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Isaiah 8
Title | Isaiah 8 |
Publication Type | Book Chapter |
Year of Publication | 2022 |
Authors | Parry, Donald W. |
Book Title | The Book of Isaiah: A New Translation (Preliminary Edition) |
Chapter | 8 |
Publisher | Book of Mormon Central |
City | Springville, UT |
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The Immanuel Prophecy: First Fulfillment (8:1–4)
Isaiah |
8 1And [the word of][1] the LORD said to me, |
The Lord |
“Take for yourself a great tablet and write on it with an ordinary engraving tool: ‘Maher-shalal-hash-baz[2].’” |
Isaiah |
2And I took faithful witnesses for me—Uriah the priest and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah. 3And I drew close to the prophetess, and she conceived and bore a son. Then the LORD said to me, |
The Lord |
“Call his name Maher-shalal-hash-baz. 4For [behold][3] the child will [not] have knowledge to cry, ‘My father and my mother!’ [before] the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria will be taken away by the king of Assyria.” |
Rejecting the LORD, Who Is the Waters of Shiloah (8:5–10)
Isaiah |
5The LORD spoke unto me again, saying, |
The Lord |
6“Because this people refuse the waters of Shiloah that flow gently, |
Isaiah |
7now therefore, behold, the Lord brings upon them the waters of the river, and it will come up over all its streambed, 8And it will pass over Judah; until it will reach the neck; 9Band together, O peoples, but you will be broken; gird yourselves, but you will be broken; 10Counsel together, but it will come to nothing; |
The LORD Is a Temple to the Righteous (8:11–15)
Isaiah |
11For thus the LORD said to me with the grasping of the hand |
The Lord |
12“Do not say, ‘Conspiracy,’ do not fear what they fear, |
Isaiah |
13You will regard the LORD of Hosts as holy; He is your fear, but He will be a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense to both the houses of Israel, 15And many among them will stumble, and they will fall, |
Sealing the Testimony and the Law (8:16–22)
The Lord |
16Bind up the testimony; |
Isaiah |
17And I will wait for the LORD, who hides His face from the house of Jacob, 18Behold, I and the children whom the LORD has given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel—from the LORD of Hosts, who resides in Mount Zion. 19And when they will say unto you, |
The wicked |
“Seek mediums and spiritists, |
Isaiah |
Should not a people seek unto their God? 20To the law and to the testimony; [and][7] if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no dawn[8] in them. 21And they will pass through it, distressed and hungry; they will become enraged and they will look upward. and behold, distress and darkness, uttermost anguish; |
[1] From JST and 2 Nephi 18.
[2] A prophetic name in Hebrew; it translates into these four words: “speed,” “spoil,” “hasten,” “plunder.”
[3] Bracketed words in verse 4 are from JST and 2 Nephi 18:4.
[4] The name Immanuel (Hebrew “God is with us”), mentioned twice in Isaiah 8 (8:8, 10), is a refrain. It serves to remind the reader of the sign provided to King Ahaz (7:14–16). More importantly, Immanuel is the name of Jesus Christ (see Matthew 1:21–23), who brings spiritual salvation to Israel. In the end, the world’s nations and alliances fail because the power of Immanuel exceeds theirs.
[5] DSS Isaiah lacks the repeated line, but the repeated words encompass the second line of the parallelism, with the repetition signifying a rhetorical way to emphasize the idea being presented.
[6] From JST and 2 Nephi 18:19–20; 19:1.
[7] From JST and 2 Nephi 18:20.
[8] Isaiah puts forth dawn, not light (compare KJV and other translations). Dawn expresses the beginning of light (as in light coming in the morning).
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