Isaiah and His Children as Signs

The Lord said to me, “Take a large scroll(A) and write on it with an ordinary pen: Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz.”[a](B) So I called in Uriah(C) the priest and Zechariah son of Jeberekiah as reliable witnesses(D) for me. Then I made love to the prophetess,(E) and she conceived and gave birth to a son.(F) And the Lord said to me, “Name him Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz.(G) For before the boy knows(H) how to say ‘My father’ or ‘My mother,’ the wealth of Damascus(I) and the plunder of Samaria will be carried off by the king of Assyria.(J)

The Lord spoke to me again:

“Because this people has rejected(K)
    the gently flowing waters of Shiloah(L)
and rejoices over Rezin
    and the son of Remaliah,(M)
therefore the Lord is about to bring against them
    the mighty floodwaters(N) of the Euphrates—
    the king of Assyria(O) with all his pomp.(P)
It will overflow all its channels,
    run over all its banks(Q)
and sweep on into Judah, swirling over it,(R)
    passing through it and reaching up to the neck.
Its outspread wings(S) will cover the breadth of your land,
    Immanuel[b]!”(T)

Raise the war cry,[c](U) you nations, and be shattered!(V)
    Listen, all you distant lands.
Prepare(W) for battle, and be shattered!
    Prepare for battle, and be shattered!
10 Devise your strategy, but it will be thwarted;(X)
    propose your plan, but it will not stand,(Y)
    for God is with us.[d](Z)

11 This is what the Lord says to me with his strong hand upon me,(AA) warning me not to follow(AB) the way of this people:

12 “Do not call conspiracy(AC)
    everything this people calls a conspiracy;
do not fear what they fear,(AD)
    and do not dread it.(AE)
13 The Lord Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy,(AF)
    he is the one you are to fear,(AG)
    he is the one you are to dread.(AH)
14 He will be a holy place;(AI)
    for both Israel and Judah he will be
a stone(AJ) that causes people to stumble(AK)
    and a rock that makes them fall.(AL)
And for the people of Jerusalem he will be
    a trap and a snare.(AM)
15 Many of them will stumble;(AN)
    they will fall and be broken,
    they will be snared and captured.”

16 Bind up this testimony of warning(AO)
    and seal(AP) up God’s instruction among my disciples.
17 I will wait(AQ) for the Lord,
    who is hiding(AR) his face from the descendants of Jacob.
I will put my trust in him.(AS)

18 Here am I, and the children the Lord has given me.(AT) We are signs(AU) and symbols(AV) in Israel from the Lord Almighty, who dwells on Mount Zion.(AW)

The Darkness Turns to Light

19 When someone tells you to consult(AX) mediums and spiritists,(AY) who whisper and mutter,(AZ) should not a people inquire(BA) of their God? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living? 20 Consult God’s instruction(BB) and the testimony of warning.(BC) If anyone does not speak according to this word, they have no light(BD) of dawn. 21 Distressed and hungry,(BE) they will roam through the land;(BF) when they are famished, they will become enraged and, looking upward, will curse(BG) their king and their God. 22 Then they will look toward the earth and see only distress and darkness and fearful gloom,(BH) and they will be thrust into utter darkness.(BI)

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 8:1 Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz means quick to the plunder, swift to the spoil; also in verse 3.
  2. Isaiah 8:8 Immanuel means God with us.
  3. Isaiah 8:9 Or Do your worst
  4. Isaiah 8:10 Hebrew Immanuel

A Prophecy Against Babylon

13 A prophecy(A) against Babylon(B) that Isaiah son of Amoz(C) saw:(D)

Raise a banner(E) on a bare hilltop,
    shout to them;
beckon to them
    to enter the gates(F) of the nobles.
I have commanded those I prepared for battle;
    I have summoned my warriors(G) to carry out my wrath(H)
    those who rejoice(I) in my triumph.

Listen, a noise on the mountains,
    like that of a great multitude!(J)
Listen, an uproar(K) among the kingdoms,
    like nations massing together!
The Lord Almighty(L) is mustering(M)
    an army for war.
They come from faraway lands,
    from the ends of the heavens(N)
the Lord and the weapons(O) of his wrath(P)
    to destroy(Q) the whole country.

Wail,(R) for the day(S) of the Lord is near;
    it will come like destruction(T) from the Almighty.[a](U)
Because of this, all hands will go limp,(V)
    every heart will melt with fear.(W)
Terror(X) will seize them,
    pain and anguish will grip(Y) them;
    they will writhe like a woman in labor.(Z)
They will look aghast at each other,
    their faces aflame.(AA)

See, the day(AB) of the Lord is coming
    —a cruel(AC) day, with wrath(AD) and fierce anger(AE)
to make the land desolate
    and destroy the sinners within it.
10 The stars of heaven and their constellations
    will not show their light.(AF)
The rising sun(AG) will be darkened(AH)
    and the moon will not give its light.(AI)
11 I will punish(AJ) the world for its evil,
    the wicked(AK) for their sins.
I will put an end to the arrogance of the haughty(AL)
    and will humble(AM) the pride of the ruthless.(AN)
12 I will make people(AO) scarcer than pure gold,
    more rare than the gold of Ophir.(AP)
13 Therefore I will make the heavens tremble;(AQ)
    and the earth will shake(AR) from its place
at the wrath(AS) of the Lord Almighty,
    in the day of his burning anger.(AT)

14 Like a hunted(AU) gazelle,
    like sheep without a shepherd,(AV)
they will all return to their own people,
    they will flee(AW) to their native land.(AX)
15 Whoever is captured will be thrust through;
    all who are caught will fall(AY) by the sword.(AZ)
16 Their infants(BA) will be dashed to pieces before their eyes;
    their houses will be looted and their wives violated.(BB)

17 See, I will stir up(BC) against them the Medes,(BD)
    who do not care for silver
    and have no delight in gold.(BE)
18 Their bows(BF) will strike down the young men;(BG)
    they will have no mercy(BH) on infants,
    nor will they look with compassion on children.(BI)
19 Babylon,(BJ) the jewel of kingdoms,(BK)
    the pride and glory(BL) of the Babylonians,[b]
will be overthrown(BM) by God
    like Sodom and Gomorrah.(BN)
20 She will never be inhabited(BO)
    or lived in through all generations;
there no nomads(BP) will pitch their tents,
    there no shepherds will rest their flocks.
21 But desert creatures(BQ) will lie there,
    jackals(BR) will fill her houses;
there the owls(BS) will dwell,
    and there the wild goats(BT) will leap about.
22 Hyenas(BU) will inhabit her strongholds,(BV)
    jackals(BW) her luxurious palaces.
Her time is at hand,(BX)
    and her days will not be prolonged.(BY)

14 The Lord will have compassion(BZ) on Jacob;
    once again he will choose(CA) Israel
    and will settle them in their own land.(CB)
Foreigners(CC) will join them
    and unite with the descendants of Jacob.
Nations will take them
    and bring(CD) them to their own place.
And Israel will take possession of the nations(CE)
    and make them male and female servants in the Lord’s land.
They will make captives(CF) of their captors
    and rule over their oppressors.(CG)

On the day the Lord gives you relief(CH) from your suffering and turmoil(CI) and from the harsh labor forced on you,(CJ) you will take up this taunt(CK) against the king of Babylon:(CL)

How the oppressor(CM) has come to an end!
    How his fury[c] has ended!
The Lord has broken the rod(CN) of the wicked,(CO)
    the scepter(CP) of the rulers,
which in anger struck down peoples(CQ)
    with unceasing blows,
and in fury subdued(CR) nations
    with relentless aggression.(CS)
All the lands are at rest and at peace;(CT)
    they break into singing.(CU)
Even the junipers(CV) and the cedars of Lebanon
    gloat over you and say,
“Now that you have been laid low,
    no one comes to cut us down.”(CW)

The realm of the dead(CX) below is all astir
    to meet you at your coming;
it rouses the spirits of the departed(CY) to greet you—
    all those who were leaders(CZ) in the world;
it makes them rise from their thrones—
    all those who were kings over the nations.(DA)
10 They will all respond,
    they will say to you,
“You also have become weak, as we are;
    you have become like us.”(DB)
11 All your pomp has been brought down to the grave,(DC)
    along with the noise of your harps;(DD)
maggots are spread out beneath you
    and worms(DE) cover you.(DF)

12 How you have fallen(DG) from heaven,
    morning star,(DH) son of the dawn!
You have been cast down to the earth,
    you who once laid low the nations!(DI)
13 You said in your heart,
    “I will ascend(DJ) to the heavens;
I will raise my throne(DK)
    above the stars of God;
I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly,(DL)
    on the utmost heights(DM) of Mount Zaphon.[d]
14 I will ascend above the tops of the clouds;(DN)
    I will make myself like the Most High.”(DO)
15 But you are brought down(DP) to the realm of the dead,(DQ)
    to the depths(DR) of the pit.(DS)

16 Those who see you stare at you,
    they ponder your fate:(DT)
“Is this the man who shook(DU) the earth
    and made kingdoms tremble,
17 the man who made the world a wilderness,(DV)
    who overthrew(DW) its cities
    and would not let his captives go home?”(DX)

18 All the kings of the nations lie in state,
    each in his own tomb.(DY)
19 But you are cast out(DZ) of your tomb
    like a rejected branch;
you are covered with the slain,(EA)
    with those pierced by the sword,(EB)
    those who descend to the stones of the pit.(EC)
Like a corpse trampled underfoot,
20     you will not join them in burial,(ED)
for you have destroyed your land
    and killed your people.

Let the offspring(EE) of the wicked(EF)
    never be mentioned(EG) again.
21 Prepare a place to slaughter his children(EH)
    for the sins of their ancestors;(EI)
they are not to rise to inherit the land
    and cover the earth with their cities.

22 “I will rise up(EJ) against them,”
    declares the Lord Almighty.
“I will wipe out Babylon’s name(EK) and survivors,
    her offspring and descendants,(EL)
declares the Lord.
23 “I will turn her into a place for owls(EM)
    and into swampland;
I will sweep her with the broom of destruction,(EN)
    declares the Lord Almighty.(EO)

24 The Lord Almighty has sworn,(EP)

“Surely, as I have planned,(EQ) so it will be,
    and as I have purposed, so it will happen.(ER)
25 I will crush the Assyrian(ES) in my land;
    on my mountains I will trample him down.
His yoke(ET) will be taken from my people,
    and his burden removed from their shoulders.(EU)

26 This is the plan(EV) determined for the whole world;
    this is the hand(EW) stretched out over all nations.
27 For the Lord Almighty has purposed,(EX) and who can thwart him?
    His hand(EY) is stretched out, and who can turn it back?(EZ)

A Prophecy Against the Philistines

28 This prophecy(FA) came in the year(FB) King Ahaz(FC) died:

29 Do not rejoice, all you Philistines,(FD)
    that the rod that struck you is broken;
from the root of that snake will spring up a viper,(FE)
    its fruit will be a darting, venomous serpent.(FF)
30 The poorest of the poor will find pasture,
    and the needy(FG) will lie down in safety.(FH)
But your root I will destroy by famine;(FI)
    it will slay(FJ) your survivors.(FK)

31 Wail,(FL) you gate!(FM) Howl, you city!
    Melt away, all you Philistines!(FN)
A cloud of smoke comes from the north,(FO)
    and there is not a straggler in its ranks.(FP)
32 What answer shall be given
    to the envoys(FQ) of that nation?
“The Lord has established Zion,(FR)
    and in her his afflicted people will find refuge.(FS)

A Prophecy Against Moab(FT)

15 A prophecy(FU) against Moab:(FV)

Ar(FW) in Moab is ruined,(FX)
    destroyed in a night!
Kir(FY) in Moab is ruined,
    destroyed in a night!
Dibon(FZ) goes up to its temple,
    to its high places(GA) to weep;
    Moab wails(GB) over Nebo(GC) and Medeba.
Every head is shaved(GD)
    and every beard cut off.(GE)
In the streets they wear sackcloth;(GF)
    on the roofs(GG) and in the public squares(GH)
they all wail,(GI)
    prostrate with weeping.(GJ)
Heshbon(GK) and Elealeh(GL) cry out,
    their voices are heard all the way to Jahaz.(GM)
Therefore the armed men of Moab cry out,
    and their hearts are faint.

My heart cries out(GN) over Moab;(GO)
    her fugitives(GP) flee as far as Zoar,(GQ)
    as far as Eglath Shelishiyah.
They go up the hill to Luhith,
    weeping as they go;
on the road to Horonaim(GR)
    they lament their destruction.(GS)
The waters of Nimrim are dried up(GT)
    and the grass is withered;(GU)
the vegetation is gone(GV)
    and nothing green is left.(GW)
So the wealth they have acquired(GX) and stored up
    they carry away over the Ravine of the Poplars.
Their outcry echoes along the border of Moab;
    their wailing reaches as far as Eglaim,
    their lamentation as far as Beer(GY) Elim.
The waters of Dimon[e] are full of blood,
    but I will bring still more upon Dimon[f]
a lion(GZ) upon the fugitives of Moab(HA)
    and upon those who remain in the land.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 13:6 Hebrew Shaddai
  2. Isaiah 13:19 Or Chaldeans
  3. Isaiah 14:4 Dead Sea Scrolls, Septuagint and Syriac; the meaning of the word in the Masoretic Text is uncertain.
  4. Isaiah 14:13 Or of the north; Zaphon was the most sacred mountain of the Canaanites.
  5. Isaiah 15:9 Dimon, a wordplay on Dibon (see verse 2), sounds like the Hebrew for blood.
  6. Isaiah 15:9 Dimon, a wordplay on Dibon (see verse 2), sounds like the Hebrew for blood.

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