Isa 8 | BSB | STEP | Then the LORD said to me, “Take a large scroll and write on it with an ordinary stylus: Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz.

Isaiah 8

Assyrian Invasion Prophesied

1 Then the LORD said to me, “Take a large scroll and write on it with an ordinary ^{▼▼Hebrew with a man's} stylus: Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz. ^{▼▼Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz means The spoil speeds, the prey hastens or Swift to plunder, quick to carry away} 2 And I will appoint for myself trustworthy witnesses— Uriah the priest and Zechariah son of Jeberekiah.” 3 And I had relations with the prophetess, and she conceived and gave birth to a son. The LORD said to me, “Name him Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz. 4 For before the boy knows how to cry ‘Father’ or ‘Mother,’ the wealth of Damascus and the plunder of Samaria will be carried off to the king of Assyria.” 5 And the LORD spoke to me further: 6 “Because this people has rejected the gently flowing waters of Shiloah and rejoiced in Rezin and the son of Remaliah, 7 the Lord will surely bring against them the mighty rushing waters of the Euphrates— ^{▼▼Hebrew the River} the king of Assyria and all his pomp. It will overflow its channels and run over all its banks. 8 It will pour into Judah, swirling and sweeping over it, reaching up to the neck; its spreading streams will cover your entire land, O Immanuel! ^{▼▼Immanuel means God with us} 9 Huddle together, ^{▼▼Or Raise the war cry or Be evil or Be broken} O peoples, and be shattered; pay attention, all you distant lands; prepare for battle, and be broken; prepare for battle, and be dismayed. 10 Devise a plan, but it will be thwarted; state a proposal, but it will not happen. For God is with us.” ^{▼▼The Hebrew for God is with us is Immanuel}

A Call to Fear God

11 For this is what the LORD spoke to me with a strong hand, instructing me not to walk in the way of this people: 12 “Do not call conspiracy everything these people regard as conspiracy. Do not fear what they fear; do not live in dread. ^{▼▼LXX do not be shaken} 13 The LORD of Hosts is the One to regard as holy. Only He should be feared; only He should be dreaded, 14 and He will be a sanctuary. But to both houses of Israel He will be a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense, a trap and a snare to the dwellers of Jerusalem.” 15 Many will stumble over these; they will fall and be broken; they will be ensnared and captured. 16 Bind up the testimony [and] seal the law among my disciples. 17 I will wait for the LORD, who is hiding His face from the house of Jacob. I will put my trust in Him. ^{▼▼Or I will eagerly look for Him} 18 Here am I, and the children the LORD has given me to be signs and symbols in Israel from the LORD of Hosts, who dwells on Mount Zion.

Darkness and Light

19 When men tell you to consult the spirits of the dead and the spiritists who whisper and mutter, shouldn’t a people consult their God [instead] ? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living? 20 To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn. 21 They will roam the land, dejected and hungry. When they are famished, they will become enraged, and looking upward, they will curse their king and their God. 22 Then they will look to the earth and see only distress and darkness and the gloom of anguish. And they will be driven into utter darkness.