1Yahweh said to me, “Take a large tablet and write on it with a common pen, ‘For Maher Shalal Hash Baz’ (which means ‘quick to plunder, swift to spoil’).
2And I will get two reliable witnesses to confirm this for me: Uriah the priest and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah.”
3Then I went to the prophetess, and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. Yahweh then told me, “Name him ‘Maher Shalal Hash Baz.’
4Because before the child learns to say ‘My father’ or ‘My mother,’ the riches of Damascus and the plunder of Samaria will be carried away by the king of Assyria.”
5Yahweh spoke to me again, saying,
6"Because these people have rejected the gently flowing waters of Shiloah and find their joy in Rezin and Remaliah's son;
7therefore, look, the Lord is bringing against them the mighty floodwaters of the River—the king of Assyria and all his glory. It will rise above all its channels and overflow all its banks.
8It will sweep into Judah, overflowing and passing through, reaching up to the neck. Its widespread armies will fill the whole width of your land, Immanuel.
9Make an uproar, you nations, and be shattered! Listen, all of you from distant lands: prepare for battle, and be shattered! Prepare for battle, and be shattered!
10Work out your plans together, but they will fail; speak your mind, but your words will not stand, because God is with us.
11Yahweh spoke to me with great power, warning me not to follow the ways of these people. He said,
12"Do not say 'conspiracy!' every time these people say 'conspiracy!' Do not fear what they fear, and do not be terrified.
13Yahweh of Armies is the one you must dedicate to God. He is the one you should fear, and he is the one you should dread.
14He will be a safe place, but for both houses of Israel, he will be a trap and a snare for the people of Jerusalem.
15Many will trip over him, fall, be broken, be caught in a trap, and be captured."
16Remember this message. Preserve this teaching among my followers.
17I will wait for Yahweh, who has turned away from the descendants of Jacob; I will put my hope in him.
18Look, I and the children Yahweh has given me are signs and wonders in Israel from Yahweh of Armies, who lives on Mount Zion.
19When people tell you, "Consult with mediums and fortune-tellers who whisper and mutter" – shouldn't a nation consult its God instead? Should they consult the dead for the living?
20Refer to God's law and to his message! If their words do not agree with this message, then they have no hope.
21They will travel through the land, distressed and hungry. When they are hungry, they will become angry and curse their king and their God. They will look up to the sky,
22and then look down at the earth, and they will see only distress, darkness, and the gloom of anguish. They will be driven into complete darkness.