Isaiah 8:1-15

Complete Jewish Bible

8 Adonai said to me, “Take a large tablet, and write on it in easily readable letters; ‘Maher shalal, hash baz [the spoil hurries, the prey speeds along].’” ²I had it witnessed for me by reliable witnesses — Uriyah the cohen and Z’kharyahu the son of Y’verekhyahu. ³Then I had sexual relations with my wife; she became pregnant and gave birth to a son; and Adonai said to me, “Name him Maher Shalal Hash Baz; ⁴because before the child knows how to cry, ‘Abba!’ and ‘Eema!’, the riches of Dammesek and the spoil of Shomron will be carried off and given to the king of Ashur.” ⁵Adonai went on speaking and said more to me:

⁶“Since this people has rejected
the gently flowing waters from Shilo’ach
and takes joy in Retzin and the son of Remalyah;
⁷now Adonai will bring upon them
the mighty floodwaters of the [Euphrates] River —
that is, the king of Ashur and his power.
It will rise above all its channels
and overflow all its banks.
⁸It will sweep through Y’hudah,
flooding everything and passing on.
It will reach even up to the neck,
and its outspread wings
will fill the whole expanse of the land.”

God is with us! ^[a]
⁹You may make an uproar, peoples;
but you will be shattered.
Listen, all of you from distant lands:
arm yourselves, but you will be shattered;
yes, arm yourselves,
but you will be shattered;
¹⁰devise a plan, but it will come to nothing;
say anything you like, but it won’t happen;
because God is with us ^[b].

¹¹For this is what Adonai said to me, speaking with a strong hand, warning me not to live the way this people does:

¹²“Don’t regard as alliance what this people calls alliance,
and don’t fear what they fear or be awestruck by it;
¹³but Adonai-Tzva’ot — consecrate him!
Let him be the object of your fear and awe!
¹⁴He is there to be a sanctuary.
But for both the houses of Isra’el
he will be a stone to stumble over,
a rock obstructing their way;
a trap and a snare
for the inhabitants of Yerushalayim.
¹⁵Many of them will stumble and fall,
be broken and trapped and captured.