Isaiah 8:10 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Take counsel together, but it will come to nothing; speak a word, but it will not stand, for God is with us.

NIV: Devise your strategy, but it will be thwarted; propose your plan, but it will not stand, for God is with us.

NASB: Devise a plan, but it will fail; State a proposal, but it will not stand, For God is with us.'

CSB: Devise a plan; it will fail. Make a prediction; it will not happen. For God is with us.

NLT: Call your councils of war, but they will be worthless. Develop your strategies, but they will not succeed. For God is with us! '

KJV: Take counsel together, and it shall come to nought; speak the word, and it shall not stand: for God is with us.

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

The prophet Isaiah has been using painful metaphors for the destruction to come upon Judah at the hand of the Lord through the Assyrians (Isaiah 8:5–8). Now he looks past the near future into Israel's distant future victories over all their enemies.

In the form of poetry, he has taunted those future enemies to both prepare for war and to lose the battle. They should take on their armor before being decimated by the Lord through His people (Isaiah 8:9). Now he urges those enemy nations to make their plans in their war counsels and discuss their strategies to each other. This is a challenge bordering on sarcasm: in the end none of it will matter. None of their plans will be successful.

Why is this? Because, as Isaiah insists, God is with us. This is the meaning of the name used at the end of Isaiah 8:8, Immanuel. The Lord's people will never fully be wiped out because God is with them. Hard times may come, and enemies may seem to prevail, in the short term. Looking to the future, a Savior will come in a second fulfillment of Isaiah 7:14. The Messiah will be the final "Immanuel" of Israel (Matthew 1:20–22). Through Him, Israel will ultimately have victory over all her enemies, no matter how prepared or how strong they are. Because God is with her, she will not be defeated.

Isaiah 8:1–10 continues the prophetic tone of Isaiah 7. The Lord tells Isaiah to write a name on a sign in front of prominent witnesses. Then Isaiah gives that name to a newborn son. Before that son is old enough to speak, Syria and Israel will be wiped out by Assyria. Assyria will then bring destruction to Judah. This is compared to a mighty river flooding over its banks. In poetry, Isaiah tells the people of Judah that their preparations for war will be meaningless and that they will be shattered.

Isaiah 8 begins with the Lord telling Isaiah to write a name on a large sign. Then Isaiah conceives a son, with a woman referred to as the "prophetess," likely his wife. The son is given the name on the sign. Before the son can speak, Judah's enemies will be wiped out by Assyria. Assyria will then bring destruction on Judah. Isaiah must not live in fear and dread as the people do. They will stumble over the stone of the Lord instead of trusting in Him. Isaiah will continue to hope in the Lord. Those who reject God's truth will live in darkness.

The prior chapter included a famous prophecy regarding the virgin birth of Jesus. Isaiah 8 continues to prophesy about the coming destruction of Judah's current enemies: Syria and Israel. Isaiah has a son whose name he has written on a sign. Before that son is old enough to talk, Assyria will destroy Judah's enemies and then bring destruction into Judah. The Lord warns Isaiah to honor God, not live in fear. The people will reject God as their foundation, falling into further sin. But Isaiah declares that he and his family will continue to point toward God's faithfulness. Those who reject God's revelation will live in and frustration and despair. This sets up additional prophecies which connect to the ministry of Christ.

Isaiah is among the most important prophetic books in the entire Bible. The first segment details God's impending judgment against ancient peoples for sin and idolatry (Isaiah 1—35). The second part of Isaiah briefly explains a failed assault on Jerusalem during the rule of Hezekiah (Isaiah 36—39). The final chapters predict Israel's rescue from Babylonian captivity (Isaiah 40—48), the promised Messiah (Isaiah 49—57), and the final glory of Jerusalem and God's people (Isaiah 58—66).