Assyrian Invasion Prophesied

1And YHWH said to me, “Take for yourself a large scroll and write on it with a pen of man: Maher-shalal-hash-baz.† 2And I will appoint for Myself faithful witnesses—Uriah the priest and Zechariah son of Jeberekiah.”

3And I came near to the prophetess, and she conceived and gave birth to a son. And YHWH said to me, “Call his name Maher-shalal-hash-baz— 4for before the child knows to cry, ‘My father and My mother,’ one will lift away the wealth of Damascus and the plunder of Samaria before the face of the king of Assyria!”

5And YHWH continued to speak to me again, saying,

6“Because that this people has rejected

the waters of Shiloah, those going gently,

and are rejoicing with Rezin

and the son of Remaliah,

7therefore, behold! The Lord is bringing up over them

the waters of the River† mighty and great—

the king of Assyria and all his glory—

and it will go up over all its channels

and it will go over all its banks,

8and it will pass on into Judah,

overflowing and passing over—

reaching to the neck;

and the stretching out of its wings and

is the fullness of the breadth of your land, O Immanuel!†

9Join together,† O peoples, and be shattered!

And give ear, all you distant lands—

Gird yourselves and be shattered,

gird yourselves and be shattered!

10Take counsel—counsel—and it will be broken;

speak a word; it will not stand,

for God is with us.†

A Call to Fear God
(Ecclesiastes 8:10–13)

11For thus YHWH spoke to me, with a strong hand, and He admonished me from walking in the way of this people, saying:

12“You⁺ shall not say conspiracy

to everything that this people says is conspiracy;

and its fear you⁺ should not fear,†

and you should not dread.†

13YHWH of Hosts—

Him You⁺ shall sanctify,

and He is your⁺ Fear,

and He is your⁺ Dread.

14And He be for a sanctuary,

and for a stone of striking and for a rock of falling†

for the two houses of Israel,

for a trap and for a snare

for those dwelling in Jerusalem!

15And many will stumble over them,

and they will fall and be broken

and be snared and captured.”

16Bind up the testimony,

and seal the law among my disciples.

17And I will wait for YHWH,

the One hiding His face from the house of Jacob,

and I will hope in Him.†

18Here am I and the children whom YHWH has given to me† as signs and as wonders in Israel, from YHWH of Hosts, the One dwelling on Mount Zion.

Darkness and Light

19And when they say to you⁺, “Seek after the spirits and after the spiritists who whisper and mutter—” a people should not seek after its gods, on behalf of the living unto the dead, 20to the law and to the testimony? If they do not speak this according to the word, it is because there is not in them dawn.

21And he will pass over into it hard pressed and hungry, and it will be that when he is hungry and becomes angry, that he will think little of his king and of his gods, and he will turn upward, 22and will look to the earth, and behold—distress and darkness, gloom of anguish, and he will be driven away into the dark.