Isaiah · Bible in Basic English
Isaiah 8 Bible in Basic English
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
1 And the Lord said to me, Take a great writing-board, and on it put down in common letters, Maher-shalal-hash-baz;
1 Yahweh said to me, “Take a large tablet, and write on it with a man’s pen, ‘For Maher Shalal Hash Baz’;
2 And take true witnesses to the writing, Uriah the priest, and Zechariah, the son of Jeberechiah.
2 and I will take for myself faithful witnesses to testify: Uriah the priest, and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah.”
3 And I went in to my wife, and she became with child, and gave birth to a son. Then the Lord said to me, Give him the name Maher-shalal-hash-baz,
3 I went to the prophetess, and she conceived, and bore a son. Then Yahweh said to me, “Call his name ‘Maher Shalal Hash Baz.’
4 For before the child is able to say, Father, or, Mother, the wealth of Damascus and the goods of Samaria will be taken away by the king of Assyria.
4 For before the child knows how to say, ‘My father’ and ‘My mother,’ the riches of Damascus and the plunder of Samaria will be carried away by the king of Assyria.”
5 And the Lord said again to me,
5 Yahweh spoke to me yet again, saying,
6 Because this people will have nothing to do with the softly-flowing waters of Shiloah, and have fear of Rezin and Remaliah's son;
6 “Because this people has refused the waters of Shiloah that go softly, and rejoice in Rezin and Remaliah’s son;
7 For this cause the Lord is sending on them the waters of the River, deep and strong, even the king of Assyria and all his glory: and it will come up through all its streams, overflowing all its edges:
7 now therefore, behold, the Lord brings upon them the mighty flood waters of the River: the king of Assyria and all his glory. It will come up over all its channels, and go over all its banks.
8 And it will come on into Judah; rushing on and overflowing, till the waters are up to the neck; ***and his outstretched wings will be covering the land from side to side: for God is with us.
8 It will sweep onward into Judah. It will overflow and pass through. It will reach even to the neck. The stretching out of its wings will fill the width of your land, O Immanuel.
9 Have knowledge, O peoples, and be in fear; give ear, all you far-off parts of the earth:
9 Make an uproar, you peoples, and be broken in pieces! Listen, all you from far countries: dress for battle, and be shattered! Dress for battle, and be shattered!
10 Let your designs be formed, and they will come to nothing; give your orders, and they will not be effected: for God is with us.
10 Take counsel together, and it will be brought to nothing; speak the word, and it will not stand, for God is with us.”
11 For the Lord, controlling me with a strong hand, gave me orders not to go in the way of this people, saying,
11 For Yahweh spoke this to me with a strong hand, and instructed me not to walk in the way of this people, saying,
12 Do not say, It is holy, about everything of which this people says, It is holy; and do not be in fear of what they go in fear of.
12 “Don’t call a conspiracy all that this people call a conspiracy. Don’t fear their threats or be terrorized.
13 But let the Lord of armies be holy to you, and go in fear of him, giving honour to him.
13 Yahweh of Armies is who you must respect as holy. He is the one you must fear. He is the one you must dread.
14 And he will be for a holy place: but for a stone of falling and a rock of trouble to the two houses of Israel, and to the men of Jerusalem, for a net in which they may be taken.
14 He will be a sanctuary, but for both houses of Israel, he will be a stumbling stone and a rock that makes them fall. For the people of Jerusalem, he will be a trap and a snare.
15 And numbers of them, falling on the stone, will be broken, and will be taken in the net.
15 Many will stumble over it, fall, be broken, be snared, and be captured.”
16 Let my teaching be kept secret: and my words be given to my disciples only.
16 Wrap up the covenant. Seal the law among my disciples.
17 And I will be waiting for the Lord, whose face is veiled from the house of Jacob, and I will be looking for him.
17 I will wait for Yahweh, who hides his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him.
18 See, I and the children whom the Lord has given me, are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the Lord of armies, whose resting-place is in Mount Zion.
18 Behold, I and the children whom Yahweh has given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from Yahweh of Armies, who dwells in Mount Zion.
19 And when they say to you, Make request for us to those who have control of spirits, and to those wise in secret arts, who make hollow bird-like sounds; is it not right for a people to make request to their gods, to make request for the living to the dead?
19 When they tell you, “Consult with those who have familiar spirits and with the wizards, who chirp and who mutter,” shouldn’t a people consult with their God? Should they consult the dead on behalf of the living?
20 Then say to them, Put your faith in the teaching and the witness. ... If they do not say such things. ... For him there is no dawn. ...
20 Turn to the law and to the covenant! If they don’t speak according to this word, surely there is no morning for them.
21 And he will go through the land in bitter trouble and in need of food; and when he is unable to get food, he will become angry, cursing his king and his God, and his eyes will be turned to heaven on high;
21 They will pass through it, very distressed and hungry. It will happen that when they are hungry, they will worry, and curse their king and their God. They will turn their faces upward,
22 And he will be looking down on the earth, and there will be trouble and dark clouds, black night where there is no seeing.
22 then look to the earth and see distress, darkness, and the gloom of anguish. They will be driven into thick darkness.
People & places in this chapter
From this site's family tree and Bible maps, only where those guides cite this chapter.
People
Jeberekiah
Named only as the father of the Zechariah who witnessed Isaiah's scroll.
Cited in the guide: Isaiah 8:2
Maher-shalal-hash-baz
The son born to Isaiah and the prophetess, whom the LORD told him to name Maher-shalal-hash-baz.
Cited in the guide: Isaiah 8:1; Isaiah 8:3
Zechariah
Zechariah son of Jeberekiah, appointed by the LORD as a trustworthy witness together with Uriah the priest.
Cited in the guide: Isaiah 8:2
Cross references (22)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 1 Isaiah 30:8; Isaiah 8:3; Job 19:23–24; Habakkuk 2:2–3; Revelation 21:17
- 2 2 Kings 16:10–11; 2 Kings 16:15–16; 2 Kings 18:2; 2 Corinthians 13:1; Ruth 4:10–11
- 3 Hosea 1:3–9; 2 Kings 22:14; Isaiah 7:13–14; Judges 4:4
- 4 Romans 9:11; 2 Kings 17:3; 2 Kings 16:9; Isaiah 10:6–14; 2 Kings 17:5–6
- 5 Isaiah 7:10
- 6 John 9:7; Nehemiah 3:15; Jeremiah 2:13; Jeremiah 2:18; Judges 9:16–20
- 7 Isaiah 17:12–13; Isaiah 7:20; Genesis 6:17; Amos 9:5; Amos 8:8
- 8 Isaiah 7:14; Isaiah 30:28; Matthew 1:23; Isaiah 28:14–22; Isaiah 36:1–22
- 9 Isaiah 14:5–6; Proverbs 11:21; Psalm 37:14–15; 1 Kings 20:11; Joel 3:9–14
- 10 Lamentations 3:37; Romans 8:31; Job 5:12; Proverbs 21:30; Psalm 46:11
- 11 Ezekiel 3:14; Proverbs 1:15; Jeremiah 15:19; Jeremiah 20:7; Jeremiah 20:9
- 12 1 Peter 3:14–15; Luke 21:9; Psalm 53:5; Isaiah 51:12–13; Isaiah 30:1
- 13 Luke 12:5; Isaiah 26:3–4; Revelation 15:4; Matthew 10:28; Psalm 76:7
- 14 1 Peter 2:8; Romans 9:32–33; Isaiah 28:16; Luke 2:34; Ezekiel 11:16
- 15 Matthew 21:44; Isaiah 28:13; Luke 20:17–18; Romans 9:32; Matthew 15:14
- 16 Daniel 12:4; Hebrews 3:5; Revelation 19:10; Mark 4:10–11; 1 Corinthians 2:14
- 17 Hebrews 10:36–39; Habakkuk 2:3; Lamentations 3:25–26; Isaiah 25:9; Psalm 33:20
- 18 Hebrews 2:13–14; Luke 2:34; Zechariah 8:3; Isaiah 53:10; Psalm 71:7
- 19 1 Chronicles 10:13; Leviticus 20:6; 2 Chronicles 33:6; Psalm 106:28; Leviticus 19:31
- 20 2 Peter 1:19; 2 Timothy 3:15–17; Acts 17:11; Psalm 119:130; John 5:39
- 21 Proverbs 19:3; Isaiah 9:20; Jeremiah 14:18; 2 Kings 25:3; Jeremiah 52:6
- 22 Isaiah 5:30; Matthew 8:12; Matthew 22:13; Jeremiah 13:16; Proverbs 14:32
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences
What the Fathers said
Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).
How these were chosen
“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).
"For before the child shall have knowledge to cry, Father or mother, He shall receive the power of Damascus, and the spoils of Samaria, against the king of the Assyrians;" declaring, in a mysterious manner indeed, but emphatically, that the Lord did fight with a hidden hand against Amalek.
How is it then that the prophet said, "Call his name Maher-shalal-hash-baz?" Because, when he was born, there was a taking and dividing of spoils, therefore the event that took place in his time is put as his name.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 10 (1888)
… beside the waters of comfort, He hath converted my soul:--that Angels also may share your joy, and Christ Himself the great High Priest, having accepted your resolve, may present you all to the Father, saying, Behold, I and the children whom God hath given Me.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. 7 (1894)
It is very shameful, and not only shameful, but very foolish, to take from things below a guess at things above, and from a fluctuating nature at the things that are unchanging, and as Isaiah says, to seek the Living among the dead. But yet I will try, for your sake, to give you some assistance for your argument, even …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. 7 (1894)
Again, there are those who say, "He is a man, and who shall know him?" and, "I came unto the prophetess, and she bare a son, and His name is called Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God;" and those [of them] who proclaimed Him as Immanuel, [born] of the Virgin, exhibited the union of the Word of God with His own …