Standing Alone: Isaiah 8:11-22

¹¹ This is what the Lord said with his powerful hand on me.

He warned me not to follow the ways of these people:
¹² “Don’t say that everything these people call a conspiracy
    is a conspiracy.
    Don’t fear what they fear.
    Don’t let it terrify you.”
¹³ Remember that the Lord of Armies is holy.
    He is the one you should fear
        and the one you should be terrified of.
¹⁴ He will be a place of safety for you.
    But he will be a rock that makes people trip
        and a stumbling block for both kingdoms of Israel.
        He will be a trap and a snare for those who live in Jerusalem.
¹⁵         Many will stumble.
            They will fall and be broken.
            They will be trapped and caught.

¹⁶ Tie up the written instructions.
    Seal the teachings among my disciples.

¹⁷ I will wait for the Lord,
    who hides his face from the descendants of Jacob.
    I will hope in him.
¹⁸ I am here with the children that the Lord has given me.
    We are signs and symbols in Israel
        from the Lord of Armies, who lives on Mount Zion.

¹⁹ People will say to you, “Ask for help from the mediums
    and the fortunetellers, who whisper and mutter.”
    Shouldn’t people ask their God for help instead?
    Why should they ask the dead to help the living?
²⁰ They should go to the teachings and to the written instructions.
    If people don’t speak these words,
        it is because it doesn’t dawn on them.
²¹ They will pass through the land when they are hard-pressed and hungry.
    When they are hungry, they will be furious.
        Then they will look up, cursing their king and God.
²² They will look at the earth and see only distress and gloom.
    They will go in anguish and be forced into darkness.

Read Isaiah 8:11-22 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!