A Warning and a Hope
1 The Lord said, “Isaiah, get something to write on. Then write in big clear letters the name, MAHER-SHALAL-HASH-BAZ. 2 I will tell Uriah the priest and Zechariah son of Jeberechiah to serve as witnesses to this.”
3 Sometime later, my wife and I had a son, and the Lord said, “Name him Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz. 4 Because before he can say ‘Mommy’ or ‘Daddy,’ the king of Assyria will attack and take everything of value from Damascus and Samaria.”
5 The Lord spoke to me again and said:
6 These people have refused the gentle waters of Shiloah and have gladly gone over to the side of King Rezin and King Pekah. 7 Now I will send the king of Assyria against them with his powerful army, which will attack like the mighty Euphrates River overflowing its banks. 8 Enemy soldiers will cover Judah like a flood reaching up to your neck.
But God is with us.
He will spread his wings
and protect our land.
9 All of you foreign nations,
go ahead and prepare for war,
but you will be crushed.
10 Get together and make plans,
but you will fail
because God is with us.
11 The Lord took hold of me with his powerful hand and said:
I'm warning you! Don't act like these people. 12 Don't call something a rebellious plot, just because they do, and don't be afraid of something, just because they are. 13 I am the one you should fear and respect. I am the holy God, the Lord All-Powerful! 14-15 Run to me for protection. I am a rock that will make both Judah and Israel stumble and break their bones. I am a trap that will catch the people of Jerusalem—they will be captured and dragged away.
Isaiah and His Followers
16 My message and my teachings are to be sealed and given to my followers. 17 Meanwhile, I patiently trust the Lord, even though he is no longer pleased with Israel. 18 My children and I are warning signs to Israel from the Lord All-Powerful, who lives on Mount Zion.
19 Someone 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 20 what it should do.”
None of those who talk like that will live to see the light of day! 21 They 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 22 and on earth, they will find only trouble and darkness, terrible trouble and deepest darkness.
Isaiah's Son as a Sign to the People
1 The Lord said to me, “Take a large piece of writing material and write on it in large letters: ‘Quick Loot, Fast Plunder.’ 2 Get two reliable men, the priest Uriah and Zechariah son of Jeberechiah, to serve as witnesses.”
3 Some time later my wife became pregnant. When our son was born, the Lord said to me, “Name him ‘Quick-Loot-Fast-Plunder.’ 4 Before the boy is old enough to say ‘Mamma’ and ‘Daddy,’ all the wealth of Damascus and all the loot of Samaria will be carried off by the king of Assyria.”
The Emperor of Assyria Is Coming
5 The Lord spoke to me again. 6 He said, “Because these people have rejected the quiet waters of Shiloah Brook and tremble before King Rezin and King Pekah, 7 I, the Lord, will bring the emperor of Assyria and all his forces to attack Judah. They will advance like the flood waters of the Euphrates River, overflowing all its banks. 8 They will sweep through Judah in a flood, rising shoulder high and covering everything.”
God is with us! His outspread wings protect the land.
9 Gather together in fear, you nations! Listen, you distant parts of the earth. Get ready to fight, but be afraid! Yes, get ready, but be afraid! 10 Make your plans! But they will never succeed. Talk all you want to! But it is all useless, because God is with us.
The Lord Warns the Prophet
11 With his great power the Lord warned me not to follow the road which the people were following. He said, 12 “Do not join in the schemes of the people and do not be afraid of the things that they fear. 13 Remember that I, the Lord Almighty, am holy; I am the one you must fear. 14 Because of my awesome holiness I am like a stone that people stumble over; I am like a trap that will catch the people of the kingdoms of Judah and Israel and the people of Jerusalem. 15 Many will stumble; they will fall and be crushed. They will be caught in a trap.”
Warning against Consulting the Dead
16 You, my disciples, are to guard and preserve the messages that God has given me. 17 The Lord has hidden himself from his people, but I trust him and place my hope in him.
18 Here I am with the children the Lord has given me. The Lord Almighty, whose throne is on Mount Zion, has sent us as living messages to the people of Israel.
19 But people will tell you to ask for messages from fortunetellers and mediums, who chirp and mutter. They will say, “After all, people should ask for messages from the spirits and consult the dead on behalf of the living.”
20 You are to answer them, “Listen to what the Lord is teaching you! Don't listen to mediums—what they tell you cannot keep trouble away.”
A Time of Trouble
21 The people will wander through the land, discouraged and hungry. In their hunger and their anger they will curse their king and their God. They may look up to the sky 22 or stare at the ground, but they will see nothing but trouble and darkness, terrifying darkness into which they are being driven.