Isaiah 8
8
Chapter 8
God will use Assyria to destroy Israel and Syria
1The Lord said to me, ‘Get a large board to write on. Then write clear words on it. Write this name: “Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz.” #8:1 ‘Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz’ means ‘Quickly take all the valuable things’. 2I will call Uriah the priest and Jeberekiah's son, Zechariah, to come to see this. They are honest people who will say what is true.’
3Then I slept with my wife, the prophetess. She became pregnant and she gave birth to a son. The Lord said to me, ‘Call his name Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz. 4Before the child knows how to say “my father” or “my mother”, the king of Assyria will attack Damascus and Samaria. His army will carry away the valuable things from those cities. That is why your son's name must be Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz.’
5The Lord spoke to me again. 6He said, ‘I have blessed my people, like the quiet stream of Shiloah. But they have not accepted my help. Instead, they are happy that King Rezin and Remaliah's son will help them.
7So I will cause this to happen. I, the Lord God, will bring floods of water from the Euphrates river. That will be the king of Assyria and his powerful armies. They will come like a great river that rises high over its sides. 8Its water will come as a flood into Judah. It will cover the land and it will rise as high as people's necks! He will make his wings very wide to cover all your land, Immanuel.’ #8:8 ‘He’ may be the king of Assyria, who will cover all the land with his soldiers. Or he may be the Lord, who will cover his people to keep them safe when the enemy attacks.
9You foreign nations must listen to this! Join together to fight. Shout as you go to battle. But you will never win! You people from countries that are far away, get ready for war. But you will be completely destroyed! 10Decide how you will fight the battle, but your plans will fail! What you decide to do will never happen. God is with us!
The Lord's message to Isaiah
11Now the Lord spoke to me with great power. He warned me that I must not be like the other people in Judah. He said,
12‘Those people are talking about an agreement to turn against the rulers. But do not agree with what they say. Do not be afraid of the things that frighten them. Do not be afraid, as they are. 13Instead, you should understand that the Lord Almighty has all authority. You should respect him as holy and be afraid of him.
14He will be a safe place for you. But for both nations in Israel he will become like a stone that causes people to fall to the ground. #8:14 The two nations were Judah in the south, and Israel (or Ephraim) in the north. The Israelite people had become two kingdoms. He will be like a rock that makes them fall down. He will take hold of the people who live in Jerusalem, like a trap that catches a bird. 15Many people will fall against that rock. They will fall to the ground and it will hurt them. They will become caught in a trap.’
Isaiah's message to his disciples
16Tie a string round the paper where I have written this. Keep it safe as a true message. Give it to my disciples, to teach them. 17I will wait for the Lord to do what he says. He has turned away from the descendants of Jacob. But I will trust him to do what is right.
18Look! Here I am, with the children that the Lord has given to me. We are messages from the Lord Almighty who lives on Mount Zion. We are messages to Israel's people.
19They will say to you, ‘Go to the people who speak to the spirits of dead people. Go to the magicians who speak magic words. They will tell you what you should do. People should ask their gods and spirits to give them messages. People who are alive should ask the spirits of dead people to help them.’
20When they say that to you, remember my teaching. Tell them what I have said will happen. People who talk like that are completely in the dark. There is no truth in what they say. 21Then the people will travel through the land, and they will be sad and hungry. Because of their hunger they will become angry. #8:21 ‘hunger’ is what you feel when you are hungry They will curse their king and their God, as they look up to the sky. 22They will look down at the earth, but they will only see trouble. Everywhere will be dark and people will have no hope. Then they will fall into complete darkness.
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Isaiah 8: EASY
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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