Day 256 of 365

¹The Lord said to me, "Take a large tablet, and write on it with a man's pen, 'For Maher Shalal Hash Baz;'

²and I will take for myself faithful witnesses to testify: Uriah the priest, and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah."

³I went to the prophetess, and she conceived, and bore a son. Then said the Lord to me, "Call his name 'Maher Shalal Hash Baz.'

⁴For before the child knows how to say, 'My father,' and, 'My mother,' the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria will be carried away by the king of Assyria."

⁵The Lord spoke to me yet again, saying,

⁶"Because this people have refused the waters of Shiloah that go softly, and rejoice in Rezin and Remaliah's son;

⁷now therefore, behold, the Lord brings upon them the mighty flood waters of the River: the king of Assyria and all his glory. It will come up over all its channels, and go over all its banks.

⁸It will sweep onward into Judah. It will overflow and pass through; it will reach even to the neck; and the stretching out of its wings will fill the breadth of your land, Immanuel.

⁹Make an uproar, you peoples, and be broken in pieces! Listen, all you from far countries: dress for battle, and be shattered! Dress for battle, and be shattered!

¹⁰Take counsel together, and it will be brought to nothing; speak the word, and it will not stand: for God is with us."

¹¹For the Lord spoke thus to me with a strong hand, and instructed me not to walk in the way of this people, saying,

¹²"Do not say, 'A conspiracy!' concerning all about which this people say, 'A conspiracy!' neither fear their threats, nor be in dread.

¹³The Lord of hosts is who you must regard as holy. He is the one you must fear. He is the one you must dread.

¹⁴And he will be a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock that makes them fall to both the houses of Israel, for a trap and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

¹⁵Many will stumble over it, fall, be broken, be snared, and be captured."

¹⁶Wrap up the testimony. Seal the law among my disciples.

¹⁷I will wait for the Lord, who hides his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him.

¹⁸Behold, I and the children whom the Lord has given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the Lord of hosts, who dwells in Mount Zion.

¹⁹When they 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? Should they consult the dead on behalf of the living?

²⁰Turn to the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, surely there is no morning for them.

²¹They will pass through it, sore distressed and hungry; and it will happen that when they are hungry, they will worry, and curse by their king and by their God. They will turn their faces upward,

²²and look to the earth, and see distress, darkness, and the gloom of anguish. They will be driven into thick darkness.

¹But there shall be no more gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time, he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali; but in the latter time he has made it glorious, by the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.

²The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. Those who lived in the land of the shadow of death, on them the light has shined.

³You have multiplied the nation. You have increased their joy. They rejoice before you according to the joy in harvest, as men rejoice when they divide the spoil.

⁴For the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, you have broken as in the day of Midian.

⁵For all the armor of the armed man in the noisy battle, and the garments rolled in blood, will be for burning, fuel for the fire.

⁶For to us a child is born. To us a son is given; and the government will be on his shoulders. His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

⁷Of the increase of his government and of peace there shall be no end, on the throne of David, and on his kingdom, to establish it, and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from that time on, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

⁸The Lord sent a word into Jacob, and it falls on Israel.

⁹All the people will know, including Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria, who say in pride and in arrogance of heart,

¹⁰"The bricks have fallen, but we will build with cut stone. The sycamore fig trees have been cut down, but we will put cedars in their place."

¹¹Therefore the Lord will set up on high against him the adversaries of Rezin, and will stir up his enemies,

¹²The Syrians in front, and the Philistines behind; and they will devour Israel with open mouth. For all this, his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.

¹³Yet the people have not turned to him who struck them, neither have they sought the Lord of hosts.

¹⁴Therefore the Lord will cut off from Israel head and tail, palm branch and reed, in one day.

¹⁵The elder and the honorable man is the head, and the prophet who teaches lies is the tail.

¹⁶For those who lead this people lead them astray; and those who are led by them are destroyed.

¹⁷Therefore the Lord will not rejoice over their young men, neither will he have compassion on their fatherless and widows; for everyone is profane and an evildoer, and every mouth speaks folly. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.

¹⁸For wickedness burns like a fire. It devours the briers and thorns; yes, it kindles in the thickets of the forest, and they roll upward in a column of smoke.

¹⁹Through the wrath of the Lord of hosts, the land is burnt up; and the people are the fuel for the fire. No one spares his brother.

²⁰One will devour on the right hand, and be hungry; and he will eat on the left hand, and they will not be satisfied. Everyone will eat the flesh of his own arm:

²¹Manasseh, Ephraim; and Ephraim, Manasseh; and they together shall be against Judah. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.

¹Woe to those who decree unrighteous decrees, and to the writers who write oppressive decrees;

²to deprive the needy from justice, and to rob the poor among my people of their rights, that widows may be their spoil, and that they may make the fatherless their prey!

³What will you do in the day of visitation, and in the desolation which will come from afar? To whom will you flee for help? Where will you leave your wealth?

⁴They will only bow down under the prisoners, and will fall under the slain. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.

⁵Alas Assyrian, the rod of my anger, the staff in whose hand is my indignation!

⁶I will send him against a profane nation, and against the people who anger me will I give him a command to take the spoil and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets.

⁷However he doesn't mean so, neither does his heart think so; but it is in his heart to destroy, and to cut off not a few nations.

⁸For he says, "Aren't all of my princes kings?

⁹Isn't Calno like Carchemish? Isn't Hamath like Arpad? Isn't Samaria like Damascus?"

¹⁰As my hand has found the kingdoms of the idols, whose engraved images exceeded those of Jerusalem and of Samaria;

¹¹shall I not, as I have done to Samaria and her idols, so do to Jerusalem and her idols?

¹²Therefore it will happen that, when the Lord has performed his whole work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, I will punish the fruit of the willful proud heart of the king of Assyria, and the insolence of his haughty looks.

¹³For he has said, "By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom; for I have understanding: and I have removed the boundaries of the peoples, and have robbed their treasures. Like a valiant man I have brought down their rulers.

¹⁴My hand has found the riches of the peoples like a nest, and like one gathers eggs that are abandoned, have I gathered all the earth. There was no one who moved their wing, or that opened their mouth, or chirped."

¹⁵Should an axe brag against him who chops with it? Should a saw exalt itself above him who saws with it? As if a rod should lift those who lift it up, or as if a staff should lift up someone who is not wood.

¹⁶Therefore the Lord, the Lord of hosts, will send among his fat ones leanness; and under his glory a burning will be kindled like the burning of fire.

¹⁷The light of Israel will be for a fire, and his Holy One for a flame; and it will burn and devour his thorns and his briers in one day.

¹⁸He will consume the glory of his forest, and of his fruitful field, both soul and body. It will be as when a standard bearer faints.

¹⁹The remnant of the trees of his forest shall be few, so that a child could write their number.

²⁰It will come to pass in that day that the remnant of Israel, and those who have escaped from the house of Jacob will no more again lean on him who struck them, but shall lean on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, in truth.

²¹A remnant will return, even the remnant of Jacob, to the mighty God.

²²For though your people, Israel, are like the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will return. A destruction is determined, overflowing with righteousness.

²³For the Lord, the Lord of hosts, will make a full end, and that determined, in the midst of all the earth.

²⁴Therefore the Lord, the Lord of hosts, says "My people who dwell in Zion, do not be afraid of the Assyrian, though he strike you with the rod, and lift up his staff against you, as Egypt did.

²⁵For yet a very little while, and the indignation against you will be accomplished, and my anger will be directed to his destruction."

²⁶The Lord of hosts will stir up a scourge against him, as in the slaughter of Midian at the rock of Oreb. His rod will be over the sea, and he will lift it up like he did against Egypt.

²⁷It will happen in that day, that his burden will depart from off your shoulder, and his yoke from off your neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing oil.

²⁸He has come to Aiath. He has passed through Migron. At Michmash he stores his baggage.

²⁹They have gone over the pass. They have taken up their lodging at Geba. Ramah trembles. Gibeah of Saul has fled.

³⁰Cry aloud with your voice, daughter of Gallim! Listen, Laishah! You poor Anathoth!

³¹Madmenah is a fugitive. The inhabitants of Gebim flee for safety.

³²This very day he will halt at Nob. He shakes his hand at the mountain of the daughter of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem.

³³Behold, the Lord, the Lord of hosts, will lop the boughs with terror. The tall will be cut down, and the lofty will be brought low.

³⁴He will cut down the thickets of the forest with iron, and Lebanon will fall by the Mighty One.

¹Praise Yah! Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his loving kindness endures forever.

²Who can utter the mighty acts of the Lord, or fully declare all his praise?

³Blessed are those who keep justice. Blessed is one who does what is right at all times.

⁴Remember me, Lord, with the favor that you show to your people. Visit me with your salvation,

⁵that I may see the prosperity of your chosen, that I may rejoice in the gladness of your nation, that I may glory with your inheritance.

⁶We have sinned with our fathers. We have committed iniquity. We have done wickedly.

⁷Our fathers did not understand your wonders in Egypt. They did not remember the multitude of your loving kindnesses, but were rebellious at the sea, even at the Red Sea.

⁸Nevertheless he saved them for his name's sake, that he might make his mighty power known.

⁹He rebuked the Red Sea also, and it was dried up; so he led them through the depths, as through a desert.

¹⁰He saved them from the hand of him who hated them, and redeemed them from the hand of the enemy.

¹¹The waters covered their adversaries. There was not one of them left.

¹²Then they believed his words. They sang his praise.

¹³They soon forgot his works. They did not wait for his counsel,

¹⁴but gave in to craving in the desert, and tested God in the wasteland.

¹⁵He gave them their request, but sent leanness into their soul.

¹⁶They envied Moses also in the camp, and Aaron, the Lord's holy one.

¹⁷The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan, and covered the company of Abiram.

¹⁸A fire was kindled in their company. The flame burned up the wicked.

¹⁹They made a calf in Horeb, and worshiped a molten image.

²⁰Thus they exchanged their glory for an image of a bull that eats grass.

²¹They forgot God, their Savior, who had done great things in Egypt,

²²Wondrous works in the land of Ham, and awesome things by the Red Sea.

²³Therefore he said that he would destroy them, had Moses, his chosen, not stood before him in the breach, to turn away his wrath, so that he wouldn't destroy them.

²⁴Yes, they despised the pleasant land. They did not believe his word,

²⁵but murmured in their tents, and did not listen to the Lord's voice.

²⁶Therefore he swore to them that he would overthrow them in the wilderness,

²⁷that he would overthrow their seed among the nations, and scatter them in the lands.

²⁸They joined themselves also to Baal Peor, and ate the sacrifices of the dead.

²⁹Thus they provoked him to anger with their deeds. The plague broke in on them.

³⁰Then Phinehas stood up, and executed judgment, so the plague was stopped.

³¹That was credited to him for righteousness, for all generations to come.

³²They angered him also at the waters of Meribah, so that Moses was troubled for their sakes;

³³because they were rebellious against his spirit, he spoke rashly with his lips.

³⁴They did not destroy the peoples, as the Lord commanded them,

³⁵but mixed themselves with the nations, and learned their works.

³⁶They served their idols, which became a snare to them.

³⁷Yes, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons.

³⁸They shed innocent blood, even the blood of their sons and of their daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan. The land was polluted with blood.

³⁹Thus were they defiled with their works, and prostituted themselves in their deeds.

⁴⁰Therefore the Lord burned with anger against his people. He abhorred his inheritance.

⁴¹He gave them into the hand of the nations. Those who hated them ruled over them.

⁴²Their enemies also oppressed them. They were brought into subjection under their hand.

⁴³Many times he delivered them, but they were rebellious in their counsel, and were brought low in their iniquity.

⁴⁴Nevertheless he regarded their distress, when he heard their cry.

⁴⁵He remembered for them his covenant, and repented according to the multitude of his loving kindnesses.

⁴⁶He made them also to be pitied by all those who carried them captive.

⁴⁷Save us, Lord, our God, gather us from among the nations, to give thanks to your holy name, to triumph in your praise!

⁴⁸Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting even to everlasting! Let all the people say, "Amen." Praise the Lord!

¹Doesn't wisdom cry out? Doesn't understanding raise her voice?

²On the top of high places by the way, where the paths meet, she stands.

³Beside the gates, at the entry of the city, at the entry doors, she cries aloud:

⁴"To you men, I call! I send my voice to the sons of mankind.

⁵You simple, understand prudence. You fools, be of an understanding heart.

⁶Hear, for I will speak excellent things. The opening of my lips is for right things.

⁷For my mouth speaks truth. Wickedness is an abomination to my lips.

⁸All the words of my mouth are in righteousness. There is nothing crooked or perverse in them.

⁹They are all plain to him who understands, right to those who find knowledge.

¹⁰Receive my instruction rather than silver; knowledge rather than choice gold.

¹¹For wisdom is better than rubies. All the things that may be desired can't be compared to it.

¹²"I, wisdom, have made prudence my dwelling. Find out knowledge and discretion.

¹³The fear of the Lord is to hate evil. I hate pride, arrogance, the evil way, and the perverse mouth.

¹⁴Counsel and sound knowledge are mine. I have understanding and power.

¹⁵By me kings reign, and princes decree justice.

¹⁶By me princes rule; nobles, and all the righteous rulers of the earth.

¹⁷I love those who love me. Those who seek me diligently will find me.

¹⁸With me are riches, honor, enduring wealth, and prosperity.

¹⁹My fruit is better than gold, yes, than fine gold; my yield than choice silver.

²⁰I walk in the way of righteousness, in the midst of the paths of justice;

²¹That I may give wealth to those who love me. I fill their treasuries.

²²"The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his work, before his deeds of old.

²³I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, before the earth existed.

²⁴When there were no depths, I was brought forth, when there were no springs abounding with water.

²⁵Before the mountains were settled in place, before the hills, I was brought forth;

²⁶while as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the beginning of the dust of the world.

²⁷When he established the heavens, I was there; when he set a circle on the surface of the deep,

²⁸when he established the clouds above, when the springs of the deep became strong,

²⁹when he gave to the sea its boundary, that the waters should not violate his commandment, when he marked out the foundations of the earth;

³⁰then I was the craftsman by his side. I was a delight day by day, always rejoicing before him,

³¹Rejoicing in his whole world. My delight was with the sons of men.

³²"Now therefore, my sons, listen to me, for blessed are those who keep my ways.

³³Hear instruction, and be wise. Do not refuse it.

³⁴Blessed is the man who hears me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at my door posts.

³⁵For whoever finds me, finds life, and will obtain favor from the Lord.

³⁶But he who sins against me wrongs his own soul. All those who hate me love death."