Isaiah 8
Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition
8 And the Lord said to me: Take thee a great book, and write in it with a man's pen. Take sway the spoils with speed, quickly take the prey.
2 And I took unto me faithful witnesses, Urias the priest, and Zacharias the son of Barachias.
3 And I went to the prophetess, and she conceived, and bore a son. And the Lord said to me: Call his name, Hasten to take away the spoils: Make haste to take away the prey.
4 For before the child know to call his father and his mother, the strength of Damascus, and the spoils of Samaria shall be taken away before the king of the Assyrians.
5 And the Lord spoke to me again, saying:
6 Forasmuch as this people hath cast away the waters of Siloe, that go with silence, and hath rather taken Basin, and the son of Romelia:
7 Therefore behold the Lord will bring upon them the waters of the river strong and many, the king of the Assyrians, and all his glory: and he shall come up over all his channels, and shall overflow all his banks,
8 And shall pass through Juda, overflowing, and going over shall reach even to the neck. And the stretching out of his wings shall fill the breadth of thy land, O Emmanuel.
9 Gather yourselves together, O ye people, and be overcome, and give ear, all ye lands afar off: strengthen yourselves, and be overcome, gird yourselves, and be overcome.
10 Take counsel together, and it shall be defeated: speak a word, and it shall not be done: because God is with us.
11 For thus saith the Lord to me: As he hath taught me, with a strong arm, that I should not walk in the way of this people, saying:
12 Say ye not: A conspiracy: for all that this people speaketh, is a conspiracy: neither fear ye their fear, nor be afraid.
13 Sanctify the Lord of hosts himself: and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.
14 And he shall be a sanctification to you. But for a stone or stumbling, and for a rock of offence to the two houses of Israel, for a snare and a ruin to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
15 And very many of them shall stumble and fall, and shall be broken in pieces, and shall be snared, and taken.
16 Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples.
17 And I will wait for the Lord, who hath hid his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him.
18 Behold I and my children, whom the Lord hath given me for a sign, and for a wonder in Israel from the Lord of hosts, who dwelleth in mount Sion.
19 And when they shall say to you: Seek of pythons, and of diviners, who mutter in their enchantments: should not the people seek of their God, for the living of the dead?
20 To the law rather, and to the testimony. And if they speak not according to this word, they shall not have the morning light.
21 And they shall pass by it, they shall fall, and be hungry: and when they shall be hungry, they will be angry, and curse their king, and their God, and look upwards.
22 And they shall look to the earth, and behold trouble and darkness, weakness and distress, and a mist following them, and they cannot fly away from their distress.
Isaiah 8
GOD’S WORD Translation
Isaiah’s Child Is a Sign of the Lord’s Protection of Judah
8 The Lord said to me, “Take a large writing tablet, and write on it with a pen: ‘Maher Shalal Hash Baz’ [The Looting Will Come Quickly; the Prey Will Be Easy]. 2 I will have these dependable witnesses testify: the priest Uriah and Zechariah (son of Jeberechiah).”
3 I slept with the prophet. She became pregnant and gave birth to a son. The Lord told me, “Name him Maher Shalal Hash Baz. 4 Before the boy knows how to say ‘Daddy’ or ‘Mommy,’ the wealth of Damascus and the loot from Samaria will be carried away to the king of Assyria.”
Assyria Will Invade, but It Will Not Conquer Judah
5 The Lord spoke to me again. He said,
6 “These people have rejected the gently flowing water of Shiloah
and find joy in Rezin and Remaliah’s son.”
7 That is why the Lord is going to bring against them
the raging and powerful floodwaters of the Euphrates River—
the king of Assyria with all his power.
It will overflow all its channels and go over all its banks.
8 It will sweep through Judah.
It will overflow and pass through; it will be neck-high.
Its outspread wings will extend over your whole country, O Immanuel.
9 Be broken, you people. Be terrified.
Listen, all you distant parts of the earth.
Prepare for battle, but be terrified.
Prepare for battle, but be terrified.
10 Make plans for battle, but they will never succeed.
Give orders, but they won’t be carried out,
because God is with us!
Some in Jerusalem Will Stumble Because They Do Not Trust the Lord
11 This is what the Lord said with his powerful hand on me.
He warned me not to follow the ways of these people:
12 “Don’t say that everything these people call a conspiracy
is a conspiracy.
Don’t fear what they fear.
Don’t let it terrify you.”
13 Remember that the Lord of Armies is holy.
He is the one you should fear
and the one you should be terrified of.
14 He will be a place of safety for you.
But he will be a rock that makes people trip
and a stumbling block for both kingdoms of Israel.
He will be a trap and a snare for those who live in Jerusalem.
15 Many will stumble.
They will fall and be broken.
They will be trapped and caught.
16 Tie up the written instructions.
Seal the teachings among my disciples.
17 I will wait for the Lord,
who hides his face from the descendants of Jacob.
I will hope in him.
18 I am here with the children that the Lord has given me.
We are signs and symbols in Israel
from the Lord of Armies, who lives on Mount Zion.
19 People will say to you, “Ask for help from the mediums
and the fortunetellers, who whisper and mutter.”
Shouldn’t people ask their God for help instead?
Why should they ask the dead to help the living?
20 They should go to the teachings and to the written instructions.
If people don’t speak these words,
it is because it doesn’t dawn on them.
21 They will pass through the land when they are hard-pressed and hungry.
When they are hungry, they will be furious.
Then they will look up, cursing their king and God.
22 They will look at the earth and see only distress and gloom.
They will go in anguish and be forced into darkness.
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