Isaiah 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’;
Then Yahweh said to me, “Make a large signboard. And write clearly on it, ‘Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz’ [which means ‘quickly (plunder/take by force) and steal everything’].”
2 and I will take for myself faithful witnesses to testify: Uriah the priest, and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah.”
[So] I requested Uriah the [Supreme] Priest and Jeberekiah’s son Zechariah, men who were both honest/trustworthy witnesses, to watch me as I was doing that.
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.’
Then I had sex with [EUP] [my wife, who was] a prophetess, and she became pregnant and [then] gave birth to a son. Then Yahweh said to me, “Give him the name Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz (which means ‘suddenly attacked, quickly conquered’),
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.”
because before he is old enough to say ‘papa’ or ‘mama’, the King of Assyria will [come with his army and] quickly take away all the valuable things in Damascus and in Samaria.”
5 The LORD spoke to me yet again, saying,
Yahweh spoke to me again and said, “[Tell the people of Judah, ]
6 “Because this people has refused the waters of Shiloah that go softly, and rejoice in Rezin and Remaliah’s son;
‘[I have taken good care of] you people, but you have rejected that, [thinking that] my help was very little, like [MET] the little canal through which water flows from the Gihon Spring into Jerusalem. Instead, you have been happy [to request help from] King Rezin and King Pekah.
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.
Therefore, I will cause the people of Judah to be attacked by [the powerful army of] the King of Assyria, which will be [like] a great flood from the [Euphrates] River. Their soldiers will [be everywhere in your country, like] a river that overflows 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.
Those soldiers will go all over Judah— [like a river whose water] [MET] rises as high as a person’s neck. Their army will spread over the land [quickly], like an eagle, and they will cover your entire land! But I will be with you!’”
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!
Listen, all you [people in] distant countries! [You can] prepare to attack Judah. [You can] prepare [for battle, and shout your] war-cries, but your [armies will] be crushed/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.”
[You can] prepare for what you will do [to attack Judah], but what you plan to do will not happen! You will not succeed, because 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,
Yahweh strongly warned me [MTY] not to act like the [other] people in Judah did. He said to me,
12 “Don’t call a conspiracy all that this people call a conspiracy. Don’t fear their threats or be terrorised.
“Do not say that everything that people do is conspiring/rebelling [against the government], like [other] people say, and do not (be afraid of/worry about) the things that other people are afraid of.
13 The LORD of Hosts is who you must respect as holy. He is the one you must fear. He is the one you must dread.
[I, ] the Commander of the armies of angels, am the one you should consider to be holy. And I am the one you should fear, the one you should revere.
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.
I will protect you(sg). [But as for] the [other] people [MTY] in Israel and Judah, I will be [like] [MET] a stone that causes people to stumble, a rock that causes them to fall down. [And as for] the people of Jerusalem, I will be [like] [MET] a trap or a snare [DOU].
15 Many will stumble over it, fall, be broken, be snared, and be captured.”
Many [people] will stumble and fall down and never get up again. They will experience great troubles; they will be captured [by their enemies].”
16 Wrap up the covenant. Seal the law amongst my disciples.
[So, I say to you who are my disciples], seal up this scroll on which I have written the messages that God has given to me, and give his instructions to [others] who have accompanied me.
17 I will wait for the LORD, who hides his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him.
I will wait to see what Yahweh [will do]. He has rejected the descendants [MTY] of Jacob, but I will confidently expect him to help me.
18 Behold, I and the children whom the LORD has given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the LORD of Hosts, who dwells in Mount Zion.
I and the children that Yahweh has given to me are [like] signs to warn [the people of] Israel; we are warnings from the Commander of the armies of angels the one who lives [in his temple] on Zion Hill [in Jerusalem].
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?
Some people may urge you(pl) to (consult/go and talk with) those who talk with the spirits of dead people or with those who say that they receive messages from those spirits. They whisper and mutter [about what we should do in the future]. But God is [RHQ] the one whom we should ask to guide us! It is ridiculous [RHQ] for people who are alive to request spirits of dead people to tell us [what we should do]!
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.
Pay attention to God’s instructions and teaching! If people do not say things that agree with what God teaches us, [what they say is worthless]. [It is as though] those people are in darkness.
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,
They will wander through the land, worried/discouraged and hungry. And when they become [very] hungry, they will become very angry. They will look up [toward heaven] and curse God and [will also] curse their king.
22 then look to the earth and see distress, darkness, and the gloom of anguish. They will be driven into thick darkness.
They will look around the land and see only trouble/distress and darkness and things that cause them to despair. And [then] they will be thrown into the very black darkness [of hell]. (questioned)
