Chapter 8
Christ will be as a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense—Seek the Lord, not muttering wizards—Turn to the law and to the testimony for guidance—Compare 2 Nephi 18.
1 Moreover the Lord said unto me, Take thee a great aroll, and bwrite in it with ca man’s pen concerning dMaher-shalal-hash-baz.
2 And I took unto me faithful witnesses to record, Uriah the priest, and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah.
3 And I went unto athe prophetess; and she conceived, and bare a son. Then said the Lord to me, Call his name bMaher-shalal-hash-baz.
4 For abefore the child shall bhave knowledge to cry, My father, and my mother, the riches of Damascus and the spoil of cSamaria shall be dtaken away before the king of Assyria.
5 ¶ The Lord spake also unto me again, saying,
6 Forasmuch as this people refuseth the waters of aShiloah that go softly, and rejoice in bRezin and Remaliah’s son;
7 Now therefore, behold, the Lord bringeth up upon athem the bwaters of the river, strong and many, even the king of cAssyria, and all his glory: and he shall come up over all his channels, and go over all his banks:
8 And he shall apass through Judah; he shall overflow and go over, he shall reach even to the bneck; and the stretching out of his wings shall fill the breadth of thy land, O cImmanuel.
9 ¶ aAssociate 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.
10 Take acounsel together, and it shall come to nought; speak the word, and it shall not stand: for bGod is with us.
11 ¶ For the Lord spake thus to me awith a strong hand, and instructed me that I should not walk in the way of this people, saying,
12 Say ye not, A aconfederacy, to all them to whom this people shall say, A confederacy; neither fear ye their fear, nor be afraid.
13 Sanctify the Lord of hosts himself; and alet him be your fear, and let him be your dread.
14 And he shall be for a asanctuary; but for a bstone of cstumbling and for a drock of eoffence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a fsnare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
15 And many among them shall stumble, and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken.
16 aBind up the testimony, bseal the claw among my disciples.
17 And I will wait upon the Lord, that ahideth his bface from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him.
18 Behold, I and the children whom the Lord hath given me are for asigns and for wonders in Israel from the Lord of hosts, which dwelleth in mount Zion.
19 ¶ And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have afamiliar spirits, and unto bwizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? cfor the living to the dead?
20 To the alaw and to the testimony: if bthey speak not according to this word, it is because there is no clight in them.
21 And athey 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 bcurse their king and their God, and look upward.
22 And they shall look unto the earth; and behold trouble and adarkness, bdimness of anguish; and they shall be driven to darkness.