Chapter 8
1 The LORD said to me , " Take a large tablet , and write on it with a man ’s pen , ‘ For Maher Shalal Hash Baz’;
2 and I will take for myself faithful witnesses to testify : Uriah the priest , and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah ."
3 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 child knows how to say, ‘ My father’ and ‘ My mother,’ the riches of Damascus and the plunder of Samaria will be carried away by the king of Assyria."
5 The LORD spoke to me yet again , saying ,
6 " Because this people has refused the waters of Shiloah that go softly, and rejoice in Rezin and Remaliah ’s son ;
7 now therefore , behold , the Lord brings upon them the mighty flood waters of the River : the king of Assyria and all his glory . It will come up over all its channels, and go over all its banks .
8 It will sweep onward into Judah . It will overflow and pass through . It will reach even to the neck . The stretching out of its wings will fill the width of your land, O Immanuel .
9 Make an uproar, you peoples , and be broken in pieces ! Listen , all you from far countries : dress for battle, and be shattered ! Dress for battle, and be shattered !
10 Take counsel together , and it will be brought to nothing ; speak the word , and it will not stand , for God is with us ."
11 For the LORD spoke this to me with a strong hand , and instructed me not to walk in the way of this people , saying,
12 "Don’t call a conspiracy all that this people call a conspiracy . Don’t fear their threats or be terrorised.
13 The LORD of Armies is who you must respect as holy . He is the one you must fear . He is the one you must dread .
14 He will be a sanctuary , but for both houses of Israel , he will be a stumbling stone and a rock that makes them fall . For the people of Jerusalem , he will be a trap and a snare .
15 Many will stumble over it , fall , be broken , be snared , and be captured ."
16 Wrap up the covenant. Seal the law amongst my disciples .
17 I will wait for the LORD , who hides his face from the house of Jacob , and I will look for him .
18 Behold , I and the children whom the LORD has given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the LORD of Armies , who dwells in Mount Zion .
19 When they tell you , " Consult with those who have familiar spirits and with the wizards , who chirp and who mutter ," shouldn’t a people consult with their God ? Should they consult the dead on behalf of the living ?
20 Turn to the law and to the covenant! If they don’t speak according to this word , surely there is no morning for them .
21 They will pass through it , very distressed and hungry . It will happen that when they are hungry , they will worry, and curse their king and their God. They will turn their faces upward ,
22 then look to the earth and see distress , darkness , and the gloom of anguish . They will be driven into thick darkness .