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Yahweh said to me, “Take a large tablet, and write on it with a man’s pen, ‘For Maher Shalal Hash Baz’;[a] and I will take for myself faithful witnesses to testify: Uriah the priest, and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah.”

I went to the prophetess, and she conceived, and bore a son. Then Yahweh said to me, “Call his name ‘Maher Shalal Hash Baz.’ For before the child knows how to say, ‘My father,’ and, ‘My mother,’ the riches of Damascus and the plunder of Samaria will be carried away by the king of Assyria.”

Yahweh spoke to me yet again, saying, “Because this people has refused the waters of Shiloah that go softly, and rejoice in Rezin and Remaliah’s son; now therefore, behold, the Lord brings upon them the mighty flood waters of the River: the king of Assyria and all his glory. It will come up over all its channels, and go over all its banks. It will sweep onward into Judah. It will overflow and pass through. It will reach even to the neck. The stretching out of its wings will fill the width of your land, Immanuel. Make an uproar, you peoples, and be broken in pieces! Listen, all you from far countries: dress for battle, and be shattered! Dress for battle, and be shattered! 10 Take counsel together, and it will be brought to nothing; speak the word, and it will not stand, for God is with us.”

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Footnotes

  1. 8:1 “Maher Shalal Hash Baz” means “quick to the plunder, swift to the prey”.

Isaiah’s Son is Born

The Lord also told me, “Take a large tablet and write on it with a stylus[a] pen, ‘For Maher-shalal-hash-baz’.[b] Then I will call[c] Uriah the priest and Jeberechiah’s son Zechariah as reliable witnesses to testify on my behalf.”

After this, I was intimate with the prophetess and she conceived. Later, she bore a son, and then the Lord told me,[d] “Call him[e] ‘Maher-shalal-hash-baz,’ for before the young lad knows how to call out to his father or mother,[f] the wealth of Damascus and the plunder of Samaria will be carried off by the king of Assyria.”

Invasion by Assyria

The Lord spoke to me again: “Because this people have rejected the gently-flowing waters of Shiloah, and because[g] they keep rejoicing in Rezin and Remaliah’s son, watch out! The Lord God[h] is about to bring the flood waters of the Euphrates[i] River against them, mighty and strong.[j]

“It’s the king of Assyria and all of his arrogance! He will rise over all of the river’s channels and run over all of its banks. He will sweep on into Judah, overflowing as he passes through, like flood waters[k] reaching up to a person’s neck. His outstretched wings will flow as wide as your land, O Immanuel!”

“Band together,[l] you peoples,
    but be shattered!
        Listen, all you distant countries!
Strap on your armor,
        but be shattered.[m]
10 Take counsel together,
    but it will all be for nothing;
go ahead and talk,
    but[n] it will all be for nothing,[o]
        for God is with us.”[p]

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 8:1 Or with an ordinary
  2. Isaiah 8:1 The Heb. name Maher-shalal-hash-baz means Hurry to the plunder, quick to the loot
  3. Isaiah 8:2 So 1QIsaa LXX; MT reads call in
  4. Isaiah 8:3 So 1QIsaa MT LXX; 4QIsae lacks me
  5. Isaiah 8:3 Lit. Call his name
  6. Isaiah 8:4 So 1QIsaa; MT reads out ‘My father!’ or ‘My mother!’; LXX reads ‘Father!’ or ‘Mother!’
  7. Isaiah 8:6 1QIsaa MT lack because
  8. Isaiah 8:7 So 1QIsaa; MT reads the Lord
  9. Isaiah 8:7 1QIsaa MT lack Euphrates
  10. Isaiah 8:7 So 4QIsaf MT LXX; 1QIsaa lacks mighty and strong
  11. Isaiah 8:8 DSS MT lack like flood waters
  12. Isaiah 8:9 So 1QIsaa MT; 4QIsae 4QIsaf LXX read Learn this; or Know this
  13. Isaiah 8:9 So 1QIsaa; MT adds a second strap on your armor but be shattered; cf. LXX
  14. Isaiah 8:10 So 1QIsaa MT; 4QIsae LXX lack but
  15. Isaiah 8:10 Lit. it won’t stand
  16. Isaiah 8:10 I.e. a word play on the name Immanuel; cf. 7:14, 8:8