Isaiah 8
The Lord instructs Isaiah to write a message on a large book, warning of swift plunder and spoils, and to name his newborn son 'Rush to take away the spoils; Hurry to be plundered' as a sign that before the boy can speak, the strength of Damascus and Samaria will be taken away by the Assyrians. The Lord also warns that the people of Judah have rejected the gentle waters of Shiloah and will be overwhelmed by the powerful waters of the Assyrian king. The Lord instructs Isaiah to sanctify him and not to fear the people's conspiracy, but to trust in him, and to bind the testimony and seal the law among his disciples.
1And the Lord said to me: "Take up for yourself a large book, and with a man’s pen write in it: ‘Take away the spoils quickly; plunder swiftly.’ 2And I summoned to myself faithful witnesses: Uriah, the priest, and Zechariah, the son of Berechiah3And I joined with the prophetess, and she conceived and gave birth to a son. And the Lord said to me: "Call his name: ‘Rush to take away the spoils; Hurry to be plundered.4For before the boy knows how to call to his father and his mother, the strength of Damascus and the spoils of Samaria will be taken away, in the sight of the king of the Assyrians.5And the Lord spoke to me further, saying6"Because this people has cast aside the waters of Shiloah, which go forth silently, and has instead chosen Rezin and the son of Remaliah7for this reason, behold, the Lord will lead over them the waters of a river, strong and plentiful: the king of the Assyrians with all his glory. And he will rise up throughout all his streams, and he will overflow all his banks8And he will pass through Judah, inundating it, and he will cross over and arrive, even at its neck. And he will extend his wings, filling the breadth of your land, O Immanuel.9O people, gather together, and be conquered! All distant lands, listen! Be strengthened, and be conquered! Gird yourselves, and be conquered10Undertake a plan, and it will be dissipated! Speak a word, and it will not be done! For God is with us11For the Lord said this to me, and he has instructed this to me with a strong hand, lest I go forth in the way of this people, saying12"You should not say ‘It is conspiracy!’ For all that this people speaks is a conspiracy. And you should be frightened or alarmed with their fear13Sanctify the Lord of hosts himself. Let him be your dread, and let him be your fear14And so shall he be a sanctification to you. But he will be a stone of offense and a rock of scandal to the two houses of Israel, and a snare and a ruin to the inhabitants of Jerusalem15And very many of them will stumble and fall, and they will be broken and entangled and seized16Bind the testimony, seal the law, among my disciples.17And I will wait for the Lord, who has concealed his face from the house of Jacob, and I will stand before him18Behold: I and my children, whom the Lord has given to me as a sign and a portent, in Israel, from the Lord of hosts, who lives on Mount Zion19And though they say to you, "Seek from seers and diviners," they who hiss in their incantations, should not the people seek from their God, for the sake of the living, and not from the dead20And this is, moreover, for the sake of the law and the testimony. But if they do not speak according to this Word, then he will not have the morning light21And he will pass by it; he will fall and become hungry. And when he is hungry, he will become angry, and he will speak evil against his king and his God, and he will lift himself upward.22And he will gaze downward to the earth, and behold: tribulation and darkness, dissolution and distress, and a pursuing gloom. For he will not be able to fly away from its distress
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