1 Moreover, the Lord sayd vnto me, Take thee a great roll, and write in it with a mans penne, Make speede to the spoyle: haste to the praye. 2 Then I tooke vnto me faithfull witnesses to recorde, Vriah the Priest, and Zechariah the sonne of Ieberechiah. 3 After, I came vnto the Prophetesse, which conceiued, and bare a sonne. Then sayd the Lord to me, Call his name, Mahershalalhash-baz. 4 For before the childe shall haue knowledge to crye, My father, and my mother, he shall take away the riches of Damascus and the spoyle of Samaria, before the King of Asshur. 5 And the Lord spake yet againe vnto me, saying, 6 Because this people hath refused the waters of Shiloah that runne softly, and reioyce with Rezin, and the sonne of Remaliah, 7 Nowe therefore, beholde, the Lord bringeth vp vpon them the waters of the Riuer mightie and great, euen the King of Asshur with all his glory, and he shall come vp vpon all their riuers, and goe ouer all their banks, 8 And shall breake into Iudah, and shall ouerflowe and passe through, and shall come vp to the necke, and the stretching out of his wings shall fill the breadth of thy land, O Immanu-el. 9 Gather together on heapes, O ye people, and ye shalbe broken in pieces, and hearken all ye of farre countreys: gird your selues, and you shalbe broken in pieces: gird your selues, and you shalbe broken in pieces. 10 Take counsell together, yet it shall be brought to nought: pronounce a decree, yet shall it not stand: for God is with vs. 11 For the Lord spake thus to me in taking of mine hand, and taught me, that I should not walke in the way of this people, saying, 12 Say ye not, A confederacie to all them, to whome this people sayth a confederacie, neither feare you their feare, nor be afrayd of them. 13 Sanctifie the Lord of hostes, and let him be your feare, and let him be your dread, 14 And he shalbe as a Sanctuarie: but as a stumbling stone, and as a rocke to fall vpon, to both the houses of Israel, and as a snare and as a net to the inhabitants of Ierusalem. 15 And many among them shall stumble, and shall fall and shalbe broken and shalbe snared and shalbe taken. 16 Binde vp the testimonie: seale vp the Law among my disciples. 17 Therefore I will waite vpon the Lord that hath hid his face from the house of Iaakob, and I wil looke for him. 18 Beholde, I and the children whome the Lord hath giuen me, are as signes and as wonders in Israel, by the Lord of hostes, which dwelleth in mount Zion. 19 And when they shall say vnto you, Enquire at them that haue a spirit of diuination, and at the soothsayers, which whisper and murmure, Should not a people enquire at their God? from the liuing to the dead? 20 To the Law, and to the testimonie, if they speake not according to this worde: it is because there is no light in them. 21 Then he that is afflicted and famished, shall go to and from in it: and when he shalbe hungry, he shall euen freat himselfe, and curse his King and his gods, and shall looke vpward. 22 And when he shall looke to the earth, beholde trouble, and darkenes, vexation and anguish, and he is driuen to darkenes.
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.