English Standard Version ESV
Common English Bible CEB
1 Then the LORD said to me, "Take a large tablet and write on it in common characters,'Belonging to Maher-shalal-hash-baz.'
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The LORD said to me, "Take a large tablet, and write on it in ordinary letters, For Maher-shalal-hash-baz.
2 And I will get reliable witnesses, Uriah the priest and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah, to attest for me."
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Summon trusted people, Uriah the priest and Zechariah, Jeberechiah's son, to witness it."
3 And I went to the prophetess, and she conceived and bore a son. Then the LORD said to me, "Call his name Maher-shalal-hash-baz;
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I then had sex with the prophetess, and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. Then the LORD said to me, "Name him Maher-shalal-hash-baz.
4 for before the boy knows how to cry 'My father' or 'My mother,' the wealth of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria will be carried away before the king of Assyria."
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Before the boy knows how 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."
5 The LORD spoke to me again:
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The LORD spoke again to me:
6 "Because this people has refused the waters of Shiloah that flow gently, and rejoice over Rezin and the son of Remaliah,
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Since this people has rejected the waters of Shiloah that flow gently, and instead rejoices over Rezin and Remaliah's son—
7 therefore, behold, the Lord is bringing up against them the waters of the River, mighty and many, the king of Assyria and all his glory. And it will rise over all its channels and go over all its banks,
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therefore, look, the Lord is raising up against them the powerful floodwaters of the Euphrates, the king of Assyria and all his glory. It will rise up over all its channels, overflowing all its banks,
8 and it will sweep on into Judah, it will overflow and pass on, reaching even to the neck, and its outspread wings will fill the breadth of your land, O Immanuel."
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and sweep into Judah, flooding, overflowing, and reaching up to the neck. But God is with us; the span of his wings will cover the width of the land.
9 Be broken, you peoples, and be shattered; give ear, all you far countries; strap on your armor and be shattered; strap on your armor and be shattered.
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Unite yourselves, peoples, and be shattered! Listen, all distant places of the earth! Prepare to be shattered! Prepare to be shattered!
10 Take counsel together, but it will come to nothing; speak a word, but it will not stand, for God is with us.
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Create a plan, but be frustrated! Speak a word, but it won't stand, for God is with us.
11 For the LORD spoke thus to me with his strong hand upon me, and warned me not to walk in the way of this people, saying:
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The LORD spoke to me, taking hold of me and warning me not to walk in the way of this people:
12 "Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread.
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Don't call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy. Don't fear what they fear, and don't be terrified.
13 But the LORD of hosts, him you shall honor as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.
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It is the LORD of heavenly forces whom you should hold sacred, whom you should fear, and whom you should hold in awe.
14 And he will become a sanctuary and a stone of offense and a rock of stumbling to both houses of Israel, a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
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God will become a sanctuary— but he will be a stone to trip over and a rock to stumble on for the two houses of Israel; a trap and a snare for those living in Jerusalem.
15 And many shall stumble on it. They shall fall and be broken; they shall be snared and taken."
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Many of them will stumble and fall, and be broken, snared, and captured.
16 Bind up the testimony; seal the teaching among my disciples.
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Bind up the testimony; seal up the teaching among my disciples.
17 I will wait for the LORD, who is hiding his face from the house of Jacob, and I will hope in him.
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I will wait for the LORD, who has hidden his face from the house of Jacob, and I will hope in God.
18 Behold, I and the children whom the LORD has given me are signs and portents in Israel from the LORD of hosts, who dwells on Mount Zion.
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Look! I and the children the LORD gave me are signs and wonders in Israel from the LORD of heavenly forces, who lives on Mount Zion.
19 And when they say to you, "Inquire of the mediums and the necromancers who chirp and mutter," should not a people inquire of their God? Should they inquire of the dead on behalf of the living?
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If they say to you: "Consult the ghosts and the spirits that chirp and mutter. (Shouldn't a people consult its gods?) Consult the dead on behalf of the living
20 To the teaching and to the testimony! If they will not speak according to this word, it is because they have no dawn.
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for instruction and for testimony"—they will surely say such things, but they will never see the dawn.
21 They will pass through the land, greatly distressed and hungry. And when they are hungry, they will be enraged and will speak contemptuously against their king and their God, and turn their faces upward.
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They will pass through the land, dejected and hungry, and when they are hungry, they will be enraged and will curse their king and God. They will turn toward heaven
22 And they will look to the earth, but behold, distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish. And they will be thrust into thick darkness.
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and look to the earth, but they will see only distress and darkness, random movement, and the anguish and doom of banishment.
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.
Copyright © 2011 Common English Bible