Jesaja 8,3 | New International Reader’s Version

Isaiah and his children are signs

1 The LORD said to me, ‘Get a large sheet of paper. Write “Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz” on it with a pen.’ 2 So I sent for Zechariah and Uriah the priest. Zechariah is the son of Jeberekiah. Zechariah and Uriah were witnesses for me whom I could trust. 3 Then I went and slept with my wife, who was a prophet. She became pregnant and had a baby boy. The LORD said to me, ‘Name him Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz. 4 The king of Assyria will carry off the wealth of Damascus. He will also carry away the goods that were taken from Samaria. That will happen before the boy knows how to say “My father” or “My mother.” ’ 5 The LORD continued, 6 ‘I am like the gently flowing stream of Siloam. But the people of Judah have turned their backs on me. They are filled with joy because of the fall of Rezin and the son of Remaliah. 7 So I am about to bring against these people the king of Assyria and his whole army. The Assyrians will be like the mighty River Euphrates when it is flooding. They will run over everything in their path. 8 They will sweep on into Judah like a flood. They will pass through Judah and reach all the way to Jerusalem. Immanuel, they will attack your land like an eagle. Their wings will spread out and cover it.’ 9 Sound the battle cry, you nations! But you will be torn apart. Listen, all you lands far away! Prepare for battle! But you will be torn apart. Prepare for battle! But you will be torn apart. 10 Make your battle plans! But you won’t succeed. Give your orders! But they won’t be carried out. That’s because God is with us. 11 The LORD speaks to me while his powerful hand is on me. He is warning me not to live the way these people live. He says, 12 ‘People of Judah, do not agree with those who say Isaiah is guilty of treason. Do not fear what they fear. Do not be afraid. 13 The LORD rules over all. So you must think about him as holy. You must have respect for him. You must fear him. 14 Then the LORD will be a holy place of safety for you. But that’s not true for many people in Israel and Judah. He will be a stone that causes them to trip. He will be a rock that makes them fall. And for the people of Jerusalem he will be a trap and a snare. 15 Many of them will trip. They will fall and be broken. They will be trapped and captured.’ 16 Tie up and seal this warning that the LORD said to you through me. Preserve among my followers what he taught you through me. 17 I will wait for the LORD. He is turning his face away from Jacob’s people. I will put my trust in him. 18 Here I am. Here are the children the LORD has given me. We are signs and reminders to Israel from the LORD who rules over all. He lives on Mount Zion.

The darkness turns to light

19 There are people who get messages from those who have died. But these people only whisper words that are barely heard. Suppose someone tells you to ask for advice from these people. Shouldn’t you ask for advice from your God instead? Why should you get advice from dead people to help those who are alive? 20 Follow what the LORD taught you and said to you through me. People who don’t speak in keeping with these words will have no hope in the morning. 21 They will suffer and be hungry. They’ll wander through the land. When they are very hungry, they will become angry. They’ll look up towards heaven. They’ll ask for bad things to happen to their king and their God. 22 Then they will look at the earth. They’ll see nothing but suffering and darkness. They’ll see terrible sadness. They’ll be driven into total darkness.

English Standard Version

The Coming Assyrian Invasion

1 Then the Lord said to me, “Take a large tablet and write on it in common characters,* ‘Belonging to Maher-shalal-hash-baz.’* 2 And I will get reliable witnesses, Uriah the priest and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah, to attest for me.” 3 And I went to the prophetess, and she conceived and bore a son. Then the Lord said to me, “Call his name Maher-shalal-hash-baz; 4 for before the boy knows how to cry ‘My father’ or ‘My mother,’ the wealth of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria will be carried away before the king of Assyria.” 5 The Lord spoke to me again: 6 “Because this people has refused the waters of Shiloah that flow gently, and rejoice over Rezin and the son of Remaliah, 7 therefore, behold, the Lord is bringing up against them the waters of the River,* mighty and many, the king of Assyria and all his glory. And it will rise over all its channels and go over all its banks, 8 and it will sweep on into Judah, it will overflow and pass on, reaching even to the neck, and its outspread wings will fill the breadth of your land, O Immanuel.” 9 Be broken,* you peoples, and be shattered;* give ear, all you far countries; strap on your armor and be shattered; strap on your armor and be shattered. 10 Take counsel together, but it will come to nothing; speak a word, but it will not stand, for God is with us.*

Fear God, Wait for the Lord

11 For the Lord spoke thus to me with his strong hand upon me, and warned me not to walk in the way of this people, saying: 12 “Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread. 13 But the Lord of hosts, him you shall honor as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. 14 And he will become a sanctuary and a stone of offense and a rock of stumbling to both houses of Israel, a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 15 And many shall stumble on it. They shall fall and be broken; they shall be snared and taken.” 16 Bind up the testimony; seal the teaching* among my disciples. 17 I will wait for the Lord, who is hiding his face from the house of Jacob, and I will hope in him. 18 Behold, I and the children whom the Lord has given me are signs and portents in Israel from the Lord of hosts, who dwells on Mount Zion. 19 And when they say to you, “Inquire of the mediums and the necromancers who chirp and mutter,” should not a people inquire of their God? Should they inquire of the dead on behalf of the living? 20 To the teaching and to the testimony! If they will not speak according to this word, it is because they have no dawn. 21 They will pass through the land,* greatly distressed and hungry. And when they are hungry, they will be enraged and will speak contemptuously against* their king and their God, and turn their faces upward. 22 And they will look to the earth, but behold, distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish. And they will be thrust into thick darkness.

Jesaja 8,3 | New International Reader’s Version English Standard Version

Isaiah and his children are signs

The darkness turns to light

The Coming Assyrian Invasion

Fear God, Wait for the Lord