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Chapter 8
A Son of Isaiah. 1 The Lord said to me: Take a large tablet, and inscribe on it with an ordinary stylus,[a] “belonging to Maher-shalal-hash-baz,”(A) 2 and call reliable witnesses[b] for me, Uriah the priest, and Zechariah, son of Jeberechiah.
3 Then I went to the prophetess and she conceived and bore a son. The Lord said to me: Name him Maher-shalal-hash-baz, 4 for before the child learns to say, “My father, my mother,” the wealth of Damascus and the spoils of Samaria shall be carried off by the king of Assyria.
The Choice: The Lord or Assyria. 5 Again the Lord spoke to me:
6 Because this people[c] has rejected
the waters of Shiloah that flow gently,
And melts with fear at the display of Rezin and Remaliah’s son,
7 Therefore the Lord is bringing up against them
the waters of the River, great and mighty,
the king of Assyria and all his glory.
It shall rise above all its channels,
and overflow all its banks.
8 It shall roll on into Judah,
it shall rage and pass on—
up to the neck it shall reach.(B)
But his outspread wings will fill
the width of your land, Emmanuel!
9 Band together, O peoples, but be shattered!
Give ear, all you distant lands!
Arm yourselves, but be shattered! Arm yourselves, but be shattered!
10 Form a plan, it shall be thwarted;
make a resolve, it shall not be carried out,
for “With us is God!”[d](C)
Disciples of Isaiah. 11 For thus said the Lord—his hand strong upon me—warning me not to walk in the way of this people:
12 [e]Do not call conspiracy what this people calls conspiracy,
nor fear what they fear, nor feel dread.
13 But conspire with the Lord of hosts;
he shall be your fear, he shall be your dread.(D)
14 He shall be a snare,
a stone for injury,
A rock for stumbling
to both the houses of Israel,
A trap and a snare
to those who dwell in Jerusalem;(E)
15 And many among them shall stumble;
fallen and broken;
snared and captured.(F)
16 Bind up my testimony, seal the instruction with my disciples.[f] 17 I will trust in the Lord, who is hiding his face from the house of Jacob; yes, I will wait for him. 18 Here am I and the children whom the Lord has given me: we are signs[g] and portents in Israel from the Lord of hosts, who dwells on Mount Zion.(G)
19 And when they say to you, “Inquire of ghosts and soothsayers who chirp and mutter;[h](H) should not a people inquire of their gods, consulting the dead on behalf of the living, 20 for instruction and testimony?” Surely, those who speak like this are the ones for whom there is no dawn.[i]
21 He will pass through it hard-pressed and hungry,
and when hungry, shall become enraged,
and curse king and gods.
He will look upward,
22 and will gaze at the earth,
But will see only distress and darkness,
oppressive gloom,
murky, without light.[j]
The Promise of Salvation Under a New Davidic King.[k] 23 There is no gloom where there had been distress. Where once he degraded the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, now he has glorified the way of the Sea, the land across the Jordan, Galilee of the Nations.[l]
Chapter 9
1 The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light;
Upon those who lived in a land of gloom
a light has shone.(I)
2 You have brought them abundant joy
and great rejoicing;
They rejoice before you as people rejoice at harvest,
as they exult when dividing the spoils.
3 For the yoke that burdened them,
the pole on their shoulder,
The rod of their taskmaster,
you have smashed, as on the day of Midian.[m](J)
4 For every boot that tramped in battle,
every cloak rolled in blood,
will be burned as fuel for fire.(K)
5 For a child[n] is born to us, a son is given to us;
upon his shoulder dominion rests.
They name him Wonder-Counselor, God-Hero,(L)
Father-Forever, Prince of Peace.
6 His dominion is vast
and forever peaceful,
Upon David’s throne, and over his kingdom,
which he confirms and sustains
By judgment and justice,
both now and forever.(M)
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this!
Judgment on the Northern Kingdom[o]
7 The Lord has sent a word against Jacob,
and it falls upon Israel;
8 And all the people know it—
Ephraim and those who dwell in Samaria—
those who say in arrogance and pride of heart,
9 “Bricks have fallen,
but we will rebuild with cut stone;
Sycamores have been felled,
but we will replace them with cedars.”(N)
10 So the Lord raises up their foes against them
and stirs up their enemies to action—
11 Aram[p] from the east and the Philistines from the west—
they devour Israel with open mouth.
For all this, his wrath is not turned back,
and his hand is still outstretched!
12 The people do not turn back to the one who struck them,
nor do they seek the Lord of hosts.
13 So the Lord cuts off from Israel head and tail,
palm branch and reed in one day.(O)
14 (The elder and the noble are the head,
the prophet who teaches falsehood is the tail.)(P)
15 Those who lead this people lead them astray,
and those who are led are swallowed up.(Q)
16 That is why the Lord does not spare their young men,
and their orphans and widows he does not pity;
For they are totally impious and wicked,
and every mouth speaks folly.
For all this, his wrath is not turned back,
his hand is still outstretched!
17 For wickedness burns like fire,
devouring brier and thorn;
It kindles the forest thickets,
which go up in columns of smoke.(R)
18 At the wrath of the Lord of hosts the land quakes,
and the people are like fuel for fire;
no one spares his brother.(S)
19 They hack on the right, but remain hungry;
they devour on the left, but are not filled.
Each devours the flesh of the neighbor;
20 Manasseh devours Ephraim,[q] and Ephraim Manasseh,
together they turn on Judah.
For all this, his wrath is not turned back,
his hand is still outstretched!
Chapter 12
1 I[a] must boast; not that it is profitable, but I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord. 2 I know someone in Christ who, fourteen years ago (whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows), was caught up to the third heaven. 3 And I know that this person (whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows) 4 was caught up into Paradise and heard ineffable things, which no one may utter.(A) 5 About this person[b] I will boast, but about myself I will not boast, except about my weaknesses. 6 Although if I should wish to boast, I would not be foolish, for I would be telling the truth. But I refrain, so that no one may think more of me than what he sees in me or hears from me 7 because of the abundance of the revelations. Therefore, that I might not become too elated,[c] a thorn in the flesh was given to me, an angel of Satan, to beat me, to keep me from being too elated.(B) 8 Three times[d] I begged the Lord about this, that it might leave me,(C) 9 [e]but he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” I will rather boast most gladly of my weaknesses,[f] in order that the power of Christ may dwell with me.(D) 10 Therefore, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and constraints, for the sake of Christ;(E) for when I am weak, then I am strong.[g]
Selfless Concern for the Church.[h]
Psalm 55[a]
A Lament over Betrayal
1 For the leader. On stringed instruments. A maskil of David.
I
2 Listen, God, to my prayer;(A)
do not hide from my pleading;
3 hear me and give answer.
I rock with grief; I groan
4 at the uproar of the enemy,
the clamor of the wicked.
They heap trouble upon me,
savagely accuse me.
5 My heart pounds within me;
death’s terrors fall upon me.
6 Fear and trembling overwhelm me;
shuddering sweeps over me.
7 I say, “If only I had wings like a dove
that I might fly away and find rest.(B)
8 Far away I would flee;
I would stay in the desert.(C)
Selah
9 “I would soon find a shelter
from the raging wind and storm.”
II
10 Lord, check and confuse their tongues.
For I see violence and strife in the city
11 making rounds on its walls day and night.
Within are mischief and trouble;
12 treachery is in its midst;
oppression and fraud never leave its streets.(D)
13 For it is not an enemy that reviled me—
that I could bear—
Not a foe who viewed me with contempt,
from that I could hide.
14 But it was you, my other self,
my comrade and friend,(E)
15 You, whose company I enjoyed,
at whose side I walked
in the house of God.
III
16 Let death take them;
let them go down alive to Sheol,(F)
for evil is in their homes and bellies.
17 But I will call upon God,
and the Lord will save me.
18 At dusk, dawn, and noon
I will grieve and complain,
and my prayer will be heard.(G)
19 He will redeem my soul in peace
from those who war against me,
though there are many who oppose me.
20 God, who sits enthroned forever,(H)
will hear me and afflict them.
Selah
For they will not mend their ways;
they have no fear of God.
21 He stretched out his hand at his friends
and broke his covenant.
22 Softer than butter is his speech,
but war is in his heart.
Smoother than oil are his words,
but they are unsheathed swords.(I)
23 Cast your care upon the Lord,
who will give you support.
He will never allow
the righteous to stumble.(J)
24 But you, God, will bring them down
to the pit of destruction.(K)
These bloodthirsty liars
will not live half their days,
but I put my trust in you.(L)
4 Do not wear yourself out to gain wealth,
cease to be worried about it;
5 When your glance flits to it, it is gone!
For assuredly it grows wings,
like the eagle that flies toward heaven.[a]
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.