1 And the LORD {YHWH, Divine Voice} said to me, “Take for yourself a large tablet {gilyon: writing surface} and, with an ordinary stylus, write on it: Maher-shalal-hash-baz.”
2 And I secured trustworthy witnesses {edim: ones who testify} to confirm it: Uriah the priest {kohen: religious mediator}, and Zechariah son of Jeberechiah.
3 And I approached the prophetess, and she conceived and bore a son. Then the LORD {YHWH, Sovereign Speaker} said to me, “Call his name Maher {maher: swift}-shalal-hash-baz.”
4 For before the boy {na'ar: male youth} learns to say “my father” and “my mother”, the wealth of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria will be carried away before the king of Assyria {Melekh Ashur: conquering sovereign}.
5 Then the LORD{YHWH, Continual Speaker} spoke to me again, saying{dabber: direct communication}.
6 Because this people rejects {maas: rejects trust} the waters of Shiloah that flow gently, and rejoices over Rezin {retzin: king of Aram} and over the son of Remaliah.
7 Therefore, look: the Lord {Adonai, Sovereign Judge} is about to bring against them the floodwaters of the great river—strong and overwhelming—the king of Assyria and all his glory. It will surge beyond every channel {afikav: watercourses} and spill over all its banks.
8 And he will sweep onward into Judah; he will overflow and keep going, rising as high as the neck {tzavvar: point of near submersion}. The spread of his wings will cover the full width of your land, O Immanuel {El, God-With-Us}.
9 Raise your battle cry, O peoples {am-mim: nations or tribes}, yet you shall be broken; listen {ha-azinu: pay careful attention}, all who dwell in distant parts of the earth. Arm yourselves, yet you shall be broken; arm yourselves, and you shall be broken.
10 Make your counsel {etzah: strategic advice}, and it will be undone; speak your word, and it will not hold, for God {El, Defender} is with us.
11 For this is what the LORD {YHWH, Sovereign Instructor} said to me as His hand {yad: symbol of power} pressed strongly on me: He instructed me not to go in the path of this people, saying,
12 You shall not say, “Conspiracy”{qesher: treason charge}, about everything that this people says, “Conspiracy”; and you shall not fear their fear, and you shall not dread{taaritsu: be shaken}.
13 The LORD of hosts {YHWH Tsevaot, Awe-Worthy Commander}—Him you shall regard as holy {takdishu: set apart}; and He shall be your fear, and He shall be your dread.
14 And He {YHWH, Stumbling Stone} will be a sanctuary, but also a stumbling stone and a rock of downfall to the two houses of Israel, and a trap and a snare for the inhabitants {yoshév: urban resident} of Jerusalem.
15 And many will stumble {kashal: moral failing} over it, and they will fall and be broken; they will be ensnared {nokesh: sudden entrapment} and be captured.
16 Bind up the testimony {teudah: solemn witness}; seal the instruction among my disciples {limudai: instructed ones}.
17 I will keep waiting for the LORD {YHWH, Hidden Sovereign}, who hides His face {panav: divine favor} from the house of Jacob, and I will set my hope on Him.
18 Look, I and the children whom the LORD {YHWH, Covenant Sign-Giver} has given me serve as signs and wonders in Israel from the LORD of hosts, who dwells on Mount Zion {Tsiyon: sacred summit}.
19 And when they say to you, “Consult the mediums and the spiritists—the ones who chirp {metzafetzefim: birdlike sounds} and who mutter—should not a people seek their God {Elohim, Divine Guide}? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living?”
20 To the instruction {torah: binding standard} and to the testimony {teudah: verified witness}; if they do not speak according to this word, dawn is not for them.
21 And he will pass through the land oppressed and hungry {ra‘ev: extreme hunger}. When hunger comes, he will rage and curse his king and his God {elohav: object of blame}, and he will look upward.
22 He will look toward the land and see distress {tsarah: severe oppression} and darkness, the gloom {me’up: oppressive gloom} of anguish, and he will be driven away into deep darkness.