8The Lord said to me, “Get a large scroll. Write ‘Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz’ on it with a pen. ²I will send for Zechariah and the priest Uriah. They can be trusted. They will be witnesses for me. Zechariah is the son of Jeberekiah.”

³Then I went and made love to my wife, who was a prophet. She became pregnant and had a baby boy. The Lord said to me, “Name him Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz.

⁴“The king of Assyria will carry off the wealth of Damascus. He will also carry away the goods that were taken from Samaria. That will happen before the boy knows how to say ‘My father’ or ‘My mother.’ ”

⁵The Lord continued,

⁶“I am like the gently flowing stream of Siloam.

But the people of Judah have turned their backs on me.

They are filled with joy because of the fall of Rezin

and the son of Remaliah.

⁷So I am about to bring against these people

the king of Assyria and his whole army.

The Assyrians will be like the mighty Euphrates River

when it is flooding.

They will run over everything in their path.

⁸They will sweep on into Judah like a flood.

They will pass through Judah and reach all the way to Jerusalem.

Immanuel, they will attack your land like an eagle.

Their wings will spread out and cover it.”

⁹Sound the battle cry, you nations!

But you will be torn apart.

Listen, all of you lands far away!

Prepare for battle! But you will be torn apart.

¹⁰Make your battle plans! But you won’t succeed.

Give your orders! But they won’t be carried out.

That’s because God is with us.

Have Respect for God

¹¹The Lord put his powerful hand on me and spoke to me. He warned me not to live the way these people live. He said,

¹²“People of Judah, do not agree with those who say

Isaiah is guilty of treason.

Do not fear what they fear.

Do not be afraid.

¹³I am the Lord who rules over all.

You must think about me as holy.

You must have respect for me.

You must fear me.

¹⁴Then I will be a holy place of safety for you.

But for many people in Israel and Judah I will be

a stone that causes them to trip.

I will be a rock that makes them fall.

And for the people of Jerusalem I will be

a trap and a snare.

¹⁵Many of them will trip.

They will fall and be broken.

They will be trapped and captured.”

¹⁶Keep safe what the Lord said to you through me.

Seal up among my followers what he taught you through me.

¹⁷I will wait for the Lord.

He is turning his face away from Jacob’s people.

I will put my trust in him.

¹⁸Here I am. Here are the children the Lord has given me. We are signs and reminders to Israel from the Lord who rules over all. He lives on Mount Zion.

¹⁹Some will tell you to ask for advice from people who get messages from those who have died. Others will tell you to ask for advice from people who talk to the spirits of the dead. But those people only whisper. Their words are barely heard. So shouldn’t you ask for advice from your God? Why should you get advice from dead people to help those who are alive?

²⁰Follow what the Lord taught you and said to you through me. People who don’t speak in keeping with those words won’t have any hope in the morning. ²¹They will suffer and be hungry. They’ll wander through the land. When they are very hungry, they will become angry. They’ll look up toward heaven. They’ll call down curses on their king and their God. ²²Then they will look at the earth. They’ll see nothing but suffering and darkness. They’ll see terrible sadness. They’ll be driven into total darkness.

A Son Will Be Given to Us

9But there won’t be any more sadness for those who were suffering. In the past the Lord brought shame on the land of Zebulun. He also brought shame on the land of Naphtali. But in days to come he will honor Galilee, where people from other nations live. He will honor the land along the Mediterranean Sea. And he will honor the territory east of the Jordan River.

²The people who are now living in darkness

will see a great light.

They are now living in a very dark land.

But a light will shine on them.

³Lord, you will make our nation larger.

You will increase their joy.

They will show you how glad they are.

They will be as glad as people are at harvest time.

They will be as glad as soldiers are

when they share the things they’ve taken after a battle.

⁴You set Israel free from Midian long ago.

In the same way, you will break

the heavy yoke that weighs Israel down.

You will break the wooden beams that are on their shoulders.

You will break the rods of those who strike them down.

⁵Every fighting man’s boot that is used in battle will be burned up.

So will every piece of clothes

that is covered with blood.

All of them will be thrown into the fire.

⁶A child will be born to us.

A son will be given to us.

He will rule over us.

And he will be called

Wonderful Adviser and Mighty God.

He will also be called Father Who Lives Forever

and Prince Who Brings Peace.

⁷The authority of his rule will continue to grow.

The peace he brings will never end.

He will rule on David’s throne

and over his kingdom.

He will make the kingdom strong and secure.

His rule will be based on what is fair and right.

It will last forever.

The Lord’s great love will make sure that happens.

He rules over all.

The Lord Is Angry With Israel

⁸The Lord has sent a message against Jacob’s people.

He will punish Israel.

⁹All of the people will know about it.

Ephraim’s people and those who live in Samaria will know about it.

Their hearts are very proud.

They say,

¹⁰“The brick buildings have fallen down.

But we will rebuild them with blocks of stone.

The fig trees have been chopped down.

But we’ll plant cedar trees in place of them.”

¹¹In spite of that, the Lord has made Rezin’s enemies stronger.

He has stirred up Assyria to fight against Israel.

¹²Arameans from the east

have opened their mouths and swallowed Israel up.

So have Philistines from the west.

Even then, the Lord is still angry.

His hand is still raised against them.

¹³But his people have not returned

to the One who struck them down.

They haven’t turned for help

to the Lord who rules over all.

¹⁴So he will cut off from Israel heads and tails alike.

In a single day he will cut off palm branches and tall grass alike.

The palm branches are the people who rule over others.

The tall grass is the people who bow down to them.

¹⁵The elders and important leaders are the heads.

The prophets who teach lies are the tails.

¹⁶Those who guide the people of Israel are leading them down the wrong path.

So those who follow them aren’t on the right road.

¹⁷The Lord will not be pleased with the young men.

He won’t take pity on widows and on children whose fathers have died.

All of them are ungodly and evil.

They say sinful things with their mouths.

Even then, the Lord is still angry.

His hand is still raised against them.

¹⁸What is evil burns like a fire.

It burns up bushes and thorns.

It sets the forest on fire.

It sends up a huge column of smoke.

¹⁹The Lord rules over all.

When he gets angry, he will burn up the land.

The people will die.

Men will eat their brothers.

²⁰People will eat up everything they can find on their right.

But they’ll still be hungry.

They will eat everything they can find on their left.

But they won’t be satisfied.

So they will eat the dead bodies of their children.

²¹That’s what Manasseh’s people will do to Ephraim.

And that’s what Ephraim’s people will do to Manasseh.

Together they will turn against Judah.

Even then, the Lord is still angry.

His hand is still raised against them

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