Isaiah 8
8
1Then the Lord told me, “Get a large tablet and write on it in with an ordinary pen, ‘Maher-shalal-hash-baz.’#8:1. Meaning “quick the looting, swift the plunder.” 2I will need Uriah the priest and Zechariah, son of Jeberekiah, to be my trustworthy witnesses.”
3Then I slept with my wife#8:3. “My wife”: supplied for clarity. the prophetess, and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. The Lord told me, “Call him Maher-shalal-hash-baz. 4For even before the boy knows how to say ‘Daddy’ or ‘Mommy,’ the king of Assyria will carry off Damascus' wealth and Samaria's possessions.”
5Then the Lord spoke to me again, saying, 6“Because this people has rejected the waters of Shiloah that gently flow and instead have rejoiced with Rezin and Remaliah's son,#8:6. It is unclear from the Hebrew exactly why the people are rejoicing with Rezin and Remaliah's son. 7the Lord is going to bring the powerful floodwaters of the Euphrates River against them—the king of Assyria with all his glorious army. It will flood all its channels and overflow all its banks. 8It will sweep on into Judah, overflowing and flooding through, reaching up to the neck. Like outspread wings it will engulf the whole of your land, Immanuel!
9Pay attention,#8:9. “Pay attention.” There is much debate over the meaning of the Hebrew word here. Possibilities include: raise the war cry, huddle together, be broken, make an uproar, rage, know etc. you nations, and be smashed! Listen, all you distant lands, get ready, but you will be smashed. Get ready, but you will be smashed. 10You can plan your strategy, but it will be foiled; you can say what you're intending, but it won't happen, for God is with us.”
11For this is what the Lord told me, holding me with a strong hand, instructing me not to follow the way of this people. He said, 12Don't call a conspiracy everything that these people call a conspiracy. Don't fear what they fear. Don't be overawed! 13The Lord Almighty is the one you should see as holy. He is the one you should fear, he is the one you should be in awe of. 14He will be a sanctuary for you. But to the royal families of both Israel and Judah he will be a stone they trip over and a rock that makes them stumble, a trap and a snare to the people who live in Jerusalem. 15Many people will stumble over them. They will fall and be broken. They will be trapped and caught. 16Safeguard this testimony, seal these instructions—they are for my disciples.
17I will wait for the Lord, the one who is hiding his face from Jacob's descendants. I will wait in hope for him.
18Look, I'm here, together with the children the Lord has given me. They are signs and wonders in Israel from the Lord Almighty, who lives on Mount Zion.
19When someone suggests to you, “Go and ask mediums and spiritists who whisper and mutter,” shouldn't people ask their God? Why should they ask the dead on behalf of the living? 20Go and examine God's law and his instructions! If what they say doesn't correspond with God's word, there will be no dawn for them.#8:20. The word “God” is not in the Hebrew text but is supplied here for clarity and emphasis. 21They will wander around the country, depressed and hungry. When they are starving they will become furious, and looking up they will curse their king and their God. 22Then they will look towards the earth and see only misery and gloom and agonizing depression, and they will be thrown out into the darkness.
Currently Selected:
Isaiah 8: FBV
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com
Isaiah 8
8
1 THEN THE Lord said to me, Take a large tablet [of wood, metal, or stone] and write upon it with a graving tool and in ordinary characters [which the humblest man can read]: Belonging to Maher-shalal-hash-baz [they (the Assyrians) hasten to the spoil (of Syria and Israel), they speed to the prey].
2 And I took faithful witnesses to record and attest [this prophecy] for me, Uriah the priest and Zechariah son of Jeberechiah.
3 And I approached [my wife] the prophetess, and when she had conceived and borne a son, the Lord said to me, Call his name Maher-shalal-hash-baz [as a continual reminder to the people of the prophecy],
4 For before the child knows how to say, My father or my mother, the riches of Damascus [Syria's capital] and the spoil of Samaria [Israel's capital] shall be carried away before the king of Assyria.
5 The Lord spoke to me yet again and said,
6 Because this people [Israel and Judah] have refused and despised the waters of Shiloah [Siloam, the only perennial fountain of Jerusalem, and symbolic of God's protection and sustaining power] that go gently, and rejoice in and with Rezin [the king of Syria] and Remaliah's son [Pekah the king of Israel],
7 Now therefore, behold, the Lord brings upon them the waters of the River [Euphrates], strong and many–even the king of Assyria and all the glory [of his gorgeous retinue]; and it will rise over all its channels, brooks, valleys, and canals and extend far beyond its banks; [Isa. 7:17.]
8 And it will sweep on into Judah; it will overflow and go over [the hills], reaching even [but only] to the neck [of which Jerusalem is the head], and the outstretched wings [of the armies of Assyria] shall fill the breadth of Your land, O Immanuel [Messiah, God is with us]! [Num. 14:9; Ps. 46:7.]
9 Make an uproar and be broken in pieces, O you peoples [rage, raise the war cry, do your worst, and be utterly dismayed]! Give ear, all you [our enemies] of far countries. Gird yourselves [for war], and be thrown into consternation! Gird yourselves, and be [utterly] dismayed!
10 Take counsel together [against Judah], but it shall come to nought; speak the word, but it will not stand, for God is with us [Immanuel]!
11 For the Lord spoke thus to me with His strong hand [upon me], and warned and instructed me not to walk in the way of this people, saying,
12 Do not call conspiracy [or hard, or holy] all that this people will call conspiracy [or hard, or holy]; neither be in fear of what they fear, nor [make others afraid and] in dread.
13 The Lord of hosts–regard Him as holy and honor His holy name [by regarding Him as your only hope of safety], and let Him be your fear and let Him be your dread [lest you offend Him by your fear of man and distrust of Him].
14 And He shall be a sanctuary [a sacred and indestructible asylum to those who reverently fear and trust in Him]; but He shall be a Stone of stumbling and a Rock of offense to both the houses of Israel, a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. [Isa. 28:6; Rom. 9:33; I Pet. 2:6-8.]
15 And many among them shall stumble thereon; and they shall fall and be broken, and be snared and taken.
16 Bind up the testimony, seal the law and the teaching among my [Isaiah's] disciples.
17 And I will wait for the Lord, Who is hiding His face from the house of Jacob; and I will look for and hope in Him.
18 Behold, I and the children whom the Lord has given me are signs and wonders [that are to take place] in Israel from the Lord of hosts, Who dwells on Mount Zion.
19 And when the people [instead of putting their trust in God] shall say to you, Consult for direction mediums and wizards who chirp and mutter, should not a people seek and consult their God? Should they consult the dead on behalf of the living?
20 [Direct such people] to the teaching and to the testimony! If their teachings are not in accord with this word, it is surely because there is no dawn and no morning for them.
21 And they [who consult mediums and wizards] shall pass through [the land] sorely distressed and hungry; and when they are hungry, they will fret, and will curse by their king and their God; and whether they look upward
22 Or look to the earth, they will behold only distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish, and into thick darkness and widespread, obscure night they shall be driven away.
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation