The Lord Encourages Isaiah

8:11 Indeed this is what the Lord told me. He took hold of me firmly and warned me not to act like these people:21

8:12 “Do not say, ‘Conspiracy,’ every time these people say the word.22

Don’t be afraid of what scares them; don’t be terrified.

8:13 You must recognize the authority of the Lord who commands armies.23

He is the one you must respect;

he is the one you must fear.24

8:14 He will become a sanctuary,25

but a stone that makes a person trip,

and a rock that makes one stumble—

to the two houses of Israel.26

He will become27 a trap and a snare

to the residents of Jerusalem.28

8:15 Many will stumble over the stone and the rock,29

and will fall and be seriously injured,

and will be ensnared and captured.”

8:16 Tie up the scroll as legal evidence,30

seal the official record of God’s instructions and give it to my followers.31

8:17 I will wait patiently for the Lord,

who has rejected the family of Jacob;32

I will wait for him.

8:18 Look, I and the sons whom the Lord has given me33 are reminders and object lessons34 in Israel, sent from the Lord who commands armies, who lives on Mount Zion.