Isaiah 8:14-15

8:14 He will become a sanctuary, ¹ 

but a stone that makes a person trip,

and a rock that makes one stumble –

to the two houses of Israel. ² 

He will become ³  a trap and a snare

to the residents of Jerusalem. ⁴ 

8:15 Many will stumble over the stone and the rock, ⁵ 

and will fall and be seriously injured,

and will be ensnared and captured.”

Isaiah 8:1

A Sign-Child is Born

8:1 The Lord told me, “Take a large tablet ⁶  and inscribe these words ⁷  on it with an ordinary stylus: ⁸  ‘Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz.’ ⁹ 

Isaiah 2:8

2:8 Their land is full of worthless idols;

they worship ¹⁰  the product of their own hands,

what their own fingers have fashioned.

[8:14]  ¹ tn Because the metaphor of protection (“sanctuary”) does not fit the negative mood that follows in vv. 14b-15, some contend that מִקְדָּשׁ (miqdash, “sanctuary”) is probably a corruption of an original מוֹקֵשׁ (moqesh, “snare”), a word that appears in the next line (cf. NAB and H. Wildberger, Isaiah, 1:355-56). If the MT reading is retained (as in the above translation), the fact that Yahweh is a sanctuary wraps up the point of v. 13 and stands in contrast to God’s treatment of those who rebel against him (the rest of v. 14).

[8:14]  ² sn The two “houses” of Israel (= the patriarch Jacob) are the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah.

[8:14]  ³ tn These words are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. וְהָיָה (vÿhayah, “and he will be”) does double duty in the parallel structure of the verse.

[8:14]  ⁴ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[8:15]  ⁵ tn Heb “over them” (so NASB); NCV “over this rock.”

[8:1]  ⁶ sn Probably made of metal, wood, or leather. See HALOT 193 s.v. גִּלָּיוֹן.

[8:1]  ⁷ tn Heb “write” (so KJV, ASV, NIV, NRSV).

[8:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “with the stylus of a man.” The significance of the qualifying genitive “a man” is uncertain. For various interpretations see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:219, n. 1.

[8:1]  ⁹ tn Heb “quickly, [the] plunder; it hurries, [the] loot.” The first word (מַהֵר, maher) is either a Piel imperative (“hurry [to]”) or infinitive (“hurrying,” or “quickly”). The third word (חָשׁ, khash) is either a third masculine singular perfect or a masculine singular participle, in either case from the root חוּשׁ (khush, “hurry”). Perhaps it is best to translate, “One hastens to the plunder, one hurries to the loot.” In this case מַהֵר is understood as an infinitive functioning as a verb, the subject of חוּשׁ is taken as indefinite, and the two nouns are understood as adverbial accusatives. As we discover in v. 3, this is the name of the son to be born to Isaiah through the prophetess.

[2:8]  ¹⁰ tn Or “bow down to” (NIV, NRSV).