Rezin, and the son of Remaliah:
7Now, therefore, behold the Lord bringeth up upon them
The waters of the river, strong and mighty;
Even the king of Assyria, and all his glory:
And he shall rise above all their channels,
And go over all their banks.
8And he shall pass through Judah, he shall overflow and go over;
Even to the neck shall he reach:
And the spreading of his wings shall be
Over the full breadth of thy land, O Immanuel!
9Link yourselves together, O ye people, yet shall you be broken in pieces;
And give ear, all ye distant lands:
Gird ye yourselves, yet shall you be broken in pieces;
Gird ye yourselves, yet shall you be broken in pieces.
10Take counsel together, yet it shall be brought to nought;
Speak the word, but it shall not stand;
For God is with us.
11For thus said Jehovah unto me, with a strong hand,
When he warned me against walking in the way of this people, saying:
12Call ye not that a confederacy,
Whatsoever this people shall call a confederacy:
And be ye not afraid of their fear, neither be ye terrified.
13 Jehovah of hosts, Him sanctify;
And let him be your fear, and let him be your terror.
14And he shall be unto you for a sanctuary:
But for a stone of stumbling, and for a rock of offence.
To both the houses of Israel;
For a trap, and for a snare, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
15And, against which, many shall stumble,
And shall fall, and be broken; and shall be ensnared, and caught.
16Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples.
17And I will wait for Jehovah, who hideth his face
From the house of Jacob; and I will look for him.
18Behold, I and the children whom Jehovah hath given me
Are for signs and for wonders in Israel;
From Jehovah of hosts,
Who dwelleth upon mount Zion.
19And when they shall say unto you:
Inquire of the necromancers and the wizards,
Who chirp, and mutter:
Say ye, Should not a people inquire of their God?
Should they inquire of the dead concerning the living?
20To the law and to the testimony:
If they will not speak according to this word,
It is because there is no dawn of day for them.
21And they shall pass through the land sorely beset and hungry:
And it shall come to pass when they shall hunger and fret themselves,
They will curse their king, and their God,
22Whether they shall cast their eyes upward,
Or shall look unto the earth; for, behold trouble and obscurity, palpable darkness;
And a thick night whereinto they shall be driven.
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Translated by Rev John Jones (Ioan Tegid).Published at Oxford in 1830, second edition 1842.