Damascus and Samaria Fall
1 Then the Lord said to me, "Take for yourself a large tablet and write on it 8:1 Lit with the stylus of manin ordinary letters: 8:1 I.e., swift is the plunder, speedy is the preyMaher-shalal-hash-baz. 2 And 8:2 Another reading is take for meI will take to Myself faithful witnesses for testimony, Uriah the priest and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah." 3 So I approached the prophetess, and she conceived and gave birth to a son. Then the Lord said to me, "Name him 8:3 I.e., swift is the plunder, speedy is the preyMaher-shalal-hash-baz; 4 for before the boy knows how to cry out ‘My father’ or ‘My mother,’ the wealth of Damascus and the spoils of Samaria will be carried away before the king of Assyria."
5 Again the Lord spoke to me further, saying,
6 "Inasmuch as these people have rejected the gently flowing waters of Shiloah
And rejoice in Rezin and the son of Remaliah;
7 Now therefore, behold, the Lord is about to bring on them the strong and abundant waters of the Euphrates River,
That is, the king of Assyria and all his glory;
And it will rise over all its channels and go over all its banks.
8 "Then it will sweep on into Judah, it will overflow and pass through,
It will reach as far as the neck;
And the spread of its wings will 8:8 Lit be the fullness offill the expanse of 8:8 Or Youryour land, Immanuel.
A Believing Remnant
9 "Be broken, you peoples, and be 8:9 Or dismayedshattered;
And listen, all remote places of the earth.
8:9 Lit Belt up your waist Get ready, yet be 8:9 Or dismayedshattered;
8:9 Lit Belt up your waist Get ready, yet be 8:9 Or dismayedshattered.
10 "Devise a plan, but it will fail;
State a 8:10 Lit wordproposal, but it will not stand,
For 8:10 Heb Immanu-elGod is with us."
11 For so the Lord spoke to me 8:11 Lit according to the strength of handwith mighty power and instructed me not to walk in the way of this people, saying,
12 "You are not to say, ‘It is a conspiracy!’
Regarding everything that this people call a conspiracy,
And you are not to fear 8:12 Lit their fearwhat they fear or be in dread of it.
13 "It is the Lord of armies whom you are to regard as holy.
And He shall be your fear,
And He shall be your dread.
14 "Then He will become a sanctuary;
But to both houses of Israel, He will be a stone of stumbling and a rock 8:14 Or to trip onof offense,
And a snare and a trap for the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
15 "Many will stumble over them,
Then they will fall and be broken;
They will be snared and caught."
16 Bind up the testimony, seal the 8:16 Or teachingLaw among my disciples. 17 And I will wait for the Lord who is hiding His face from the house of Jacob; I will wait eagerly for Him. 18 Behold, I and the children whom the Lord has given me are for signs and wonders in Israel from the Lord of armies, who dwells on Mount Zion.
19 When they say to you, "Consult the mediums and the spiritists who whisper and mutter," should a people not consult their God? Should they consult the dead in behalf of the living? 20 To the 8:20 Or teachingLaw and to the testimony! If they do not speak in accordance with this word, it is because they have no dawn. 21 They will pass through 8:21 Lit itthe land dejected and hungry, and it will turn out that when they are hungry, they will become enraged and curse 8:21 Or by their kingtheir king and their God as they face upward. 22 Then they will look to the earth, and behold, distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish; and they will be driven away into darkness.