Isaiah 8–9

¹And Jehovah saith unto me, ‘Take to thee a great tablet, and write upon it with a graving tool of man, To haste spoil, enjoy prey.’ ²And I cause faithful witnesses to testify to me, Uriah the priest, and Zechariah son of Jeberechiah. ³And I draw near unto the prophetess, and she conceiveth, and beareth a son; and Jehovah saith unto me, ‘Call his name Maher-shalal-hash-baz, ⁴for before the youth doth know to cry, My father, and My mother, one taketh away the wealth of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria, before the king of Asshur.’ ⁵And Jehovah addeth to speak unto me again, saying: ⁶‘Because that this people hath refused The waters of Shiloah that go softly, And is rejoicing with Rezin and the son of Remaliah, ⁷Therefore, lo, the Lord is bringing up on them, The waters of the river, the mighty and the great, (The king of Asshur, and all his glory,) And it hath gone up over all its streams, And hath gone on over all its banks. ⁸And it hath passed on into Judah, It hath overflown and passed over, Unto the neck it cometh, And the stretching out of its wings Hath been the fulness of the breadth of thy land, O Emmanu-El!

⁹Be friends, O nations, and be broken, And give ear, all ye far off ones of earth, Gird yourselves, and be broken, Gird yourselves, and be broken. ¹⁰Take counsel, and it is broken, Speak a word, and it doth not stand, Because of Emmanu-El!’ ¹¹For thus hath Jehovah spoken unto me with strength of hand, and instructeth me against walking in the way of this people, saying, ¹²‘Ye do not say, A confederacy, To all to whom this people saith, A confederacy, And its fear ye do not fear, Nor declare fearful. ¹³Jehovah of Hosts—Him ye do sanctify, And He is your Fear, and He your Dread, ¹⁴And He hath been for a sanctuary, And for a stone of stumbling, and for a rock of falling, To the two houses of Israel, For a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. ¹⁵And many among them have stumbled and fallen, And been broken, and snared, and captured.

¹⁶Bind up the testimony, Seal the law among My disciples. ¹⁷And I have waited for Jehovah, Who is hiding His face from the house of Jacob, And I have looked for Him. ¹⁸Lo, I, and the children whom Jehovah hath given to me, Are for signs and for wonders in Israel, From Jehovah of Hosts, who is dwelling in Mount Zion. ¹⁹And when they say unto you, ‘Seek unto those having familiar spirits, And unto wizards, who chatter and mutter, Doth not a people seek unto its God?—For the living unto the dead! ²⁰To the law and to the testimony! If not, let them say after this manner, ‘That there is no dawn to it.’ ²¹ —And it hath passed over into it, hardened and hungry, And it hath come to pass, That it is hungry, and hath been wroth, And made light of its king, and of its God, And hath looked upwards. ²²And unto the land it looketh attentively, And lo, adversity and darkness!—Dimness, distress, and thick darkness is driven away, But not the dimness for which she is in distress!

Chapter 9

¹As the former time made light The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, So the latter hath honoured the way of the sea, Beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations. ²The people who are walking in darkness Have seen a great light, Dwellers in a land of death-shade, Light hath shone upon them. ³Thou hast multiplied the nation, Thou hast made great its joy, They have joyed before Thee as the joy in harvest, As men rejoice in their apportioning spoil. ⁴Because the yoke of its burden, And the staff of its shoulder, the rod of its exactor, Thou hast broken as in the day of Midian. ⁵For every battle of a warrior is with rushing, and raiment rolled in blood, And it hath been for burning—fuel of fire. ⁶For a Child hath been born to us, A Son hath been given to us, And the princely power is on his shoulder, And He doth call his name Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Father of Eternity, Prince of Peace. ⁷To the increase of the princely power, And of peace, there is no end, On the throne of David, and on his kingdom, To establish it, and to support it, In judgment and in righteousness, Henceforth, even unto the age, The zeal of Jehovah of Hosts doth this.

⁸A word hath the Lord sent into Jacob, And it hath fallen in Israel. ⁹And the people have known—all of it, Ephraim, and the inhabitant of Samaria, In pride and in greatness of heart, saying, ¹⁰‘Bricks have fallen, and hewn work we build, Sycamores have been cut down, and cedars we renew.’ ¹¹And Jehovah setteth the adversaries of Rezin on high above him, And his enemies he joineth together, ¹²Aram from before, and Philistia from behind, And they devour Israel with the whole mouth. With all this not turned back hath His anger, And still His hand is stretched out. ¹³And the people hath not turned back unto Him who is smiting it, And Jehovah of Hosts they have not sought. ¹⁴And Jehovah cutteth off from Israel head and tail, Branch and reed—the same day, ¹⁵Elder, and accepted of face, he is the head, Prophet, teacher of falsehood, he is the tail. ¹⁶And the eulogists of this people are causing to err, And its eulogised ones are consumed. ¹⁷Therefore, over its young men the Lord rejoiceth not, And its orphans, and its widows He pitieth not, For every one is profane, and an evil doer, And every mouth is speaking folly. With all this not turned back hath His anger, And still His hand is stretched out. ¹⁸For burned as a fire hath wickedness, Brier and thorn it devoureth, And it kindleth in thickets of the forest, And they lift themselves up, an exaltation of smoke! ¹⁹In the wrath of Jehovah of Hosts Hath the land been consumed, And the people is as fuel of fire; A man on his brother hath no pity, ²⁰And cutteth down on the right, and hath been hungry, And he devoureth on the left, And they have not been satisfied, Each the flesh of his own arm they devour. ²¹Manasseh—Ephraim, and Ephraim—Manasseh, Together they are against Judah, With all this not turned back hath His anger. And still His hand is stretched out!

Chapter 10