Isaiah 8
1599 Geneva Bible
8 1 The captivity of Israel and Judah by the Assyrians. 6 The infidelity of the Jews. 9 The destruction of the Assyrians. 14 Christ the stone of stumbling to the wicked. 19 The word of God must be inquired at.
1 Moreover the Lord said unto me, Take thee a [a]great roll, and write it [b]with a man’s pen, Make speed to the spoil: haste to the prey.
2 Then I took unto me [c]faithful witnesses to record, Uriah the Priest, and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah.
3 After, I came unto the [d]Prophetess, which conceived, and bare a son. Then said the Lord to me, Call his name, [e]Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz.
4 For before the [f]child shall have knowledge to cry, My father, and my mother, he shall take away the riches of Damascus, and the spoil of Samaria, before the [g]King of Assyria.
5 ¶ And the Lord spake yet again unto me, saying,
6 Because this people hath refused the waters of [h]Shiloah that run softly, and rejoice with Rezin, and the son of Remaliah,
7 Now therefore, behold, the Lord bringeth up upon them the waters of [i]the River mighty and great, even the King of Assyria with all his glory, and he shall come up upon all their rivers, and go over all their banks,
8 And shall break into Judah, and shall overflow, and pass through, and shall come up to the [j]neck, and the stretching out of his wings shall fill the breadth of thy land, O [k]Immanuel.
9 Gather together on heaps, O ye [l]people, and ye shall be broken in pieces, and hearken all ye of far countries: gird yourselves, and you shall be broken in pieces: gird yourselves, and you shall be broken in pieces.
10 Take counsel together, yet, it shall be brought to naught: pronounce a decree, yet shall it not stand: for God is with us.
11 For the Lord spake thus to me, in taking [m]of mine hand, and taught me, that I should not walk in the way of this people, saying,
12 Say ye not, A [n]confederacy, to all them to whom this people saith a confederacy, neither fear you [o]their fear, nor be afraid of them.
13 [p]Sanctify the Lord of hosts, and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread,
14 And he shall be as a [q]Sanctuary: but as a stumbling stone, and as a rock to fall upon, to both the houses of Israel, and as a snare and as a net to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
15 And many among them shall stumble, and shall fall, and shall be broken, and shall be snared, and shall be taken,
16 [r]Bind up the testimony: seal up the Law among my disciples.
17 Therefore I will wait upon the Lord that hath hid his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him.
18 Behold, I and the [s]children whom the Lord hath given me, are as signs and as wonders in Israel, [t]by the Lord of hosts, which dwelleth in Mount Zion.
19 And when they shall say unto you, Inquire at them that have a spirit of divination, and at the soothsayers which whisper and murmur, [u]Should not a people inquire at their God? from the [v]living to the dead?
20 To the [w]Law, and to the testimony, if they speak not according to this word: it is because there is no [x]light in them.
21 Then he that is afflicted and famished, shall go to and fro in [y]it: and when he shall be hungry, he shall even fret himself, [z]and curse his king and his gods, and shall look upward.
22 And when he shall look to the earth, behold trouble, and [aa]darkness, vexation, and anguish, and he is driven to darkness.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 8:1 That thou mayest write in great letters, to the intent it may be more easily read.
- Isaiah 8:1 Meaning, after the common fashion, because all men might read it.
- Isaiah 8:2 Because the thing was of great importance, he took these two witnesses, which were of credit with the people, when he set this up upon the door of the Temple, albeit Uriah was a flattering hypocrite, 2 Kings 16:11.
- Isaiah 8:3 Meaning, to his wife, and this was done in a vision.
- Isaiah 8:3 Or, make speed to the spoil: haste to the prey.
- Isaiah 8:4 Before any child be able to speak.
- Isaiah 8:4 That is, the army of Assyria.
- Isaiah 8:6 Which was a fountain at the foot of mount Zion, out of the which ran a small river through the city: meaning, that they of Judah, distrusting their own power, which was small, desired such power and riches as they saw in Syria and Israel.
- Isaiah 8:7 That is, the Assyrians which dwell beyond Euphrates.
- Isaiah 8:8 It shall be ready to drown them.
- Isaiah 8:8 He speaketh this to Messiah, or Christ, in whom the faithful were comforted, and who would not suffer his Church to be destroyed utterly.
- Isaiah 8:9 To wit, ye that are enemies to the Church, as the Assyrians, Egyptians, Syrians, etc.
- Isaiah 8:11 To encourage me that I should not shrink for the infidelity of this people, and so neglect mine office.
- Isaiah 8:12 Consent not ye that are godly, to the league and friendship that this people seek with strangers and idolaters.
- Isaiah 8:12 Meaning, that they should not fear the thing that they feared, which have no hope in God.
- Isaiah 8:13 In putting your trust only in him, in calling upon him in adversity, patiently looking for his help, and fearing to do anything contrary to his will.
- Isaiah 8:14 He will defend you which are his elect, and reject all the rest, which is meant of Christ, against whom the Jews should stumble and fall, Luke 2:34; Rom. 9:33; 1 Pet. 2:7, 8.
- Isaiah 8:16 Though all forsake me, yet ye that are mine, keep my word sure sealed in your hearts.
- Isaiah 8:18 Meaning, them that were willing to hear and obey the word of God, whom the world hated, as though they were monsters and not worthy to live.
- Isaiah 8:18 This was a consolation in their troubles, knowing that nothing could come unto them, but by the will of the Lord.
- Isaiah 8:19 Answer the wicked thus, Should not God’s people seek succor only at him?
- Isaiah 8:19 This is, will they refuse to be taught of the Prophet, who is the mouth of God, and seek help at the dead, which is the illusion of Satan?
- Isaiah 8:20 Seek remedy in the word of God, where his will is declared.
- Isaiah 8:20 They have no knowledge, but are blind leaders of the blind.
- Isaiah 8:21 That is, in Judah, where they should have had rest, if they had not thus grievously offended God.
- Isaiah 8:21 In whom afore they put their trust.
- Isaiah 8:22 They shall think that heaven and earth and all creatures are bent against them to trouble them.
Isaiah 8
Amplified Bible
Damascus and Samaria Fall
8 Then the Lord said to me, “Take for yourself a large tablet [for public display] and write on it in ordinary characters: Belonging to [a]Maher-shalal-hash-baz. 2 And I will get faithful witnesses to attest [to this prophecy] for me, Uriah the priest and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah.” 3 So I approached [my wife] the prophetess, and she conceived and gave birth to a son. Then the Lord said to me, “Name him Maher-shalal-hash-baz [to remind the people of the prophecy]; 4 for before the boy knows how to say, ‘My father’ or ‘My mother,’ the riches of Damascus (Aram’s capital) and the spoil of Samaria (Israel’s capital) [b]will be carried away by the king of Assyria.”
5 Again the Lord spoke to me, saying,
6
“Because these people (Judah) have refused the gently flowing waters of [c]Shiloah
And rejoice in Rezin [the king of Aram] and Remaliah’s son [Pekah the king of Israel],
7
Now therefore, listen carefully, the Lord is about to bring on them the waters of the [Euphrates] River, strong and abundant—
The king of Assyria and all his glory;
And it will rise over all its channels and canals and go far beyond its banks.(A)
8
“Then it will [d]sweep on into Judah; it will overflow and pass through [the hills],
Reaching even to the neck [of which Jerusalem is the head],
And its outstretched wings (the armies of Assyria) will fill the width of Your land, O Immanuel.(B)
A Believing Remnant
9
“Be broken [in pieces], O peoples, and be shattered!
Listen, all you [our enemies from the] far countries.
Prepare yourselves [for war], and be shattered;
Prepare yourselves [for war], and be shattered.
10
“Take counsel together [against Judah], but it will come to nothing;
Speak the word, but it will not stand,
For God is with us (Immanuel).”
11 For in this way the Lord spoke to me with His strong hand [upon me] and instructed me not to walk in the way of this people [behaving as they do], saying,
12
“You are not to say, ‘It is a conspiracy!’
In regard to all that this people call a conspiracy,
And you are not to fear what they fear nor be in dread of it.
13
“It is the Lord of hosts whom you are to regard as holy and awesome.
He shall be your [source of] fear,
He shall be your [source of] dread [not man].
14
“Then He shall be a sanctuary [a sacred, indestructible shelter for those who fear and trust Him];
But to both the houses of Israel [both the northern and southern kingdoms—Israel and Judah, He will be] a stone on which to stumble and a rock on which to trip,
A trap and a snare for the inhabitants of Jerusalem.(C)
15
“Many [among them] will stumble over them;
Then they will fall and be broken,
They will even be snared and trapped.”
16 Bind up the testimony, seal the law and the teaching among my (Isaiah’s) disciples. 17 And I will wait for the Lord who is hiding His face from the house of Jacob; and I will look eagerly for Him. 18 Listen carefully, I and the children whom the Lord has given me are [e]for signs and wonders [that will occur] in Israel from the Lord of hosts, who dwells on Mount Zion.
19 When the people [instead of trusting God] say to you, “Consult the mediums [who try to talk to the dead] and the soothsayers who chirp and whisper and mutter,” should not a people consult their God? Should they consult the dead on behalf of the living? 20 [Direct those people] to the law and to the testimony! If their teachings are not in accord with this word, it is because they have no dawn. 21 They [who consult mediums and soothsayers] will pass through the land deeply distressed and hungry, and when they are hungry, they will become enraged and will curse their king and their God as they look upward. 22 Then they will look to the earth, they will see only distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish; and they will be driven away into darkness and overwhelming night.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 8:1 I.e. swift is the plunder, speedy is the prey.
- Isaiah 8:4 Samaria was overthrown by Assyria in 722 b.c., ten years after the downfall of Damascus, fulfilling this prophecy.
- Isaiah 8:6 The perennial spring outside Jerusalem that flowed to the Pool of Siloam, Jerusalem’s water supply. The spring was a symbol of God’s protection and sustaining power.
- Isaiah 8:8 This prophecy was literally fulfilled, and although Aram and Israel were conquered and led into captivity, the kingdom of Judah was spared and continued for over 130 years.
- Isaiah 8:18 Isaiah’s own name means “Salvation of the Lord.” His two children’s names were “signs” as well, the one (see note v 1) pointing to the coming military crisis and the other (see note 7:3) to the future restoration.
Geneva Bible, 1599 Edition. Published by Tolle Lege Press. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations in articles, reviews, and broadcasts.
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