Isaiah, 8

¹ And Jehovah proceeded to say to me: “Take for yourself a large tablet and write upon it with the stylus of mortal man,^*1 ‘Maʹher-shalʹal-hash-baz.’^*2

² And let me have attestation for myself by faithful witnesses, U·riʹah the priest and Zech·a·riʹah^*1 the son of Je·ber·e·chiʹah.”^*2

³ Then I went near to the prophetess, and she came to be pregnant and in time gave birth to a son. Jehovah now said to me: “Call his name Maʹher-shalʹal-hash-baz,

⁴ for before the boy will know how to call out, ‘My father!’ and ‘My mother!’ one will carry away the resources of Damascus and the spoil of Sa·marʹi·a before the king of As·syrʹi·a.”

⁵ And Jehovah proceeded to speak yet further to me, saying:

⁶ “For the reason that this people has rejected the waters of the Shi·loʹah^*1 that are going gently, and there is exultation over Reʹzin and the son of Rem·a·liʹah;^*2

⁷ even therefore, look! Jehovah^*1 is bringing up against them the mighty and the many waters of the River, the king of As·syrʹi·a and all his glory. And he will certainly come up over all his streambeds and go over all his banks

⁸ and move on through Judah. He will actually flood and pass over. Up to the neck he will reach. And the outspreading of his wings must occur to fill the breadth of your land, O Im·manʹu·el!”^*1

⁹ Be injurious,^*1 O YOU peoples, and be shattered to pieces; and give ear, all YOU in distant parts of the earth! Gird yourselves, and be shattered to pieces! Gird yourselves, and be shattered to pieces!

¹⁰ Plan out a scheme, and it will be broken up! Speak any word, and it will not stand, for God is with us!^*1

¹¹ For this is what Jehovah has said to me with strongness of the hand, that he may make me turn aside^*1 from walking in the way of this people, saying:

¹² “YOU men must not say, ‘A conspiracy!’ respecting all that of which this people keep saying, ‘A conspiracy!’ and the object of their fear YOU men must not fear, nor must YOU tremble at it.

¹³ Jehovah of armies—he is the One whom YOU should treat as holy, and he should be the object of YOUR fear, and he should be the One causing YOU to tremble.”

¹⁴ And he must become as a sacred place;^*1 but as a stone to strike against and as a rock over which to stumble to both the houses of Israel, as a trap and as a snare to the inhabitants^*2 of Jerusalem.

¹⁵ And many among them will be certain to stumble and to fall and be broken, and to be snared and caught.

¹⁶ Wrap up the attestation,^*1 put a seal about the law among my disciples!^*2

¹⁷ And I will keep in expectation of Jehovah, who is concealing his face from the house of Jacob, and I will hope in him.

¹⁸ Look! I and the children whom Jehovah has given me are as signs and as miracles^*1 in Israel from Jehovah of armies, who is residing in Mount Zion.

¹⁹ And in case they should say to YOU people: “Apply to the spiritistic mediums or to those having a spirit of prediction who are chirping and making utterances in low tones,”^*1 is it not to its God that any people should apply? [Should there be application] to dead persons in behalf of living persons?

²⁰ To^*1 the law and to the attestation! Surely they will keep saying what is according to this statement^*2 that will have no light of dawn.

²¹ And each one^*1 will certainly pass through the land^*2 hard pressed and hungry; and it must occur that because he is hungry and has made himself feel indignant, he will actually call down evil upon his king and upon his God^*3 and will certainly peer upward.

²² And to the earth he will look, and, lo! distress and darkness, obscurity, hard times and gloominess with no brightness.^*1