Isaiah 8

A Warning and a Hope

¹The Lord said, “Isaiah, get something to write on. Then write in big clear letters the name, MAHER-SHALAL-HASH-BAZ.[#8.1 Or “in letters everyone can understand.”; #8.1 In Hebrew “Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz” means “suddenly attacked, quickly taken.”]

²I will tell Uriah the priest and Zechariah son of Jeberechiah to serve as witnesses to this.”

³Sometime later, my wife and I had a son, and the Lord said, “Name him Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz.

⁴Because before he can say ‘Mommy’ or ‘Daddy,’ the king of Assyria will attack and take everything of value from Damascus and Samaria.”

⁵The Lord spoke to me again and said:

But God is with us.

He will spread his wings

and protect our land.

⁹All of you foreign nations,

go ahead and prepare for war,

but you will be crushed.

¹⁰Get together and make plans,

but you will fail

because God is with us.

¹¹The Lord took hold of me with his powerful hand and said:

Isaiah and His Followers

¹⁶My message and my teachings are to be sealed and given to my followers.

¹⁷Meanwhile, I patiently trust the Lord , even though he is no longer pleased with Israel.[#He 2.13.]

¹⁸My children and I are warning signs to Israel from the Lord All-Powerful, who lives on Mount Zion.[#He 2.13.]

¹⁹Someone may say to you, “Go to the fortunetellers who make soft chirping sounds or ask the spirits of the dead. After all, a nation ought to be able to ask its own gods

²⁰what it should do.”

None of those who talk like that will live to see the light of day!

²¹They will go around in great pain and will become so hungry that they will angrily curse their king and their gods. And when they try to find help in heaven

²²and on earth, they will find only trouble and darkness, terrible trouble and deepest darkness.