Isaiah 8:9-22

9“Be shattered, O you peoples, and be broken in pieces! Give ear, all you from far countries. Gird yourselves, but be broken in pieces; Gird yourselves, but be broken in pieces.

10Take counsel together, but it will come to nothing; Speak the word, but it will not stand, For God is with us.”

11For the Lord spoke thus to me with a strong hand, and instructed me that I should not walk in the way of this people, saying:

12“Do not say, ‘A conspiracy,’ Concerning all that this people call a conspiracy, Nor be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled.

13The Lord of hosts, Him you shall hallow; Let Him be your fear, And let Him be your dread.

14He will be as a sanctuary, But a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense To both the houses of Israel, As a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

15And many among them shall stumble; They shall fall and be broken, Be snared and taken.”

16Bind up the testimony, Seal the law among my disciples.

17And I will wait on the Lord, Who hides His face from the house of Jacob; And I will hope in Him.

18Here am I and the children whom the Lord has given me! We are for signs and wonders in Israel From the Lord of hosts, Who dwells in Mount Zion.

19And when they say to you, “Seek those who are mediums and wizards, who whisper and mutter,” should not a people seek their God? Should they seek the dead on behalf of the living?

20To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.

21They will pass through it hard-pressed and hungry; and it shall happen, when they are hungry, that they will be enraged and curse their king and their God, and look upward.

22Then they will look to the earth, and see trouble and darkness, gloom of anguish; and they will be driven into darkness.