Chapter 8
Isaiah 8:1-22
1. Moreover, the Lord said unto me, Take thee a great roll, and write in it with a man’s pen concerning Mahar-shalal-hash-baz.
2. And I took unto me faithful witnesses to record, Uriah the priest, and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah.
3. And I went unto the prophetess; and she conceived, and bare a son: then said the Lord to me, Call his name Mahar-shalal-hash-baz:
4. For before the child shall have knowledge to cry, My father, and my mother, the riches of Damascus, and the spoil of Samaria, shall be taken away before the king of Assyria.
5. The Lord spake also unto me again, saying,
6. Forasmuch as this people refuseth the waters of Shiloah that go softly, and rejoice in Rezin and Remaliah’s son;
7. Now therefore, behold, the Lord bringeth up upon them the waters of the river, strong and many, even the king of Assyria, and all his glory; and he shall come up over all his channels, and go over all his banks.
8. And he shall pass through Judah; he shall overflow and go over; he shall reach even to the neck: and the stretching out of his wings shall fill the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel.
9. Associate yourselves, O ye people, and ye shall be broken in pieces; and give ear, all ye of far countries: gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces; gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces.
10. Take counsel together, and it shall come to nought; speak the word, and it shall not stand: for God is with us.
11. For the Lord spake thus to me with a strong hand, and instructed me, that I should not walk in the way of this people, saying,
12. Say ye not, A confederacy, to all them to whom this people shall say, A confederacy; 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 for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling, and for a rock of offence, to both the houses of Israel; for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
15. And many among them shall stumble, and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken.
16. Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples.
17. And I will wait upon the Lord, that hideth his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him.
18. Behold, I and the children whom the Lord hath given me, are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the Lord of hosts, which dwelleth in mount Zion.
19. And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead?
20. To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.
21. And they shall pass through it hardly bestead and hungry: and it shall come to pass, that, when they shall be hungry, they shall fret themselves, and curse their king and their God, and look upward.
22. And they shall look unto the earth; and behold trouble and darkness, dimness of anguish; and they shall be driven to darkness.
1. And Jehovah said to me. 1 This prophecy contains nothing new, but is a confirmation of the preceding one, in which Isaiah predicted the approaching desolation of the kingdom of Israel and Syria. He had foretold that both countries would be deprived of their kings, before the children who should soon afterwards be born could distinguish between good and evil, that is, before they were grown up. (Isaiah 7:16.) But because the wicked are not terrified by any threatenings, it was therefore necessary that this prediction should be repeated and demonstrated by some outward sign.
First, in order more effectually to arouse the nation, God commands that this prophecy be made publicly known by writing, that it may be understood by all. We have formerly said, 2 that it was the custom of the Prophets, after having been enjoined to deliver any message to the people, to sum up in a few words the substance of what they had said, and to affix it to the gates of the temple; as may be learned from Habakkuk 2:2; for if that passage be compared with the present, the matter will be sufficiently obvious. But here something peculiar is expressed; for God does not merely command him to write the prophecy, but demands a great and large roll, in order that it may be read at a distance. The smaller the writing is, it is the more obscure, and can with greater difficulty be read. To the same purpose is what immediately follows, with the pen of a common man, 3 for אנש (enosh) denotes any man of ordinary rank; and the meaning is, that not even the most ignorant and uneducated persons may be unable to read the writing.