Isa 8 | ESV | STEP | Then the Lord said to me, Take a large tablet and write on it in common characters , Belonging to Maher-shalal-hash-baz .

‏ Isaiah 8

The Coming Assyrian Invasion

1 Then the Lord said to me, “Take a large tablet ^aand write on it in common characters, ^{▼▼Hebrew with a man’s stylus} ‘Belonging to Maher-shalal-hash-baz.’ ^{▼▼ Maher-shalal-hash-baz means The spoil speeds, the prey hastens} 2 And ^dI will get reliable witnesses, ^eUriah the priest and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah, to attest for me.”

3 And I went to the prophetess, and she conceived and bore a son. Then the Lord said to me, ^f“Call his name Maher-shalal-hash-baz; 4 ^gfor before the boy knows how to cry ‘My father’ or ‘My mother,’ the ^hwealth of ⁱDamascus and the spoil of ^jSamaria will be carried away before the king of Assyria.”

5 The Lord spoke to me again: 6 “Because this people has refused the waters of ^kShiloah that flow gently, and rejoice over ^lRezin and the son of Remaliah, 7 therefore, behold, the Lord is bringing up against them ^mthe waters of ⁿthe River, mighty and many, the king of Assyria and all his glory. And it ^owill rise over all its channels and go over all its banks, 8 and it will sweep on into Judah, it will overflow and pass on, ^preaching even to the neck, and its ^qoutspread wings will fill the breadth of your land, ^rO Immanuel.”

9 Be broken, ^{▼▼Or Be evil} you peoples, and ^tbe shattered; ^{▼▼Or dismayed}
give ear, all you far countries;
strap on your armor and be shattered;
strap on your armor and be shattered.
10 Take counsel together, but it will come to nothing;
speak a word, ^vbut it will not stand,
for God ^wis with us. ^{▼▼The Hebrew for God is with us is Immanuel}

Fear God, Wait for the Lord

11 For the Lord spoke thus to me with his strong hand upon me, and ^ywarned me not to walk in the way of this people, saying: 12 “Do not call ^zconspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and ^aado not fear what they fear, nor be in dread. 13 But the Lord of hosts, ^abhim you shall honor as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. 14 And he will become a ^acsanctuary and ^ada stone of offense and a rock of stumbling to both houses of Israel, a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 15 And many ^aeshall stumble on it. They shall fall and be broken; they shall be snared and taken.”

16 Bind up ^afthe testimony; ^agseal the teaching ^{▼▼Or law; also verse 20} among my disciples. 17 I will ^aiwait for the Lord, who is ^ajhiding his face from the house of Jacob, and I will hope in him. 18 ^akBehold, I and ^althe children whom the Lord has given me are signs and portents in Israel from the Lord of hosts, who dwells on Mount Zion. 19 And when they say to you, “Inquire of the ^ammediums and the necromancers who chirp and mutter,” should not a people inquire of their God? Should they inquire of ^anthe dead on behalf of the living? 20 ^aoTo the teaching and to the testimony! If they will not speak according to this word, it is because they have no ^apdawn. 21 They will pass through the land, ^{▼▼Hebrew it} greatly distressed and hungry. And when they are hungry, they will be enraged and will speak contemptuously against ^{▼▼Or speak contemptuously by} their king and their God, and turn their faces upward. 22 ^asAnd they will look to the earth, but behold, distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish. And they will be thrust into ^atthick darkness.