Isaiah 8 Darby Translation
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
1 And Jehovah said to me, Take thee a great tablet, and write thereon with a man's style, concerning 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 I took unto me to witness, sure witnesses, Urijah 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 came near to the prophetess, and she conceived and bore a son; and Jehovah said unto me, Call his 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 lad knoweth to cry, My father! and, My mother! the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria shall be taken away before 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 Jehovah spoke again to me, saying,
5 Yahweh spoke to me yet again, saying,
6 Forasmuch as this people refuseth the waters of Shiloah which flow softly, and rejoiceth in Rezin and in the son of Remaliah,
6 “Because this people has refused the waters of Shiloah that go softly, and rejoice in Rezin and Remaliah’s son;
7 therefore behold, the Lord will bring up upon them the waters of the river, strong and many, the king of Assyria and all his glory; and he shall mount up over all his channels, and go over all his banks:
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 he shall pass through Judah; he shall overflow it and go further, he shall reach even to the neck; and the stretching out of his wings shall fill the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel!
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 Rage, ye peoples, and be broken in pieces! And give ear, all ye distant parts of the earth: Gird yourselves, and be broken in pieces; gird yourselves, and be broken in pieces!
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 Settle a plan, and it shall come to nought; speak a word, and it shall not stand: 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 Jehovah spoke thus to me with a strong hand, and he instructed me not to walk 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 Ye shall not say, Conspiracy, of everything of which this people saith, Conspiracy; and fear ye not their fear, and be not in dread.
12 “Don’t call a conspiracy all that this people call a conspiracy. Don’t fear their threats or be terrorized.
13 Jehovah of hosts, him shall ye sanctify; and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.
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 sanctuary; and for a stone of stumbling, and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
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 many among them shall stumble, and fall, and be broken, and snared, and taken.
15 Many will stumble over it, fall, be broken, be snared, and be captured.”
16 Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples.
16 Wrap up the covenant. Seal the law among my disciples.
17 And I will wait for Jehovah, who hideth his face from the house of Jacob; and I will look for him.
17 I will wait for Yahweh, who hides his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him.
18 Behold, I and the children that Jehovah hath given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel, from Jehovah of hosts, who dwelleth 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 shall say unto you, Seek unto the necromancers and unto the soothsayers, who chirp and who mutter, [say,] Shall not a people seek unto their God? [Will they go] for the living unto 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 To the law and the testimony! If they speak not according to this word, for them there is no daybreak.
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 they shall pass through it, hard pressed and hungry; and it shall come to pass when they are hungry, they will fret themselves, and curse their king and their God, and will gaze upward:
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 they will look to the earth; and behold, trouble and darkness, gloom of anguish; and they shall be driven into thick darkness.
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 …