1The LORD said to me, "Take a large writing tablet, and write on it with a pen: 'Maher Shalal Hash Baz' [The Looting Will Come Quickly; the Prey Will Be Easy]. 2I will have these dependable witnesses testify: the priest Uriah and Zechariah (son of Jeberechiah)." 3I slept with the prophet. She became pregnant and gave birth to a son. The LORD told me, "Name him Maher Shalal Hash Baz. 4Before the boy knows how to say 'Daddy' or 'Mommy,' the wealth of Damascus and the loot from Samaria will be carried away to the king of Assyria."

5The LORD spoke to me again. He said,

6"These people have rejected the gently flowing water of Shiloah and find joy in Rezin and Remaliah's son."

7That is why the Lord is going to bring against them the raging and powerful floodwaters of the Euphrates River- the king of Assyria with all his power. It will overflow all its channels and go over all its banks.

8It will sweep through Judah. It will overflow and pass through; it will be neck-high. Its outspread wings will extend over your whole country, O Immanuel.

9Be broken, you people. Be terrified. Listen, all you distant parts of the earth. Prepare for battle, but be terrified. Prepare for battle, but be terrified.

10Make plans for battle, but they will never succeed. Give orders, but they won't be carried out, because God is with us!

11This is what the LORD said with his powerful hand on me. He warned me not to follow the ways of these people:

12"Don't say that everything these people call a conspiracy is a conspiracy. Don't fear what they fear. Don't let it terrify you."

13Remember that the LORD of Armies is holy. He is the one you should fear and the one you should be terrified of.

14He will be a place of safety for you. But he will be a rock that makes people trip and a stumbling block for both kingdoms of Israel. He will be a trap and a snare for those who live in Jerusalem.

15Many will stumble. They will fall and be broken. They will be trapped and caught.

16Tie up the written instructions. Seal the teachings among my disciples. 17I will wait for the LORD, who hides his face from the descendants of Jacob. I will hope in him. 18I am here with the children that the LORD has given me. We are signs and symbols in Israel from the LORD of Armies, who lives on Mount Zion.

19People will say to you, "Ask for help from the mediums and the fortunetellers, who whisper and mutter." Shouldn't people ask their God for help instead? Why should they ask the dead to help the living? 20They should go to the teachings and to the written instructions. If people don't speak these words, it is because it doesn't dawn on them. 21They will pass through the land when they are hard-pressed and hungry. When they are hungry, they will be furious. Then they will look up, cursing their king and God. 22They will look at the earth and see only distress and gloom. They will go in anguish and be forced into darkness.