Isaiah 8:1-22 BSB

[1] Then the LORD said to me, “Take a large scroll and write on it with an ordinary stylus: Maher-shalal-hash-baz. [2] And I will appoint for Myself trustworthy witnesses— Uriah the priest and Zechariah son of Jeberekiah.” [3] And I had relations with the prophetess, and she conceived and gave birth to a son. The LORD said to me, “Name him Maher-shalal-hash-baz. [4] For before the boy knows how to cry ‘Father’ or ‘Mother,’ the wealth of Damascus and the plunder of Samaria will be carried off by the king of Assyria.” [5] And the LORD spoke to me further: [6] “Because this people has rejected the gently flowing waters of Shiloah and rejoiced in Rezin and the son of Remaliah, [7] the Lord will surely bring against them the mighty floodwaters of the Euphrates—the king of Assyria and all his pomp. It will overflow its channels and overrun its banks. [8] It will pour into Judah, swirling and sweeping over it, reaching up to the neck; its spreading streams will cover your entire land, O Immanuel! [9] Huddle together, O peoples, and be shattered; pay attention, all you distant lands; prepare for battle, and be shattered; prepare for battle, and be shattered! [10] Devise a plan, but it will be thwarted; state a proposal, but it will not happen. For God is with us.” [11] For this is what the LORD has spoken to me with a strong hand, instructing me not to walk in the way of this people: [12] “Do not call conspiracy everything these people regard as conspiracy. Do not fear what they fear; do not live in dread. [13] The LORD of Hosts is the One you shall regard as holy. Only He should be feared; only He should be dreaded. [14] And He will be a sanctuary —but to both houses of Israel a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense, to the dwellers of Jerusalem a trap and a snare. [15] Many will stumble over these; they will fall and be broken; they will be ensnared and captured.” [16] Bind up the testimony and seal the law among my disciples. [17] I will wait for the LORD, who is hiding His face from the house of Jacob. I will put my trust in Him. [18] Here am I, and the children the LORD has given me as signs and symbols in Israel from the LORD of Hosts, who dwells on Mount Zion. [19] When men tell you to consult mediums and spiritists who whisper and mutter, shouldn’t a people consult their God instead? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living? [20] To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn. [21] They will roam the land, dejected and hungry. When they are famished, they will become enraged; and looking upward, they will curse their king and their God. [22] Then they will look to the earth and see only distress and darkness and the gloom of anguish. And they will be driven into utter darkness.