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And the Lord said to me, Take to thee a great book, and write therein with the pointel of man, Swiftly draw thou away spoils, take thou prey soon. (And the Lord said to me, Take thee a large book, and write in it with a common stylus, or with a man’s pen, Mahershalalhashbaz, that is, Quick spoils, fast plunder.)

And I gave to me faithful witnesses, Uriah, the priest, and Zechariah, the son of Jeberechiah. (And I got Uriah, the priest, and Zechariah, the son of Jeberechiah, to be faithful witnesses for me.)

And I nighed to the prophetess; and she conceived, and childed a son. And the Lord said to me, Call thou his name, Haste thou to draw away spoils, haste thou for to take prey. (And I came unto the prophetess; and she conceived, and gave birth to a son. And the Lord said to me, Call thou his name, Mahershalalhashbaz.)

For why before that the child know how to call his father and his mother, the strength of Damascus shall be done away, and the spoils of Samaria, before the king of Assyrians. (And before that the child shall know how to call his father and his mother, the wealth of Damascus, and the spoils of Samaria, shall be carried off by the king of Assyria.)

And the Lord added to speak yet to me, and he said,

For that thing that this people hath cast away the waters of Shiloah, that go with silence (that flow silently), and hath taken more [to] Rezin, and the son of Remaliah,

for this thing lo! the Lord shall bring [up]on them the strong and many waters of the flood, the king of Assyrians, and all his glory (that is, the king of Assyria, and all his glory); and he shall ascend on all the streams thereof, and he shall (over)flow on all the rivers thereof.

And he shall go flowing by Judah, and he shall pass till to the neck, and shall come; and the spreading forth of his wings shall be, and shall fill the breadth of thy land, thou Immanuel. (And he shall come, and he shall flow through Judah, and he shall rise up unto their necks; and the spreading forth of his wings shall fill the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel.)

Peoples, be ye gathered together, and be ye overcome; and all lands afar, hear ye. Be ye comforted, and be ye overcome; gird ye you, and be ye overcome (Ye peoples, be ye gathered together, and then be ye overcome; and all the lands afar off, hear ye. Be ye strengthened, and then be ye overcome; gird ye yourselves, and then be ye overcome;)

10 take ye counsel, and it shall be destroyed; speak ye a word, and it shall not be done, for God is with us. (make ye plans, but they shall be destroyed; speak ye a word, but it shall not be done, for God is with us.)

11 For why the Lord saith these things to me, as he taught me in a strong hand, that I should not go into the way of this people, and said, (For the Lord saith these things to me, as he taught me with a strong hand, that I should not go in the way of this people, and said,)

12 Say ye not, It is swearing together, for why all things which this people speaketh is swearing together; and dread ye not the fearedfulness thereof, neither be ye afeared (and dread ye not, nor be ye afraid, of what they fear).

13 Hallow ye the Lord himself of hosts (Hallow ye the Lord of hosts himself); and he shall be your inward dread, and he shall be your fearedfulness, and (then) he shall be to you into hallowing.

14 Forsooth he shall be into a stone of hurting, and into a stone of stumbling, to [the] twain houses of Israel; into a snare, and into falling, to them that dwell in Jerusalem. (And he shall be a stone of hurting, and a stone of stumbling, to the two houses of Israel; yea, a snare, and a cause of falling, to those who live in Jerusalem.)

15 And full many of them shall stumble, and shall fall, and they shall be all-broken, and they shall be bound, and shall be taken.

16 Bind thou (up) [the] witnessing, mark thou the law in my disciples. (Secure thou the message, or the testimony, yea, mark thou the Law among my disciples.)

17 I shall abide the Lord, that hath hid his face from the house of Jacob, and I shall abide him. (I shall wait for the Lord, who hath hid his face from the house of Jacob, yea, I shall wait for him.)

18 Lo! I and my children, which the Lord gave to me into a sign, and great wonder to Israel, of the Lord of hosts that dwelleth in the hill of Zion. (Lo! I, and my children, whom the Lord gave to me to be signs, and great wonders, in Israel, sent by the Lord of hosts who dwelleth on Mount Zion.)

19 And when they say to you, Ask ye of conjurers, and of false diviners, that gnash in their enchantings, whether the people shall not ask of their God (for) a revelation, for quick men and [the] dead? (And when they say to you, Ask ye of conjurers, and of false diviners, who gnash in their enchantings, Shall not the people ask their gods for a revelation, yea, a word from the dead for the living?)

20 It is to go to the law more rather, and to the witnessing, that if they say not after this word, morrowtide light shall not be to them. (Say thou, It is better to go to the Law, and to the testimony, and if they say not after this word, then the light is not in them.)

21 And it shall pass by that, and it shall fall down, and it shall hunger. And when it shall hunger, it shall be wroth, and shall curse his king and his God, and it shall behold upward. (But they shall pass by that, and they shall fall down, and they shall have hunger. And when they shall have hunger, they shall be angry, and they shall curse their king and their God, and then they shall look upward, but for nought.)

22 And it shall look to the earth, and lo! tribulation, and darknesses, and unbinding, either discomfort, and anguish, and mist (all) pursuing (it); and it shall not be able to flee away from his anguish. (And they shall look about the earth, and lo! tribulation, and darkness, and unbinding, or discomfort, and anguish, and mist, all pursuing them; and they shall not be able to flee away from all their anguish.)

Isaiah and His Children as Signs

The Lord said to me, “Take a large scroll(A) and write on it with an ordinary pen: Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz.”[a](B) So I called in Uriah(C) the priest and Zechariah son of Jeberekiah as reliable witnesses(D) for me. Then I made love to the prophetess,(E) and she conceived and gave birth to a son.(F) And the Lord said to me, “Name him Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz.(G) For before the boy knows(H) how to say ‘My father’ or ‘My mother,’ the wealth of Damascus(I) and the plunder of Samaria will be carried off by the king of Assyria.(J)

The Lord spoke to me again:

“Because this people has rejected(K)
    the gently flowing waters of Shiloah(L)
and rejoices over Rezin
    and the son of Remaliah,(M)
therefore the Lord is about to bring against them
    the mighty floodwaters(N) of the Euphrates—
    the king of Assyria(O) with all his pomp.(P)
It will overflow all its channels,
    run over all its banks(Q)
and sweep on into Judah, swirling over it,(R)
    passing through it and reaching up to the neck.
Its outspread wings(S) will cover the breadth of your land,
    Immanuel[b]!”(T)

Raise the war cry,[c](U) you nations, and be shattered!(V)
    Listen, all you distant lands.
Prepare(W) for battle, and be shattered!
    Prepare for battle, and be shattered!
10 Devise your strategy, but it will be thwarted;(X)
    propose your plan, but it will not stand,(Y)
    for God is with us.[d](Z)

11 This is what the Lord says to me with his strong hand upon me,(AA) warning me not to follow(AB) the way of this people:

12 “Do not call conspiracy(AC)
    everything this people calls a conspiracy;
do not fear what they fear,(AD)
    and do not dread it.(AE)
13 The Lord Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy,(AF)
    he is the one you are to fear,(AG)
    he is the one you are to dread.(AH)
14 He will be a holy place;(AI)
    for both Israel and Judah he will be
a stone(AJ) that causes people to stumble(AK)
    and a rock that makes them fall.(AL)
And for the people of Jerusalem he will be
    a trap and a snare.(AM)
15 Many of them will stumble;(AN)
    they will fall and be broken,
    they will be snared and captured.”

16 Bind up this testimony of warning(AO)
    and seal(AP) up God’s instruction among my disciples.
17 I will wait(AQ) for the Lord,
    who is hiding(AR) his face from the descendants of Jacob.
I will put my trust in him.(AS)

18 Here am I, and the children the Lord has given me.(AT) We are signs(AU) and symbols(AV) in Israel from the Lord Almighty, who dwells on Mount Zion.(AW)

The Darkness Turns to Light

19 When someone tells you to consult(AX) mediums and spiritists,(AY) who whisper and mutter,(AZ) should not a people inquire(BA) of their God? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living? 20 Consult God’s instruction(BB) and the testimony of warning.(BC) If anyone does not speak according to this word, they have no light(BD) of dawn. 21 Distressed and hungry,(BE) they will roam through the land;(BF) when they are famished, they will become enraged and, looking upward, will curse(BG) their king and their God. 22 Then they will look toward the earth and see only distress and darkness and fearful gloom,(BH) and they will be thrust into utter darkness.(BI)

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 8:1 Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz means quick to the plunder, swift to the spoil; also in verse 3.
  2. Isaiah 8:8 Immanuel means God with us.
  3. Isaiah 8:9 Or Do your worst
  4. Isaiah 8:10 Hebrew Immanuel