Isa 8:14-15 | NETfull | STEP | He will become a sanctuary, but a stone that makes a person trip, and a rock that makes one stumble – to the two houses of Israel. He will become a trap and a snare to the residents of Jerusalem.

Isaiah 8:14-15

14 He will become a sanctuary, ^{▼▼ Because the metaphor of protection (“sanctuary”) does not fit the negative mood that follows in vv. 14b–15, some contend that מִקְדָּשׁ (miqdash, “sanctuary”) is probably a corruption of an original מוֹקֵשׁ (moqesh, “snare”), a word that appears in the next line (cf. NAB and H. Wildberger, Isaiah, 1:355–56). If the MT reading is retained (as in the above translation), the fact that Yahweh is a sanctuary wraps up the point of v. 13 and stands in contrast to God’s treatment of those who rebel against him (the rest of v. 14).}
but a stone that makes a person trip,
and a rock that makes one stumble –
to the two houses of Israel. ^{▼▼ The two “houses” of Israel (= the patriarch Jacob) are the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah.}
He will become ^{▼▼ These words are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. וְהָיָה (v^ehayah, “and he will be”) does double duty in the parallel structure of the verse.} a trap and a snare
to the residents of Jerusalem. ^{▼▼ For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; Journey of Paul map 1-F4; Journey of Paul map 2-F4; Journey of Paul map 3-F4; Journey of Paul map 4-F4.}
15 Many will stumble over the stone and the rock, ^{▼▼ Heb “over them” (so NASB); NCV “over this rock.”}
and will fall and be seriously injured,
and will be ensnared and captured.”