Isaiah 8
1 Then Yahweh said to me, “Make a large signboard. And write clearly on it, ‘Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz’ [which means ‘quickly (plunder/take by force) and steal everything’].”
And YHWH says to me, “Take a great tablet to yourself, and write on it with an engraving tool of man, To hurry spoil, enjoy prey.”
2 [So] I requested Uriah the [Supreme] Priest and Jeberekiah’s son Zechariah, men who were both honest/trustworthy witnesses, to watch me as I was doing that.
And I cause faithful witnesses to testify to me, Uriah the priest, and Zechariah son of Jeberechiah.
3 Then I had sex with [EUP] [my wife, who was] a prophetess, and she became pregnant and [then] gave birth to a son. Then Yahweh said to me, “Give him the name Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz (which means ‘suddenly attacked, quickly conquered’),
And I draw near to the prophetess, and she conceives, and bears a son; and YHWH says to me, “Call his name Maher-shalal-hash-baz,
4 because before he is old enough to say ‘papa’ or ‘mama’, the King of Assyria will [come with his army and] quickly take away all the valuable things in Damascus and in Samaria.”
for before the youth knows to cry, My father, and, My mother, one takes away the wealth of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria, before the king of Asshur.”
5 Yahweh spoke to me again and said, “[Tell the people of Judah, ]
And YHWH adds to speak to me again, saying,
6 ‘[I have taken good care of] you people, but you have rejected that, [thinking that] my help was very little, like [MET] the little canal through which water flows from the Gihon Spring into Jerusalem. Instead, you have been happy [to request help from] King Rezin and King Pekah.
“Because that this people has refused The waters of Shiloah that go softly, And is rejoicing with Rezin and the son of Remaliah,
7 Therefore, I will cause the people of Judah to be attacked by [the powerful army of] the King of Assyria, which will be [like] a great flood from the [Euphrates] River. Their soldiers will [be everywhere in your country, like] a river that overflows all its banks.
Therefore, behold, the Lord is bringing up on them, The waters of the river, the mighty and the great (The king of Asshur, and all his glory), And it has gone up over all its streams, And has gone on over all its banks.
8 Those soldiers will go all over Judah— [like a river whose water] [MET] rises as high as a person’s neck. Their army will spread over the land [quickly], like an eagle, and they will cover your entire land! But I will be with you!’”
And it has passed on into Judah, It has overflown and passed over, It comes to the neck, And the stretching out of its wings Has been the fullness of the breadth of your land, O Immanuel!
9 Listen, all you [people in] distant countries! [You can] prepare to attack Judah. [You can] prepare [for battle, and shout your] war-cries, but your [armies will] be crushed/shattered!
Be friends, O nations, and be broken, And give ear, all you far-off ones of earth, Gird yourselves, and be broken, Gird yourselves, and be broken.
10 [You can] prepare for what you will do [to attack Judah], but what you plan to do will not happen! You will not succeed, because God is with us!
Take counsel, and it is broken, Speak a word, and it does not stand, Because of Immanuel!”
11 Yahweh strongly warned me [MTY] not to act like the [other] people in Judah did. He said to me,
For thus has YHWH spoken to me with strength of hand, and instructs me against walking in the way of this people, saying,
12 “Do not say that everything that people do is conspiring/rebelling [against the government], like [other] people say, and do not (be afraid of/worry about) the things that other people are afraid of.
“You do not say, A confederacy, To all to whom this people says, A confederacy, And its fear you do not fear, Nor declare fearful.
13 [I, ] the Commander of the armies of angels, am the one you should consider to be holy. And I am the one you should fear, the one you should revere.
YHWH of Hosts—Him you sanctify, And He [is] your Fear, and He your Dread,
14 I will protect you(sg). [But as for] the [other] people [MTY] in Israel and Judah, I will be [like] [MET] a stone that causes people to stumble, a rock that causes them to fall down. [And as for] the people of Jerusalem, I will be [like] [MET] a trap or a snare [DOU].
And He has been for a sanctuary, And for a stone of stumbling, and for a rock of falling, To the two houses of Israel, For a trap and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
15 Many [people] will stumble and fall down and never get up again. They will experience great troubles; they will be captured [by their enemies].”
And many among them have stumbled and fallen, And been broken, and snared, and captured.”
16 [So, I say to you who are my disciples], seal up this scroll on which I have written the messages that God has given to me, and give his instructions to [others] who have accompanied me.
Bind up the testimony, Seal the Law among My disciples.
17 I will wait to see what Yahweh [will do]. He has rejected the descendants [MTY] of Jacob, but I will confidently expect him to help me.
And I have waited for YHWH, Who is hiding His face from the house of Jacob, And I have looked for Him.
18 I and the children that Yahweh has given to me are [like] signs to warn [the people of] Israel; we are warnings from the Commander of the armies of angels the one who lives [in his temple] on Zion Hill [in Jerusalem].
Behold, I, and the children whom YHWH has given to me, [Are] for signs and for wonders in Israel, From YHWH of Hosts, who is dwelling in Mount Zion.
19 Some people may urge you(pl) to (consult/go and talk with) those who talk with the spirits of dead people or with those who say that they receive messages from those spirits. They whisper and mutter [about what we should do in the future]. But God is [RHQ] the one whom we should ask to guide us! It is ridiculous [RHQ] for people who are alive to request spirits of dead people to tell us [what we should do]!
And when they say to you, “Seek to those having familiar spirits, And to wizards, who chatter and mutter,” Does a people not seek to its God? To the dead on behalf of the living?
20 Pay attention to God’s instructions and teaching! If people do not say things that agree with what God teaches us, [what they say is worthless]. [It is as though] those people are in darkness.
To the Law and to the testimony! If not, let them say after this manner, “That there is no dawn to it.”
21 They will wander through the land, worried/discouraged and hungry. And when they become [very] hungry, they will become very angry. They will look up [toward heaven] and curse God and [will also] curse their king.
And it has passed over into it, hardened and hungry, And it has come to pass, That it is hungry, and has been angry, And made light of its king, and of its God, And has looked upwards.
22 They will look around the land and see only trouble/distress and darkness and things that cause them to despair. And [then] they will be thrown into the very black darkness [of hell]. (questioned)
And it looks attentively to the land, And behold, adversity and darkness! Dimness, distress, and thick darkness are driven away, But not the dimness for which she is in distress!
