Isaiah 8
8
Isaiah’s Child Is a Sign of the LORD’s Protection of Judah
1The Lord said to me, “Take a large writing tablet, and write on it with a pen: ‘Maher Shalal Hash Baz’ [The Looting Will Come Quickly; the Prey Will Be Easy]. 2I will have these dependable witnesses testify: the priest Uriah and Zechariah (son of Jeberechiah).”
3I slept with the prophet. She became pregnant and gave birth to a son. The Lord told me, “Name him Maher Shalal Hash Baz. 4Before the boy knows how to say ‘Daddy’ or ‘Mommy,’ the wealth of Damascus and the loot from Samaria will be carried away to the king of Assyria.”
Assyria Will Invade, but It Will Not Conquer Judah
5The Lord spoke to me again. He said,
6“These people have rejected the gently flowing water of Shiloah
and find joy in Rezin and Remaliah’s son.”
7That is why the Lord is going to bring against them
the raging and powerful floodwaters of the Euphrates River—
the king of Assyria with all his power.
It will overflow all its channels and go over all its banks.
8It will sweep through Judah.
It will overflow and pass through; it will be neck-high.
Its outspread wings will extend over your whole country, O Immanuel.
9Be broken, you people. Be terrified.
Listen, all you distant parts of the earth.
Prepare for battle, but be terrified.
Prepare for battle, but be terrified.
10Make plans for battle, but they will never succeed.
Give orders, but they won’t be carried out,
because God is with us!
Some in Jerusalem Will Stumble Because They Do Not Trust the LORD
11This is what the Lord said with his powerful hand on me.
He warned me not to follow the ways of these people:
12“Don’t say that everything these people call a conspiracy
is a conspiracy.
Don’t fear what they fear.
Don’t let it terrify you.”
13Remember that the Lord of Armies is holy.
He is the one you should fear
and the one you should be terrified of.
14He will be a place of safety for you.
But he will be a rock that makes people trip
and a stumbling block for both kingdoms of Israel.
He will be a trap and a snare for those who live in Jerusalem.
15Many will stumble.
They will fall and be broken.
They will be trapped and caught.
16Tie up the written instructions.
Seal the teachings among my disciples.
17I will wait for the Lord,
who hides his face from the descendants of Jacob.
I will hope in him.
18I am here with the children that the Lord has given me.
We are signs and symbols in Israel
from the Lord of Armies, who lives on Mount Zion.
19People will say to you, “Ask for help from the mediums
and the fortunetellers, who whisper and mutter.”
Shouldn’t people ask their God for help instead?
Why should they ask the dead to help the living?
20They should go to the teachings and to the written instructions.
If people don’t speak these words,
it is because it doesn’t dawn on them.
21They will pass through the land when they are hard-pressed and hungry.
When they are hungry, they will be furious.
Then they will look up, cursing their king and God.
22They will look at the earth and see only distress and gloom.
They will go in anguish and be forced into darkness.
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GOD'S WORD® Translation ©1995, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020 by God's Word to the Nations Mission Society. 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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