Then the LORD said to me, “Take for yourself a large tablet for public display and ^awrite on it in ordinary characters: Belonging to ^1bMaher-shalal-hash-baz. 2 And I will get faithful witnesses to attest to this prophecy for me, ^aUriah the priest and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah.” 3 So I approached my wife the prophetess, and she conceived and gave birth to a son. Then the LORD said to me, “Name him ^aMaher-shalal-hash-baz to remind the people of the prophecy; 4 for ^abefore the boy knows how to say, ‘My father’ or ‘My mother,’ the riches of ^bDamascus (Aram’s capital) and the spoil of Samaria (Israel’s capital) ¹will be carried away by the king of Assyria.”

5 Again the LORD spoke to me, saying,

11 For in this way the LORD spoke to me with His ^astrong hand upon me and instructed me ^bnot to walk in the way of this people behaving as they do, saying,

16 ^aBind up the testimony, ^bseal the law and the teaching among ^cmy (Isaiah’s) disciples. 17 And I will ^await for the LORD ^bwho is hiding His face from the house of Jacob; and I will look eagerly for Him. 18 ^aListen carefully, I and the children whom the LORD has given me are ^1bfor signs and wonders that will occur in Israel from the LORD of hosts, who ^cdwells on Mount Zion.

19 When the people instead of trusting God say to you, “^aConsult the mediums who try to talk to the dead and the soothsayers who chirp and whisper and mutter,” should not a people ^bconsult their God? Should they ^cconsult the dead on behalf of the living? 20 Direct those people to the ^alaw and to the testimony! If their teachings are not in accord with this word, it is because they have ^bno dawn. 21 They who consult mediums and soothsayers will pass through the land ^adeeply distressed and hungry, and when they are hungry, they will become enraged and will curse their king and their God as they look upward. 22 Then they will ^alook to the earth, they will see only distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish; and they will be ^bdriven away into darkness and overwhelming night.

Then Yahweh said to me, “Take for yourself a large tablet and ^awrite on it ¹in ordinary letters: ^bConcerning ²Maher-shalal-hash-baz. 2 And ¹I will take to Myself faithful witnesses for testimony, ^aUriah the priest and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah.” 3 Then I drew near to the prophetess, and she conceived and bore a son. Then Yahweh said to me, “Call his name ^1aMaher-shalal-hash-baz, 4 for ^abefore the boy knows how to cry out ‘My father’ or ‘My mother,’ the wealth of ^bDamascus and the spoil of Samaria will be carried away before the king of Assyria.”

5 Again Yahweh spoke to me further, saying,

11 For thus Yahweh spoke to me with a ^astrong hand and disciplined me ^bnot to walk in the way of this people, saying,

16 ^aBind up the testimony, ^bseal the ¹law among ^cmy disciples. 17 And I will ^await for Yahweh ^bwho is hiding His face from the house of Jacob; and I will hope for Him. 18 ^aBehold, I and the children whom Yahweh has given me are for ^bsigns and wonders in Israel from Yahweh of hosts, who ^cdwells on Mount Zion.

19 Now when they say to you, “^aInquire of the mediums and the spiritists who whisper and mutter,” should not a people ^binquire of their God? Should they ^cinquire of the dead on behalf of the living? 20 To the ^1alaw and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because ^bthey have no dawn. 21 And they will pass through ¹the land ^ahard-pressed and hungry, and it will be that when they are hungry, they will be angry and curse ²their king and their God as they face upward. 22 Then they will ^alook to the earth, and behold, distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish; and they will be ^bbanished into thick darkness.