Isaiah and His Children as Signs

8 The Lord said to me, “Take a large scrolln and write on it with an ordinary pen: Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz.”a o 2 So I called in Uriahp the priest and Zechariah son of Jeberekiah as reliable witnessesq for me. 3 Then I made love to the prophetess,r and she conceived and gave birth to a son.s And the Lord said to me, “Name him Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz.t 4 For before the boy knowsu how to say ‘My father’ or ‘My mother,’ the wealth of Damascusv and the plunder of Samaria will be carried off by the king of Assyria.w”

5 The Lord spoke to me again:

6 “Because this people has rejectedx

the gently flowing waters of Shiloahy

and rejoices over Rezin

and the son of Remaliah,z

7 therefore the Lord is about to bring against them

the mighty floodwatersa of the Euphrates—

the king of Assyriab with all his pomp.c

It will overflow all its channels,

run over all its banksd

8 and sweep on into Judah, swirling over it,e

passing through it and reaching up to the neck.

Its outspread wingsf will cover the breadth of your land,

Immanuelb!”g

9 Raise the war cry,c h you nations, and be shattered!i

Listen, all you distant lands.

Preparej for battle, and be shattered!

Prepare for battle, and be shattered!

10 Devise your strategy, but it will be thwarted;k

propose your plan, but it will not stand,l

for God is with us.d m

11 This is what the Lord says to me with his strong hand upon me,n warning me not to followo the way of this people:

12 “Do not call conspiracyp

everything this people calls a conspiracy;

do not fear what they fear,q

and do not dread it.r

13 The Lord Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy,s

he is the one you are to fear,t

he is the one you are to dread.u

14 He will be a holy place;v

for both Israel and Judah he will be

a stonew that causes people to stumblex

and a rock that makes them fall.y

And for the people of Jerusalem he will be

a trap and a snare.z

15 Many of them will stumble;a

they will fall and be broken,

they will be snared and captured.”

16 Bind up this testimony of warningb

and sealc up God’s instruction among my disciples.

17 I will waitd for the Lord,

who is hidinge his face from the descendants of Jacob.

I will put my trust in him.f

18 Here am I, and the children the Lord has given me.g We are signsh and symbolsi in Israel from the Lord Almighty, who dwells on Mount Zion.j

The Darkness Turns to Light

19 When someone tells you to consultk mediums and spiritists,l who whisper and mutter,m should not a people inquiren of their God? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living? 20 Consult God’s instructiono and the testimony of warning.p If anyone does not speak according to this word, they have no lightq of dawn. 21 Distressed and hungry,r they will roam through the land;s when they are famished, they will become enraged and, looking upward, will curset their king and their God. 22 Then they will look toward the earth and see only distress and darkness and fearful gloom,u and they will be thrust into utter darkness.v