81 Then the Lord said to me, "Take for yourself a large tablet and write on it in ordinary letters : Swift is the booty , speedy is the prey . 2 "And I will take to Myself faithful witnesses for testimony , Uriah the priest and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah ." 3 So I approached the prophetess , and she conceived and gave birth to a son . Then the Lord said to me, "Name e him Maher-shalal-hash-baz ; 4 for before the boy knows how to cry out 'My father ' or 'My mother ,' the wealth of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria will be carried away before the king of Assyria ." 5 Again the Lord spoke to me further , saying , 6 "Inasmuch e as these people have rejected the gently flowing waters of Shiloah And rejoice in Rezin and the son of Remaliah ; 7 "Now therefore , behold , the Lord is about to bring on them the strong and abundant waters of the Euphrates , Even the king of Assyria and all his glory ; And it will rise up over all its channels and go over all its banks . 8 "Then it will sweep on into Judah , it will overflow and pass through , It will reach even to the neck ; And the spread of its wings will fill the breadth of your land , O Immanuel .
9 " Be broken , O peoples , and be shattered ; And give ear , all remote places of the earth . Gird yourselves, yet be shattered ; Gird yourselves, yet be shattered . 10 " Devise a plan , but it will be thwarted ; State a proposal , but it will not stand , For God is with us." 11 For thus the Lord spoke to me with mighty power and instructed me not to walk in the way of this people , saying , 12 "You are not to say , 'It is a conspiracy !' In regard to all that this people call a conspiracy , And you are not to fear what they fear or be in dread of it. 13 "It is the Lord of hosts whom you should regard as holy . And He shall be your fear , And He shall be your dread . 14 "Then He shall become a sanctuary ; But to both the houses of Israel , a stone to strike and a rock to stumble over, And a snare and a trap for the inhabitants of Jerusalem . 15 "Many will stumble over them, Then they will fall and be broken ; They will even be snared and caught ."
16 Bind up the testimony , seal the law among my disciples . 17 And I will wait for the Lord who is hiding His face from the house of Jacob ; I will even look eagerly for Him. 18 Behold , I and the children whom the Lord has given me are for signs and wonders in Israel from the Lord of hosts , who dwells on Mount Zion . 19 When they say to you, " Consult the mediums and the spiritists who whisper and mutter ," should not a people consult their God ? Should they consult the dead on behalf of the living ? 20 To the law and to the testimony ! If they do not speak according to this word , it is because they have no dawn . 21 They will pass through the land hard-pressed and famished , and it will turn out that when they are hungry , they will be enraged and curse their king and their God as they face upward . 22 Then they will look to the earth , and behold , distress and darkness , the gloom of anguish ; and they will be driven away into darkness .
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Isaiah 8:1-40
Commentary on Isaiah 8:1-8
(Read Isaiah 8:1-8)
The prophet is to write on a large roll, or on a metal tablet, words which meant, "Make speed to spoil, hasten to the prey:" pointing out that the Assyrian army should come with speed, and make great spoil. Very soon the riches of Damascus and of Samaria, cities then secure and formidable, shall be taken away by the king of Assyria. The prophet pleads with the promised Messiah, who should appear in that land in the fulness of time, and, therefore, as God, would preserve it in the mean time. As a gentle brook is an apt emblem of a mild government, so an overflowing torrent represents a conqueror and tyrant. The invader's success was also described by a bird of prey, stretching its wings over the whole land. Those who reject Christ, will find that what they call liberty is the basest slavery. But no enemy shall pluck the believer out of Emmanuel's hand, or deprive him of his heavenly inheritance.
Commentary on Isaiah 8:9-16
(Read Isaiah 8:9-16)
The prophet challenges the enemies of the Jews. Their efforts would be vain, and themselves broken to pieces. It concerns us, in time of trouble, to watch against all such fears as put us upon crooked courses for our own security. The believing fear of God preserves against the disquieting fear of man. If we thought rightly of the greatness and glory of God, we should see all the power of our enemies restrained. The Lord, who will be a Sanctuary to those who trust in him, will be a Stone of stumbling, and a Rock of offence, to those who make the creature their fear and their hope. If the things of God be an offence to us, they will undo us. The apostle quotes this as to all who persisted in unbelief of the gospel of Christ, 1 Peter 2:8. The crucified Emmanuel, who was and is a Stumbling-stone and Rock of offence to unbelieving Jews, is no less so to thousands who are called Christians. The preaching of the cross is foolishness in their esteem; his doctrines and precepts offend them.
Commentary on Isaiah 8:17-22
(Read Isaiah 8:17-22)
The prophet foresaw that the Lord would hide his face; but he would look for his return in favour to them again. Though not miraculous signs, the children's names were memorials from God, suited to excite attention. The unbelieving Jews were prone to seek counsel in difficulties, from diviners of different descriptions, whose foolish and sinful ceremonies are alluded to. Would we know how we may seek to our God, and come to the knowledge of his mind? To the law and to the testimony; for there you will see what is good, and what the Lord requires. We must speak of the things of God in the words which the Holy Ghost teaches, and be ruled by them. To those that seek to familiar spirits, and regard not God's law and testimony, there shall be horror and misery. Those that go away from God, go out of the way of all good; for fretfulness is a sin that is its own punishment. They shall despair, and see no way of relief, when they curse God. And their fears will represent every thing as frightful. Those that shut their eyes against the light of God's word, will justly be left to darkness. All the miseries that ever were felt or witnessed on earth, are as nothing, compared with what will overwhelm those who leave the words of Christ, to follow delusions.