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Isaiah 8

KJV · Chapter 8/66

1Moreover the Lord said unto me, Take thee a great roll, and write in it with a man’s pen concerning Maher–shalal–hash–baz.

2And I took unto me faithful witnesses to record, Uriah the priest, and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah.

3And I went unto the prophetess; and she conceived, and bare a son. Then said the Lord to me, Call his name Maher–shalal–hash–baz.

4For before the child shall have knowledge 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.

5The Lord spake also unto me again, saying,

6Forasmuch as this people refuseth the waters of Shiloah that go softly, and rejoice in Rezin and Remaliah’s son;

7Now therefore, behold, the Lord bringeth up upon them the waters of the river, strong and many, even the king of Assyria, and all his glory: and he shall come up over all his channels, and go over all his banks:

8And he shall pass through Judah; he shall overflow and go over, he shall reach even to the neck; and the stretching out of his wings shall fill the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel.

9Associate yourselves, O ye people, and ye shall be broken in pieces; and give ear, all ye of far countries: gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces; gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces.

10Take counsel together, and it shall come to nought; speak the word, and it shall not stand: for God is with us.

11For the Lord spake thus to me with a strong hand, and instructed me that I should not walk in the way of this people, saying,

12Say ye not, A confederacy, to all them to whom this people shall say, A confederacy; neither fear ye their fear, nor be afraid.

13Sanctify the Lord of hosts himself; and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.

14And he shall be for a sanctuary; but 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.

15And many among them shall stumble, and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken.

16Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples.

17And I will wait upon the Lord, that hideth his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him.

18Behold, I and the children whom the Lord hath given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the Lord of hosts, which dwelleth in mount Zion.

19And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead?

20To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.

21And they shall pass through it, hardly bestead and hungry: and it shall come to pass, that when they shall be hungry, they shall fret themselves, and curse their king and their God, and look upward.

22And they shall look unto the earth; and behold trouble and darkness, dimness of anguish; and they shall be driven to darkness.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Isaiah has another symbolic son, named Maher-shalal-hash-baz ('quick to the plunder'), a sign that Damascus and Samaria will fall rapidly before Assyria. The chapter closes with a call to trust in God rather than fortune-tellers, and the promise that darkness will not have the final word.

Explanation

The name of Isaiah's second son was, literally, a walking prophecy: before the child could say 'daddy' or 'mommy,' the wealth of Damascus and Samaria would already have been plundered by Assyria — which indeed happened around 732-722 BC. Isaiah also warns against seeking counsel from mediums and fortune-tellers, a common practice at the time but forbidden by the Law of Moses, insisting that the people should turn instead 'to the law and to the testimony.' The application today is to seek guidance from trustworthy sources and God's Word, rather than superstitions or quick fixes when fear closes in.

Fun facts

  • Maher-shalal-hash-baz is the longest proper name in the Bible, combining four Hebrew words into a single name.
  • The verse 'for God is with us' (v.10) echoes the theme of Immanuel from the previous chapter, reinforcing that God's presence is Judah's true shield against foreign threats.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Isaiah 8:1Maher-shalal-hash-baz, the name of Isaiah's second son, means something like swift to the spoil, and once again a son becomes a prophetic sign. The name announces that before the baby can talk, the kingdoms of Syria and Israel will already have fallen to Assyria.
  2. Isaiah 8:2Isaiah calls two trustworthy witnesses, the priest Uriah and Zechariah, to officially confirm the record of the prophetic name from the previous verse—a way of documenting that the prophecy was spoken before it came true.
  3. Isaiah 8:3The "prophetess," likely Isaiah's wife, has a son, and God tells him to name the child Maher-shalal-hash-baz—like Shear-jashub in chapter 7, another son of the prophet carrying a message in his own name.
  4. Isaiah 8:4It explains the meaning of the name: before the baby knows how to say "My father" or "my mother," the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria will already have been carried off by the king of Assyria—a short, concrete timeline for the fall of these kingdoms.
  5. Isaiah 8:5A simple transition: God continues speaking to Isaiah, introducing the next oracle about the waters.
  6. Isaiah 8:6The waters of Shiloah were a gentle channel that supplied Jerusalem, used here as an image of trusting God without fanfare. The contrast comes right after, with the river that will flood everything—the far greater force of Assyria.
  7. Isaiah 8:7It continues the metaphor from the previous verse: since the people rejected the gentle waters of Shiloah, that is, trusting God, they will now face the mighty waters of the river—Assyria, which will overflow everything with all its force.
  8. Isaiah 8:8Assyria's river sweeps over Judah until it reaches the neck, an image of near-total invasion. But it stops just short of drowning the land entirely, called here the land of Immanuel, as if it still belonged to the child promised in the previous chapter.
  9. Isaiah 8:9A challenge directed at the enemy nations: prepare for war if you like, but you will be broken to pieces—the warning repeated twice for emphasis on how certain their defeat is.
  10. Isaiah 8:10The challenge continues: whatever plan they devise will come to nothing, because "God is with us"—the same phrase behind the name Immanuel in chapter 7, used here as a guarantee of protection.
  11. Isaiah 8:11Isaiah describes how God, with a strong hand, instructed him not to follow the people's path—a personal warning for the prophet not to give in to collective panic in the face of the threat of war.
  12. Isaiah 8:12The specific instruction: do not call "confederacy" everything the people call that, and do not fear what they fear—an invitation not to follow popular panic about the military threat.
  13. Isaiah 8:13Instead, the people should fear and sanctify only the LORD of hosts—trading fear of war for fear of God as the right response to the crisis.
  14. Isaiah 8:14A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense describe the same God who protects becoming a cause for falling to those who do not trust Him. It is a stone in the road that both the northern kingdom and Judah will trip over.
  15. Isaiah 8:15It continues the stumbling-stone image from the previous verse: many will stumble on it, fall, be broken, snared, and captured—describing the effect of rejecting God as one's protection.
  16. Isaiah 8:16Isaiah is instructed to "bind up the testimony" and "seal the law" among his disciples—keeping the prophetic message safe, like a sealed document, to be remembered later.
  17. Isaiah 8:17Isaiah declares that he will wait for the LORD even if He hides His face from the house of Jacob—an expression of personal trust in a time when God seems silent toward His people.
  18. Isaiah 8:18Isaiah presents himself alongside the children God gave him, whose names function as signs and symbols from God to Israel, reinforcing the messages already given in the previous chapters.
  19. Isaiah 8:19Consulting mediums and those who whisper as if speaking with the dead describes necromancy, people pretending to communicate with the deceased to seem supernatural. The text rejects this path and tells the people to turn back to the Law instead of seeking answers from the dead.
  20. Isaiah 8:20It continues the warning against seeking the dead from the previous verse: the right answer is to return to the Law and the testimony; whoever speaks otherwise has "no light in them," meaning they will find no light or real solution.
  21. Isaiah 8:21It describes the coming suffering: people going through hunger and oppression, hunger so desperate it drives them to curse their own king and their own God, looking upward in rebellion.
  22. Isaiah 8:22The chapter ends looking down at the earth: only anguish and darkness, a people buried in distress and gloom—the opposite of the light promised right at the start of the next chapter.

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