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’].”
Yahweh said to me, “Take a large tablet and write on it, 'Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz.'
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.
I will summon faithful witnesses to attest for me, Uriah the priest, and Zechariah son of Jeberekiah.”
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 to the prophetess, and she conceived and bore a son. Then Yahweh said 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 child knows to cry, 'My father,' and, 'My mother,' the riches of Damascus and the plunder of Samaria will be carried away by the king of Assyria.”
5 Yahweh spoke to me again and said, “[Tell the people of Judah, ]
Yahweh spoke to me again,
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 has refused the gentle waters of Shiloah, and is happy over Rezin and Remaliah's son,
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 the Lord is about to bring up on them the waters of the River, mighty and many, the king of Assyria and all his glory. It will come up over all its channels and overflow 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!’”
The River will sweep onward into Judah, flooding and passing on, until it reaches to your neck. Its outstretched wings will fill the breadth of your land, 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!
You peoples will be broken to pieces. Listen, all you distant countries: arm yourselves for war and be broken in pieces; arm yourselves and be broken in pieces.
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 a plan, but it will not be carried out; issue the command, but it will not be carried out, 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,
Yahweh spoke to me, with his strong hand upon me, and warned 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.
Do not call conspiracy anything that this people calls conspiracy, you will not fear what they fear, and do not be terrified.
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.
It is Yahweh of hosts whom you will honor as holy; he is the one you must fear, and he is the one you must 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].
He will become a sanctuary; but he will be a stone of striking, and a rock of stumbling— for both the houses of Israel, and he will be a trap and a snare to the people 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].”
Many will stumble over it and fall and be broken, and be ensnared 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 my testimony, seal the official record, and give it to 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 wait for Yahweh, who hides his face from the house of Jacob; I will trust in 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].
See, I and the sons whom Yahweh has given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from Yahweh of hosts, who lives on 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]!
They will say to you, “Consult with the mediums and spiritists,” those who chirp and mutter incantations. But should a people not consult their God? Should they consult 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 they do not say such things, it is because they have no light of dawn.
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 will pass through the land greatly distressed and hungry. When they are hungry, they will become angry and curse their king and their God, as they turn their faces 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)
They will look at the earth and see distress, darkness, and oppressive gloom. They will be driven into a land of darkness.
