The Coming Assyrian Invasion

8 Then the Lord said to me, “Take a large tablet ^(A)and write on it in common characters,^[a] ‘Belonging to Maher-shalal-hash-baz.’^{[b] 2} And ^(B)I will get reliable witnesses, ^(C)Uriah the priest and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah, to attest for me.”

³ And I went to the prophetess, and she conceived and bore a son. Then the Lord said to me, ^(D)“Call his name Maher-shalal-hash-baz; ^4 (E)for before the boy knows how to cry ‘My father’ or ‘My mother,’ the ^(F)wealth of ^(G)Damascus and the spoil of ^(H)Samaria will be carried away before the king of Assyria.”

⁵ The Lord spoke to me again: ⁶ “Because this people has refused the waters of ^(I)Shiloah that flow gently, and rejoice over ^(J)Rezin and the son of Remaliah, ⁷ therefore, behold, the Lord is bringing up against them ^(K)the waters of ^(L)the River,^[c] mighty and many, the king of Assyria and all his glory. And it ^(M)will rise over all its channels and go over all its banks, ⁸ and it will sweep on into Judah, it will overflow and pass on, ^(N)reaching even to the neck, and its ^(O)outspread wings will fill the breadth of your land, ^(P)O Immanuel.”

Fear God, Wait for the Lord

¹¹ For the Lord spoke thus to me with his strong hand upon me, and ^(T)warned me not to walk in the way of this people, saying: ¹² “Do not call ^(U)conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and ^(V)do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread. ¹³ But the Lord of hosts, ^(W)him you shall honor as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. ¹⁴ And he will become a ^(X)sanctuary and ^(Y)a stone of offense and a rock of stumbling to both houses of Israel, a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. ¹⁵ And many ^(Z)shall stumble on it. They shall fall and be broken; they shall be snared and taken.”

¹⁶ Bind up ^(AA)the testimony; ^(AB)seal the teaching^[g] among my disciples. ¹⁷ I will ^(AC)wait for the Lord, who is ^(AD)hiding his face from the house of Jacob, and I will hope in him. ^18 (AE)Behold, I and ^(AF)the children whom the Lord has given me are signs and portents in Israel from the Lord of hosts, who dwells on Mount Zion. ¹⁹ And when they say to you, “Inquire of the ^(AG)mediums and the necromancers who chirp and mutter,” should not a people inquire of their God? Should they inquire of ^(AH)the dead on behalf of the living? ^20 (AI)To the teaching and to the testimony! If they will not speak according to this word, it is because they have no ^(AJ)dawn. ²¹ They will pass through the land,^[h] greatly distressed and hungry. And when they are hungry, they will be enraged and will speak contemptuously against^[i] their king and their God, and turn their faces upward. ^22 (AK)And they will look to the earth, but behold, distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish. And they will be thrust into ^(AL)thick darkness.

The Syrophoenician Woman's Faith

²⁴ And from there he arose and went away to the region of Tyre and Sidon.^[a] And he entered a house and did not want anyone to know, yet he could not be hidden. ²⁵ But immediately a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit heard of him and came and fell down at his feet. ^26 (A)Now the woman was a ^(B)Gentile, ^(C)a Syrophoenician by birth. And she begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. ²⁷ And he said to her, “Let the children be ^(D)fed first, for it is not right to take the children's bread and ^(E)throw it to the dogs.” ²⁸ But she answered him, “Yes, Lord; yet even the dogs under the table eat the children's ^(F)crumbs.” ²⁹ And he said to her, “For this statement you may ^(G)go your way; the demon has left your daughter.” ³⁰ And she went home and found the child lying in bed and the demon gone.

Jesus Heals a Deaf Man

^31 (H)Then he returned from the region of Tyre and went through Sidon to ^(I)the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the ^(J)Decapolis. ³² And they brought to him ^(K)a man who was deaf and ^(L)had a speech impediment, and they begged him to ^(M)lay his hand on him. ³³ And ^(N)taking him aside from the crowd privately, he put his fingers into his ears, and ^(O)after spitting touched his tongue. ³⁴ And ^(P)looking up to heaven, ^(Q)he sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” ^35 (R)And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. ³⁶ And ^(S)Jesus^[b] charged them to tell no one. But ^(T)the more he charged them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. ³⁷ And they were ^(U)astonished beyond measure, saying, “He has done all things well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”

Jesus Feeds the Four Thousand

8 ^(V)In those days, when again a great crowd had gathered, and they had nothing to eat, he called his disciples to him and said to them, ^2 (W)“I have compassion on the crowd, because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. ³ And if I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way. And some of them have come from far away.” ⁴ And his disciples answered him, “How can one feed these people with bread here in this desolate place?” ⁵ And he asked them, “How many loaves do you have?” They said, ^(X)“Seven.” ⁶ And he directed the crowd to sit down on the ground. And he took the seven loaves, and ^(Y)having given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his disciples to set before the people; and they set them before the crowd. ⁷ And they had a few small fish. And ^(Z)having blessed them, he said that these also should be set before them. ⁸ And ^(AA)they ate and were satisfied. And they took up the broken pieces left over, ^(AB)seven baskets full. ⁹ And there were about four thousand people. And he sent them away. ¹⁰ And immediately he got into ^(AC)the boat with his disciples and went to the district of ^(AD)Dalmanutha.^[c]