Isaiah 8:5–10, King James Version
Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.
Isaiah 8:5–10
Assyria Floods Judah but Immanuel Limits the Threat
Refusing Shiloah's soft water brings a river in flood
Forasmuch as this people refuses the waters of Shiloah that go softly, and rejoice in Rezin and Remaliah's son, the Lord brings upon them the waters of the river, strong and many, even the king of Assyria, and all his glory. He shall come up over all his channels, and go over all his banks. He shall pass through Judah; he shall overflow and go over, he shall reach even to the neck.
Shiloah is Jerusalem's quiet conduit, the local trust Ahaz would not rest in. The Euphrates-like flood is Assyria filling the land up to the chin. The image explains imperial inundation of Judah after the northern joy; it is not a license to flood anyone.
The stretching of wings is limited by Immanuel
The stretching out of his wings shall fill the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel. Associate yourselves, O ye people, and ye shall be broken in pieces; take counsel together, and it shall come to nought; speak the word, and it shall not stand: for God is with us.
Peoples' plans fail because the land is Immanuel's. God-with-us here limits the flood at the neck; it does not erase the flood. Forced Christological shortcuts that skip Assyria in Judah miss the claim. The name is not a date-chart, and the flood is not a living people to hate.
How this should shape us
Quiet local faithfulness may look weaker than a roaring ally. Do not choose the river because it looks strong. Trust that hostile counsel can fail without pretending you were never up to the neck.
Teach it back
Explain Isaiah 8:5–10 in your own words. Name its place in Isaiah, one source-controlled observation, one uncertainty, one enduring truth, and one harmful use the passage does not authorize.
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Where do responsible readings differ?
Best judgment: Assyria Floods Judah but Immanuel Limits the Threat does not authorize date-setting, speculative miracles, forced Christological shortcuts, or treating a symbolic act as a repeatable command.
How certain? strongResearch trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete thought-unit coverage.
Isaiah 8:5–10, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology at the exact unit, without treating morphology as apparatus, lexicon, composition history, or interpretation.
Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Isa.xml, OSIS 8:5–10 with Hebrew/KJV versification difference checked
Supports: Verse-level controls for Hebrew, syntax, poetry, older KJV language, chronology, names, textual issues, and material translation alternatives.
Official NET Isaiah PDF, translator, study, and textual notes attached to Isaiah 8:5–10 in the complete 205-page book PDF
Supports: Eighth-century Assyrian setting, Isaiah traditions, later growth, justice, Zion, signs, royal language, nations, and policy, with proposals kept visible.
Yale Bible Study, First Isaiah course, Isaiah's Call Vision and Immanuel guides; applied to Isaiah 8:5–10
Supports: Whole-book historical, literary, theological, ethical, and reception synthesis across Assyrian, Babylonian, Persian, and postexilic horizons.
Enter the Bible Isaiah course, Summary, Background, Introductory Issues, Outline Book 1A, and Theological Themes; applied to Isaiah 8:5–10
Sources for This Section
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Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete thought-unit coverage.
Exact location: Isaiah 8:5–10, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Isaiah
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology at the exact unit, without treating morphology as apparatus, lexicon, composition history, or interpretation.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Isa.xml, OSIS 8:5–10 with Hebrew/KJV versification difference checked
Open the fixed Hebrew Isaiah file ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible Notes: Isaiah
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2016; current official PDF
Supports: Verse-level controls for Hebrew, syntax, poetry, older KJV language, chronology, names, textual issues, and material translation alternatives.
Exact location: Official NET Isaiah PDF, translator, study, and textual notes attached to Isaiah 8:5–10 in the complete 205-page book PDF
Open the official NET Isaiah PDF ↗open university study guide series
First Isaiah study-guide course
John J. Collins and Joel S. Baden
Yale Bible Study, 2020; current public course
Supports: Eighth-century Assyrian setting, Isaiah traditions, later growth, justice, Zion, signs, royal language, nations, and policy, with proposals kept visible.
Exact location: Yale Bible Study, First Isaiah course, Isaiah's Call Vision and Immanuel guides; applied to Isaiah 8:5–10
Open the Yale First Isaiah course ↗modern scholarly book course
Isaiah course: summary, outline, background, introductory issues, themes, and reception
Fred Gaiser; revised by Michael Chan
Enter the Bible, Luther Seminary, revised August 2024
Supports: Whole-book historical, literary, theological, ethical, and reception synthesis across Assyrian, Babylonian, Persian, and postexilic horizons.
Exact location: Enter the Bible Isaiah course, Summary, Background, Introductory Issues, Outline Book 1A, and Theological Themes; applied to Isaiah 8:5–10
Open the Enter the Bible Isaiah course ↗