New Living Translation

New King James Version

The Coming Assyrian Invasion

Then the LORD said to me, “Make a large signboard and clearly write this name on it: Maher-shalal-hash-baz.a”

1

Assyria Will Invade the Land

Moreover the Lord said to me, “Take a large scroll, and write on it with a man’s pen concerning [a]Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz.

2

I asked Uriah the priest and Zechariah son of Jeberekiah, both known as honest men, to witness my doing this.

2

And I will take for Myself faithful witnesses to record, Uriah the priest and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah.”

3

Then I slept with my wife, and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. And the LORD said, “Call him Maher-shalal-hash-baz.

3

Then I went to the prophetess, and she conceived and bore a son. Then the Lord said to me, “Call his name Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz;

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For before this child is old enough to say ‘Papa’ or ‘Mama,’ the king of Assyria will carry away both the abundance of Damascus and the riches of Samaria.”

4

for before the child [b]shall have knowledge to cry ‘My father’ and ‘My mother,’ the riches of Damascus and the [c]spoil of Samaria will be taken away before the king of Assyria.”

5

Then the LORD spoke to me again and said,

5

The Lord also spoke to me again, saying:

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“My care for the people of Judah is like the gently flowing waters of Shiloah, but they have rejected it. They are rejoicing over what will happen tob King Rezin and King Pekah.c

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“Inasmuch as these people refused
The waters of Shiloah that flow softly,
And rejoice in Rezin and in Remaliah’s son;

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Therefore, the Lord will overwhelm them with a mighty flood from the Euphrates Riverd — the king of Assyria and all his glory. This flood will overflow all its channels

7

Now therefore, behold, the Lord brings up over them
The waters of [d]the River, strong and mighty —
The king of Assyria and all his glory;
He will [e]go up over all his channels
And go over all his banks.

8

and sweep into Judah until it is chin deep. It will spread its wings, submerging your land from one end to the other, O Immanuel.

8

He will pass through Judah,
He will overflow and pass over,
He will reach up to the neck;
And the stretching out of his wings
Will [f]fill the breadth of Your land, O Immanuel.[g]

9

“Huddle together, you nations, and be terrified.
Listen, all you distant lands.
Prepare for battle, but you will be crushed!
Yes, prepare for battle, but you will be crushed!

9

“Be shattered, O you peoples, and be broken in pieces!
Give ear, all you from far countries.
Gird yourselves, but be broken in pieces;
Gird yourselves, but be broken in pieces.

10

Call your councils of war, but they will be worthless.
Develop your strategies, but they will not succeed.
For God is with us!e”

10

Take counsel together, but it will come to nothing;
Speak the word, but it will not stand,
For [h]God is with us.”

11

A Call to Trust the LORD

The LORD has given me a strong warning not to think like everyone else does. He said,

11

Fear God, Heed His Word

For the Lord spoke thus to me with [i]a strong hand, and instructed me that I should not walk in the way of this people, saying:

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“Don’t call everything a conspiracy, like they do,
and don’t live in dread of what frightens them.

12

“Do not say, ‘A conspiracy,’
Concerning all that this people call a conspiracy,
Nor be afraid of their [j]threats, nor be [k]troubled.

13

Make the LORD of Heaven’s Armies holy in your life.
He is the one you should fear.
He is the one who should make you tremble.

13

The Lord of hosts, Him you shall hallow;
Let Him be your fear,
And let Him be your dread.

14

He will keep you safe.
But to Israel and Judah
he will be a stone that makes people stumble,
a rock that makes them fall.
And for the people of Jerusalem
he will be a trap and a snare.

14

He will be as a [l]sanctuary,
But a stone of stumbling and a rock of [m]offense
To both the houses of Israel,
As a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

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Many will stumble and fall,
never to rise again.
They will be snared and captured.”

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And many among them shall stumble;
They shall fall and be broken,
Be snared and [n]taken.”

16

Preserve the teaching of God;
entrust his instructions to those who follow me.

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Bind up the testimony,
Seal the law among my disciples.

17

I will wait for the LORD,
who has turned away from the descendants of Jacob.
I will put my hope in him.

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And I will wait on the Lord,
Who hides His face from the house of Jacob;
And I will hope in Him.

18

I and the children the LORD has given me serve as signs and warnings to Israel from the LORD of Heaven’s Armies who dwells in his Temple on Mount Zion.

18

Here am I and the children whom the Lord has given me!
We are for signs and wonders in Israel
From the Lord of hosts,
Who dwells in Mount Zion.

19

Someone may say to you, “Let’s ask the mediums and those who consult the spirits of the dead. With their whisperings and mutterings, they will tell us what to do.” But shouldn’t people ask God for guidance? Should the living seek guidance from the dead?

19

And when they say to you, “Seek those who are mediums and wizards, who whisper and mutter,” should not a people seek their God? Should they seek the dead on behalf of the living?

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Look to God’s instructions and teachings! People who contradict his word are completely in the dark.

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To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there[o] is no light in them.

21

They will go from one place to another, weary and hungry. And because they are hungry, they will rage and curse their king and their God. They will look up to heaven

21

They will pass through it hard-pressed and hungry; and it shall happen, when they are hungry, that they will be enraged and curse [p]their king and their God, and look upward.

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and down at the earth, but wherever they look, there will be trouble and anguish and dark despair. They will be thrown out into the darkness.

22

Then they will look to the earth, and see trouble and darkness, gloom of anguish; and they will be driven into darkness.

Parallel

New Living Translation

New King James Version

Isaiah 8

Isaiah 8