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Assyria Will Come Soon

The Lord told me, “Take a large scroll and write on it with an ordinary pen: ‘Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz.’ I will gather some men to be reliable witnesses: Uriah the priest and Zechariah son of Jeberekiah.”

Then I went to the prophetess, and she became pregnant and had a son. The Lord told me, “Name the boy Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz,[a] because the king of Assyria will take away all the wealth and possessions of Damascus and Samaria before the boy learns to say ‘my father’ or ‘my mother.’”

Again the Lord spoke to me, saying,

“These people refuse to accept
    the slow-moving waters of the pool of Shiloah
and are terrified of Rezin
    and Pekah son of Remaliah.
So I, the Lord, will bring
    the king of Assyria and all his power against them,
    like a powerful flood of water from the Euphrates River.
The Assyrians will be like water rising over the banks of the river,
    flowing over the land.
That water will flow into Judah and pass through it,
    rising to Judah’s throat.
Immanuel, this army will spread its wings like a bird
    until it covers your whole country.”

Be broken, all you nations,
    and be smashed to pieces.
Listen, all you faraway countries.
    Prepare for battle and be smashed to pieces!
    Prepare for battle and be smashed to pieces!
10 Make your plans for the fight,
    but they will be defeated.
Give orders to your armies,
    but they will be useless,
because God is with us.

Warnings to Isaiah

11 The Lord spoke to me with his great power and warned me not to follow the lead of the rest of the people. He said,

12 “People are saying that others make plans against them,
    but you should not believe them.
Don’t be afraid of what they fear;
    do not dread those things.
13 But remember that the Lord All-Powerful is holy.
    He is the one you should fear;
    he is the one you should dread.
14 Then he will be a place of safety for you.
    But for the two families of Israel,
he will be like a stone that causes people to stumble,
    like a rock that makes them fall.
He will be like a trap for the people of Jerusalem,
    and he will catch them in his trap.
15 Many people will fall over this rock.
    They will fall and be broken;
    they will be trapped and caught.”

16 Make an agreement.
    Seal up the teaching while my followers are watching.
17 I will wait for the Lord to help us,
    the Lord who is ashamed of the family of Israel.
I will wait for him.

18 I am here, and with me are the children the Lord has given me. We are signs and proofs for the people of Israel from the Lord All-Powerful, who lives on Mount Zion.

19 Some people say, “Ask the mediums and fortune-tellers, who whisper and mutter, what to do.” But I tell you that people should ask their God for help. Why should people who are still alive ask something from the dead? 20 You should follow the teachings and the agreement with the Lord. The mediums and fortune-tellers do not speak the word of the Lord, so their words are worth nothing.

21 People will wander through the land troubled and hungry. When they become hungry, they will become angry and will look up and curse their king and their God. 22 They will look around them at their land and see only trouble, darkness, and awful gloom. And they will be forced into the darkness.

Footnotes

  1. 8:3 Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz This name means “there will soon be looting and stealing.”

Isaiah and His Children as Signs

The Lord said to me, “Take a large scroll(A) and write on it with an ordinary pen: Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz.”[a](B) So I called in Uriah(C) the priest and Zechariah son of Jeberekiah as reliable witnesses(D) for me. Then I made love to the prophetess,(E) and she conceived and gave birth to a son.(F) And the Lord said to me, “Name him Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz.(G) For before the boy knows(H) how to say ‘My father’ or ‘My mother,’ the wealth of Damascus(I) and the plunder of Samaria will be carried off by the king of Assyria.(J)

The Lord spoke to me again:

“Because this people has rejected(K)
    the gently flowing waters of Shiloah(L)
and rejoices over Rezin
    and the son of Remaliah,(M)
therefore the Lord is about to bring against them
    the mighty floodwaters(N) of the Euphrates—
    the king of Assyria(O) with all his pomp.(P)
It will overflow all its channels,
    run over all its banks(Q)
and sweep on into Judah, swirling over it,(R)
    passing through it and reaching up to the neck.
Its outspread wings(S) will cover the breadth of your land,
    Immanuel[b]!”(T)

Raise the war cry,[c](U) you nations, and be shattered!(V)
    Listen, all you distant lands.
Prepare(W) for battle, and be shattered!
    Prepare for battle, and be shattered!
10 Devise your strategy, but it will be thwarted;(X)
    propose your plan, but it will not stand,(Y)
    for God is with us.[d](Z)

11 This is what the Lord says to me with his strong hand upon me,(AA) warning me not to follow(AB) the way of this people:

12 “Do not call conspiracy(AC)
    everything this people calls a conspiracy;
do not fear what they fear,(AD)
    and do not dread it.(AE)
13 The Lord Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy,(AF)
    he is the one you are to fear,(AG)
    he is the one you are to dread.(AH)
14 He will be a holy place;(AI)
    for both Israel and Judah he will be
a stone(AJ) that causes people to stumble(AK)
    and a rock that makes them fall.(AL)
And for the people of Jerusalem he will be
    a trap and a snare.(AM)
15 Many of them will stumble;(AN)
    they will fall and be broken,
    they will be snared and captured.”

16 Bind up this testimony of warning(AO)
    and seal(AP) up God’s instruction among my disciples.
17 I will wait(AQ) for the Lord,
    who is hiding(AR) his face from the descendants of Jacob.
I will put my trust in him.(AS)

18 Here am I, and the children the Lord has given me.(AT) We are signs(AU) and symbols(AV) in Israel from the Lord Almighty, who dwells on Mount Zion.(AW)

The Darkness Turns to Light

19 When someone tells you to consult(AX) mediums and spiritists,(AY) who whisper and mutter,(AZ) should not a people inquire(BA) of their God? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living? 20 Consult God’s instruction(BB) and the testimony of warning.(BC) If anyone does not speak according to this word, they have no light(BD) of dawn. 21 Distressed and hungry,(BE) they will roam through the land;(BF) when they are famished, they will become enraged and, looking upward, will curse(BG) their king and their God. 22 Then they will look toward the earth and see only distress and darkness and fearful gloom,(BH) and they will be thrust into utter darkness.(BI)

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 8:1 Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz means quick to the plunder, swift to the spoil; also in verse 3.
  2. Isaiah 8:8 Immanuel means God with us.
  3. Isaiah 8:9 Or Do your worst
  4. Isaiah 8:10 Hebrew Immanuel