Isaiah 8:1-15 ▼

1 Then the LORD said to me, “Take a large scroll and write on it with an ordinary stylus: Maher-shalal-hash-baz.

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 by 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 floodwaters of the Euphrates—the king of Assyria and all his pomp. It will overflow its channels and overrun 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!

9 Huddle together, O peoples, and be shattered; pay attention, all you distant lands; prepare for battle, and be shattered; prepare for battle, and be shattered!

10 Devise a plan, but it will be thwarted; state a proposal, but it will not happen. For God is with us.”

11 For this is what the LORD has spoken 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.

13 The LORD of Hosts is the One you shall 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 a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense, to the dwellers of Jerusalem a trap and a snare.

15 Many will stumble over these; they will fall and be broken; they will be ensnared and captured.”