YAHWEH1 said to me, “Take a great tablet, and write on it with the pen of a man, ‘For Maher Shalal Hash Baz;’ 2and I will take to me faithful witnesses to record, Uriah the priest, and Zakariyya Ibn Jeberechiah.”
3I went to the prophetess; and she conceived, and bore a son. Then YAHWEH said to me, “Call his name ‘Maher Shalal Hash Baz.’ 4For before the child shall have knowledge to cry, ‘My father,’ and, ‘My mother,’ the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria shall be carried away before the king of Assyria.”
5YAHWEH spoke to me yet again, saying, 6“Because this people have refused the waters of Shiloah that go softly, and rejoice in Rezin and Ibn Remaliah; 7now therefore, behold, the Lord brings up on them the waters of the River, strong and many, even the king of Assyria and all his glory: and it shall come up over all its channels, and go over all its banks; 8and it shall sweep onward into Judah; it shall overflow and pass through; it shall reach even to the neck; and the stretching out of its wings shall fill the breadth of your land, IMMANUEL. 9Make an uproar, O you peoples, and be broken in pieces! And give ear, all you of far countries: gird yourselves, and be broken in pieces! Gird yourselves, and be broken in pieces! 10Take counsel together, and it shall be brought to nothing; speak the word, and it shall not stand: for GOD IS WITH US.”
11For YAHWEH spoke thus to me with a strong hand, and instructed me not to walk in the way of this people, saying, 12“Don’t say, ‘A conspiracy!’ concerning all of which this people shall say, ‘A conspiracy!’ Do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread of it. 13But sanctify YAHWEH All-Powerful;2 and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. 14He shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense3 to both the houses of Israel, for a trap and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 15Many shall stumble thereon, and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken.”
16Bind up the testimony, seal the Taurat among my disciples. 17I will wait for YAHWEH, who hides his face from the house of Yaqub. I will put my trust in him. 18Behold, I and the children whom YAHWEH has given me4 are for signs and for wonders in Israel from YAHWEH All-Powerful, who dwells in Al-Quds.5
19When they shall tell you, “Consult with those who have familiar spirits and with the wizards, who chirp and who mutter,” shouldn’t a people consult with their God?6 On behalf of the living should they consult with the dead? 20To the Taurat and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, surely there is no light in them. 21They shall pass through it, very distressed and hungry; and it shall happen that when they shall be hungry, they shall fret themselves, and curse by their king and by their God, and turn their faces upward: 22and they shall look to the earth, and see distress and darkness, gloom of anguish; and into thick darkness they shall be driven away.
- 8:1 YAHWEH, the name God revealed to Prophet Musa in the Taurat, Exodus 3:15 – God said moreover to Musa, “You shall tell Bani-Israel this, ‘YAHWEH, the God of your fathers, the God of Ibrahim, the God of Ishaq, and the God of Yaqub, has sent me to you.’ This is my Name forever, and this is how I am to be remembered to all generations.” ↩︎
- 8:12-13 Quoted in the Injil in 1 Peter 3:14-15, which says, “But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you are blessed. Do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread of it. But sanctify the LORD God in your hearts; and always be ready to give an answer to everyone who asks you a reason concerning the hope that is in you, with humility and fear ↩︎
- 8:14 Quoted in the Injil in Romans 9:31-33, which says, “But Israel, following after the Taurat to attain righteousness, did not attain it. Why? Because they didn’t seek it by faith, but as it were by obedience to the Taurat. They stumbled over the stumbling stone; even as it is written, ‘Behold, I lay in Al-Quds a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense; Whoever believes in him will not be disappointed.'” ↩︎
- 8:18 Quoted in the Injil in Hebrews 2:13, which says, “Again, ‘I will put my trust in him.’ Again, ‘Behold, here am I and the children whom God has given me.'” ↩︎
- 8:18 Al-Quds, meaning “the Holy (City).” The Hebrew text reads Zion, a synonym for Jerusalem. It originally referred to Mount Zion, one of the hills of Jerusalem. ↩︎
- 8:19 God, English translation of elohim (Hebrew) and is related to allah (Arabic) and alaha (Syriac), all of which translate as “God,” and refer to the one true God. ↩︎