Isaiah 8
8
Assyria Is Coming Soon
1The Lord told me, “Get a large scroll,#8:1 scroll This Hebrew word might also mean a clay or stone tablet. and use an ordinary pen#8:1 ordinary pen Literally, “stylus of a man.” This might be a pen for writing on clay. to write these words: ‘This is for Maher Shalal Hash Baz.’#8:1 Maher Shalal Hash Baz This means “There will soon be looting and stealing.””
2I found some men who could be trusted to serve as witnesses: Uriah the priest and Zechariah son of Jeberekiah. They watched me write those words. 3Then I went to my wife, the woman prophet. She became pregnant and had a son. The Lord told me, “Name the boy Maher Shalal Hash Baz.” 4He said that because before the boy learns to say “Mama” and “Daddy,” God will take all the wealth and riches from Damascus#8:4 Damascus A city in the country of Aram (Syria). and Samaria and give them to the king of Assyria.
5The Lord spoke to me again. 6He said, “These people#8:6 These people Probably Judeans who wanted to join Rezin and Pekah. Also in verse 11. refuse to accept the slow-moving waters of Shiloah.#8:6 Shiloah A channel that carried water from Gihon Spring to a pool at the south end of the City of David (Jerusalem). Men from David’s family were anointed to be kings there. They prefer Rezin and Remaliah’s son.” 7But the Lord will bring the king of Assyria and all his power against them. The Assyrians will come like their swift moving river, like water that rises and spills over its banks. 8This water will be like a flash flood as it passes through Judah. It will rise to Judah’s throat and almost drown him.
But he will spread his wings over your whole country, Immanuel.#8:8 But he … Immanuel Or “Immanuel, it will spread throughout your whole country.” This might be a promise of God’s protection, or it might be a warning about Assyria’s power.
9All you nations, prepare for war.
You will be defeated.
Listen, all you faraway countries!
Prepare for battle.
You will be defeated.
10Make your plans for the fight.
Your plans will be defeated.
Give orders to your armies,
but your orders will be useless,
because God is with us!#8:10 God is with us In Hebrew this is like the name Immanuel.
Warnings to Isaiah
11The Lord spoke to me with his great power and warned#8:11 warned Or “prevented.” me not to be like these people. He said, 12“Don’t think there is a plan against you just because the people say there is. Don’t be afraid of what they fear. Don’t let them frighten you!”
13The Lord All-Powerful is the one you should fear. He is the one you should respect.#8:13 respect Literally, “consider holy.” He is the one who should frighten you. 14If you people would respect him, he would be a safe place#8:14 safe place Or “holy place.” for you. But you don’t respect him, so he is like a stone that you stumble over. He is a rock that makes both families of Israel fall. He has become a trap that all the people of Jerusalem will fall into. 15(Many people will trip over this rock. They will fall and be broken. They will be caught in the trap.)
16 The Lord said, “Write this agreement.#8:16 Write this agreement Or “Take a document.” This could refer to the large scroll in verse 1 or to the promise that follows in verse 17. Tie it up and seal it so that it cannot be changed. Give these teachings to my followers for safekeeping.”
17The Lord has turned away from the family of Jacob.
But I will wait for him.
I trust that he will come to save us.
18Here I am with the children the Lord has given me. We are here as signs from the Lord All-Powerful, who lives on Mount Zion. He is using us to show his plans for the people of Israel.
19The people will say, “Go to the fortunetellers and wizards who mumble and chirp like birds. Ask them what to do.” But I say, “Shouldn’t people go to their God for help? Why go to the dead to get help for the living?” 20You should follow the teachings and the agreement.#8:20 agreement This usually means the agreement God made with Israel through Moses. Here, it probably means the agreement in verse 17. I swear, if you follow those other things, there is no future for you. 21When the enemy comes, there will be hard times and hunger. And when he becomes hungry, he will become angry. He will say curses in the name of his king and his gods. Then he will lift his head upwards like a roaring lion. 22And when the captives turn their faces to the ground, there is only a depressing darkness closing in—the dark sadness of people forced to leave their country.
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Isaiah 8: ERV
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© 1987, 2004 Bible League International
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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