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The Coming Assyrian Invasion
8 Then Yahweh said to me, “Take for yourself a large tablet and (A)write on it [a]in ordinary letters: (B)Concerning [b]Maher-shalal-hash-baz. 2 And [c]I will take to Myself faithful witnesses for testimony, (C)Uriah 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 [d](D)Maher-shalal-hash-baz, 4 for (E)before the boy knows how to cry out ‘My father’ or ‘My mother,’ the wealth of (F)Damascus and the spoil of Samaria will be carried away before the king of Assyria.”
5 Again Yahweh spoke to me further, saying,
6 “Inasmuch as these people have (G)rejected the gently flowing waters of Shiloah
And rejoice in (H)Rezin and the son of Remaliah;
7 Now therefore, behold, the Lord is about to bring on them the (I)mighty and abundant waters of the [e](J)River—
The (K)king of Assyria and all his glory;
And it will (L)rise up over all its channels and go over all its banks.
8 Then (M)it will sweep on into Judah; it will overflow and pass through;
It will (N)reach even to the neck;
And the spread of its wings will [f]fill the breadth of [g]Your land, O (O)Immanuel.
Yahweh, a Sanctuary and a Stumbling Stone
9 “(P)Be broken, O peoples, and be [h](Q)shattered;
And give ear, all remote places of the earth.
Gird yourselves, yet be [i]shattered;
Gird yourselves, yet be [j]shattered.
10 (R)Devise counsel, but it will be thwarted;
Speak a word, but (S)it will not stand,
For [k](T)God is with us.”
11 For thus Yahweh spoke to me with a (U)strong hand and disciplined me (V)not to walk in the way of this people, saying,
12 “You are not to say, ‘It is a (W)conspiracy!’
In regard to all that this people call a conspiracy;
And (X)you are not to fear [l]what they fear, and you shall not tremble.
13 It is (Y)Yahweh of hosts (Z)whom you should regard as holy.
And He shall be your fear,
And He shall be your cause of trembling.
14 Then He shall become a (AA)sanctuary;
But to both the houses of Israel, a (AB)stone to strike and a rock to stumble over,
And a snare and a (AC)trap for the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
15 And many (AD)will stumble over them;
Then they will fall and be broken;
They will even be snared and caught.”
16 (AE)Bind up the testimony, (AF)seal the [m]law among (AG)my disciples. 17 And I will (AH)wait for Yahweh (AI)who is hiding His face from the house of Jacob; and I will hope for Him. 18 (AJ)Behold, I and the children whom Yahweh has given me are for (AK)signs and wonders in Israel from Yahweh of hosts, who (AL)dwells on Mount Zion.
Darkness to Light Through the Prince of Peace
19 Now when they say to you, “(AM)Inquire of the mediums and the spiritists who whisper and mutter,” should not a people (AN)inquire of their God? Should they (AO)inquire of the dead on behalf of the living? 20 To the [n](AP)law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because (AQ)they have no dawn. 21 And they will pass through [o]the land (AR)hard-pressed and hungry, and it will be that when they are hungry, they will be angry and curse [p]their king and their God as they face upward. 22 Then they will (AS)look to the earth, and behold, distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish; and they will be (AT)banished into thick darkness.
9 [q]But there will be no more (AU)gloom for her who was in anguish; in earlier times He (AV)treated the (AW)land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali with contempt, but later on He shall make it glorious, by the way of the sea, on the other side of Jordan, Galilee of the [r]Gentiles.
2 [s](AX)The people who walk in darkness
Will see a great light;
Those who live in the land of the shadow of death,
The light will shine on them.
3 (AY)You shall multiply the nation,
You (AZ)shall [t]make great [u]their gladness;
They will be glad in Your presence
As with the gladness [v]of harvest,
As [w](BA)men rejoice when they divide the spoil.
4 For (BB)You shall shatter the yoke of their burden and the staff on their shoulders,
The rod of their (BC)taskmaster, as [x]at the battle of (BD)Midian.
5 For every boot of the booted warrior in the rumbling of battle,
And cloak rolled in blood, will be for burning, fuel for the fire.
6 For a (BE)child will be born to us, a (BF)son will be given to us;
And the (BG)government will [y]rest (BH)on His shoulders;
And His name will be called (BI)Wonderful Counselor, (BJ)Mighty God,
Eternal (BK)Father, Prince of (BL)Peace.
7 There will be (BM)no end to the increase of His government or of peace,
On the (BN)throne of David and over his kingdom,
To establish it and to uphold it with (BO)justice and righteousness
From then on and forevermore.
(BP)The zeal of Yahweh of hosts will accomplish this.
Yahweh’s Anger with Israel’s Arrogance
8 The Lord sends a [z]message against Jacob,
And it falls on Israel.
9 And all the people know it,
That is, (BQ)Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria,
Saying in lofty pride and in (BR)arrogance of heart:
10 “The bricks have fallen down,
But we will (BS)rebuild with cut stones;
The sycamores have been cut in pieces,
But we will replace them with cedars.”
11 Therefore Yahweh exalts against them adversaries from (BT)Rezin
And incites their enemies,
12 The Arameans on the east and the (BU)Philistines on the west;
And they (BV)devour Israel with [aa]gaping jaws.
(BW)In spite of all this, His anger does not turn back,
And His hand is still stretched out.
13 Yet the people (BX)do not turn back to Him who struck them,
Nor do they (BY)seek Yahweh of hosts.
14 So Yahweh cuts off (BZ)head and tail from Israel,
Both palm branch and bulrush (CA)in a single day.
15 The head is (CB)the elder and the [ab]highly respected man,
And the prophet who teaches (CC)falsehood is the tail.
16 (CD)For those who guide this people are leading them astray;
And those who are guided by them are [ac]brought to confusion.
17 Therefore the Lord (CE)is not glad in their choice men,
(CF)Nor does He have compassion on their [ad]orphans or their widows;
For every one of them is (CG)godless and an (CH)evildoer,
And every (CI)mouth is speaking wicked foolishness.
(CJ)In spite of all this, His anger does not turn back,
And His hand is still stretched out.
18 (CK)For wickedness burns like a fire;
It consumes briars and thorns;
It even sets the thickets of the forest aflame,
And they roll upward in a column of smoke.
19 By the (CL)fury of Yahweh of hosts the (CM)land is burned up,
And the (CN)people are like fuel for the fire;
No (CO)man spares his brother.
20 [ae]They slice off what is on the right hand but still are (CP)hungry,
And [af]they eat what is on the left hand but they are not satisfied;
Each of them eats the (CQ)flesh of his own arm.
21 Manasseh devours Ephraim, and Ephraim Manasseh,
(CR)And together they are against Judah.
(CS)In spite of all this, His anger does not turn back,
And His hand is still stretched out.
A Vision of Paradise
12 (A)It is necessary to boast, though it is not profitable, but I will go on to visions and (B)revelations [a]of the Lord. 2 I know a man (C)in Christ who fourteen years ago—whether in the body I do not know, or out of the body I do not know, (D)God knows—such a man was (E)caught up to the (F)third heaven. 3 And I know how such a man—whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, (G)God knows— 4 was (H)caught up into (I)Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which a man is not permitted to speak. 5 (J)On behalf of such a man I will boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast, except in (K)weaknesses. 6 For if I do wish to boast I will not be (L)foolish, (M)for I will be speaking the truth; but I refrain from this, so that no one will consider me beyond what he sees in me or hears from me.
A Thorn in the Flesh
7 Because of the surpassing greatness of the (N)revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a (O)thorn in the flesh, a (P)messenger of Satan to [b]torment me—to keep me from exalting myself! 8 Concerning this I pleaded with the Lord (Q)three times that it might leave me. 9 And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for (R)power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather (S)boast in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. 10 Therefore (T)I am well content with weaknesses, with [c]insults, with (U)distresses, with (V)persecutions and (W)hardships, (X)for the sake of Christ, for (Y)when I am weak, then I am strong.
He Will Never Allow the Righteous to Be Shaken
For the choir director. With stringed instruments. A [a]Maskil of David.
55 (A)Give ear to my prayer, O God;
And (B)do not hide Yourself from my supplication.
2 Give (C)heed to me and answer me;
I am restless in my (D)complaint and [b](E)am surely distracted,
3 Because of the voice of the enemy,
Because of the (F)pressure of the wicked;
For they (G)shake wickedness down upon me
And in anger they (H)bear a grudge against me.
4 My (I)heart is in anguish within me,
And the terrors of (J)death have fallen upon me.
5 Fear and (K)trembling come upon me,
And [c](L)horror has covered me.
6 I said, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove!
I would fly away and [d](M)be at rest.
7 Behold, I would wander far away,
I would (N)lodge in the wilderness. [e]Selah.
8 I would hasten to my place of refuge
From the (O)stormy wind and tempest.”
9 [f]Confuse, O Lord, (P)divide their tongues,
For I have seen (Q)violence and strife in the city.
10 Day and night they go around her upon her walls,
And wickedness and mischief are in her midst.
11 (R)Destruction is in her midst;
(S)Oppression and deceit do not depart from her [g]streets.
12 For it is (T)not an enemy who reproaches me,
Then I could bear it;
Nor is it one who hates me who (U)has magnified himself against me,
Then I could hide myself from him.
13 But it is you, a man [h]my equal,
My (V)close companion and my [i](W)familiar friend;
14 We who had sweet counsel together
(X)Walked in the house of God in the throng.
15 Let [j]death come (Y)deceitfully upon them;
Let them (Z)go down alive to Sheol,
For evil is in their dwelling, in their midst.
16 As for me, I shall (AA)call upon God,
And Yahweh will save me.
17 (AB)Evening and (AC)morning and at (AD)noon, I will bring my complaint and moan,
And He will hear my voice.
18 He will (AE)redeem my soul in peace [k]from the battle which is against me,
For they are (AF)many who strive with me.
19 God will (AG)hear and [l]answer them—
Even the one (AH)who [m]sits enthroned from of old— Selah.
Because they [n]do not change,
And (AI)do not fear God.
20 [o]My companion has put forth his hands against (AJ)those who were at peace with him;
He has [p](AK)violated his covenant.
21 His [q]speech was (AL)smoother than butter,
But his heart was war;
His words were (AM)softer than oil,
Yet they were drawn (AN)swords.
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