Isa 8 | NASB2020 | STEP | Then the Lord said to me, “ Take for yourself a large tablet and write on it in ordinary letters : Maher-shalal-hash-baz .

Isaiah 8

Damascus and Samaria Fall

1 Then the Lord said to me, “Take for yourself a large tablet and ^awrite on it ^{▼▼Lit with the stylus of man}in ordinary letters: ^{▼▼I.e., swift is the plunder, speedy is the prey
,} ^dMaher-shalal-hash-baz. 2 And ^{▼▼Another reading is take for me}I will take to Myself faithful witnesses for testimony, ^fUriah the priest and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah.” 3 So I approached the prophetess, and she conceived and gave birth to a son. Then the Lord said to me, “Name him ^{▼▼I.e., swift is the plunder, speedy is the prey
,} ^hMaher-shalal-hash-baz; 4 for ⁱbefore the boy knows how to cry out ‘My father’ or ‘My mother,’ the wealth of ^jDamascus and the spoils of Samaria will be carried away before the king of Assyria.”

5 Again the Lord spoke to me further, saying,

6 “Inasmuch as these people have ^krejected the gently flowing waters of Shiloah
And rejoice in ^lRezin and the son of Remaliah;
7 Now therefore, behold, the Lord is about to bring on them the ^mstrong and abundant waters of the ⁿEuphrates River,
That is, the ^oking of Assyria and all his glory;
And it will ^prise over all its channels and go over all its banks.
8 “Then ^qit will sweep on into Judah, it will overflow and pass through,
It will ^rreach as far as the neck;
And the spread of its wings will ^{▼▼Lit be the fullness of}fill the expanse of ^{▼▼Or Your}your land, ^uImmanuel.

A Believing Remnant

9 “ ^vBe broken, you peoples, and be ^{▼▼Or dismayed
,} ^xshattered;
And listen, all remote places of the earth.
^{▼▼Lit Belt up your waist}Get ready, yet be ^{▼▼Or dismayed}shattered;
^{▼▼Lit Belt up your waist}Get ready, yet be ^{▼▼Or dismayed}shattered.
10 “ ^acDevise a plan, but it will fail;
State a ^{▼▼Lit word}proposal, but ^aeit will not stand,
For ^{▼▼Heb Immanu-el
,} ^agGod is with us.”
11 For so the Lord spoke to me ^{▼▼Lit according to the strength of hand}with ^aimighty power and instructed me ^ajnot to walk in the way of this people, saying,

12 “You are not to say, ‘It is a ^akconspiracy!’
Regarding everything that this people call a conspiracy,
And ^alyou are not to fear ^{▼▼Lit their fear}what they fear or be in dread of it.
13 “It is the ^anLord of armies ^aowhom you are to regard as holy.
And He shall be your fear,
And He shall be your dread.
14 “Then He will become a ^apsanctuary;
But to both houses of Israel, He will be a ^aqstone of stumbling and a rock ^{▼▼Or to trip on}of offense,
And a snare and a ^astrap for the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
15 “Many ^atwill stumble over them,
Then they will fall and be broken;
They will be snared and caught.”
16 ^auBind up the testimony, ^avseal the ^{▼▼Or teaching}Law among ^axmy disciples. 17 And I will ^aywait for the Lord ^azwho is hiding His face from the house of Jacob; I will wait eagerly for Him. 18 ^baBehold, I and the children whom the Lord has given me are for ^bbsigns and wonders in Israel from the Lord of armies, who ^bcdwells on Mount Zion.

19 When they say to you, “ ^bdConsult the mediums and the spiritists who whisper and mutter,” should a people not ^beconsult their God? Should they ^bfconsult the dead in behalf of the living? 20 To the ^{▼▼Or teaching
,} ^bhLaw and to the testimony! If they do not speak in accordance with this word, it is because ^bithey have no dawn. 21 They will pass through ^{▼▼Lit it}the land ^bkdejected and hungry, and it will turn out that when they are hungry, they will become enraged and curse ^{▼▼Or by their king}their king and their God as they face upward. 22 Then they will ^bmlook to the earth, and behold, distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish; and they will be ^bndriven away into darkness.