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 Jehovah said to me, Take thee a great tablet, and with a man's writing-instrument write on it, Hasteth-the-prey, Speedeth-the-spoil.
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 took with me faithful witnesses, Uriah the priest, and Zechariah, the son of Berechiah.
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’),
I went in to the prophetess, and she conceived and bore a son. Then said Jehovah to me, Call his name, Hasteth-the-prey, Speedeth-the-spoil.
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 child shall learn to say, My father, and My mother, the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria shall be borne away before the king of Assyria.
5 Yahweh spoke to me again and said, “[Tell the people of Judah, ]
Moreover, Jehovah spake 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 this people despiseth The soft-flowing waters of Siloah, And rejoiceth in 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 bringeth upon them the strong and mighty waters of the river; [[The king of Assyria and all his glory.]] He shall rise above all his channels, And go over all his 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 he shall pass through Judah, overflowing and spreading; Even to the neck shall he reach, And his stretched-out wings shall fill the whole breadth of thy 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!
Rage, ye nations, and despair! Give ear, all ye distant parts of the earth! Gird yourselves, and despair! Gird yourselves, and despair!
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!
Form your plan, and it shall come to naught; Give the command, and it shall not stand; For God is with us.
11 Yahweh strongly warned me [MTY] not to act like the [other] people in Judah did. He said to me,
For thus spake Jehovah to me with a strong hand, Instructing me not to walk in the way of this people:
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.
Call not everything a confederacy which this people calleth a confederacy; Fear ye not what they fear, Neither be afraid!
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.
Jehovah of hosts, sanctify ye him; Let him be your fear, and let him be 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 shall be to you a sanctuary; But a stone of stumbling, and a rock to strike against, To the two houses of Israel, A trap and 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 shall stumble; They shall fall, and be broken; They shall be ensnared and taken.
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 revelation, Seal the word, with 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.
I will, therefore, wait for Jehovah, Who now hideth his face from the house of Jacob; Yet will I look 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 which Jehovah hath given me, Are signs and tokens in Israel From Jehovah of hosts, who dwelleth upon 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 shall say to you, “Inquire of the necromancers and the wizards, That chirp, and that murmur,” [[Then say ye, ]] “Should not a people inquire of their God? Should they inquire of the dead for 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 word, to the revelation! If they speak not according to this, For them no bright morning shall arise.
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.
They shall pass through the land distressed and famished; And when they are famished, they shall be enraged, and curse their king and their God, And look upward.
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 if they look to the earth, Behold distress and darkness, fearful darkness! And into darkness shall they be driven.
