Isaiah 8 — AAB

Assyrian Invasion Prophesied

8Verse 1Then the LORD said to me, “Take a large scroll and write on it with an ordinary⁺stylus: Maher-shalal-hash-baz.^{+Verse 2}And I will appoint for Myself trustworthy witnesses—Uriah the priest and Zechariah son of Jeberekiah.”^{Verse 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.^{Verse 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.”^{Verse 5}And the LORD spoke to me further:^{Verse 6}“Because this people has rejectedthe gently flowing waters of Shiloahand rejoiced in Rezinand the son of Remaliah,^{Verse 7}the Lord will surely bring against themthe mighty floodwaters of the Euphrates⁺—
the king of Assyria and all his pomp.
It will overflow its channelsand overrun its banks.^{Verse 8}It will pour into Judah,swirling and sweeping over it,
reaching up to the neck;its spreading streams will coveryour entire land, O Immanuel!^{+Verse 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!^{Verse 10}Devise a plan, but it will be thwarted;state a proposal, but it will not happen.
For God is with us.⁺”

A Call to Fear God

^{Verse 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:^{Verse 12}“Do not call conspiracyeverything these people regard as conspiracy.Do not fear what they fear;⁺do not live in dread.^{+Verse 13}The LORD of Hosts is the Oneyou shall regard as holy.Only He should be feared;only He should be dreaded.
^{Verse 14}And He will be a sanctuary—but to both houses of Israela stone of stumbling and a rock of offense,⁺to the dwellers of Jerusalema trap and a snare.^{Verse 15}Many will stumble over these;they will fall and be broken;
they will be ensnared and captured.”^{Verse 16}Bind up the testimonyand seal the law among my disciples.^{Verse 17}I will wait for the LORD,who is hiding His face from the house of Jacob.
I will put my trust in Him.^{+Verse 18}Here am I, and the children the LORD has given me⁺as signs and symbols in Israel from the LORD of Hosts, who dwells on Mount Zion.

Darkness and Light

^{Verse 19}When men tell you to consult mediums and spiritists who whisper and mutter, shouldn’t a people consult their God instead? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living?^{Verse 20}To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn.^{Verse 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.^{Verse 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.