A warning about the Assyrian attack

8 Then Yahweh said to me, “Make a large signboard. And write clearly on it, ‘Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz’ which means ‘quickly ◄plunder/take by force► and steal everything’.” 2 So I requested Uriah the Supreme Priest and Jeberekiah’s son Zechariah, men who were both honest/trustworthy witnesses, to watch me as I was doing that.

3 Then I had sex with [EUP] my wife, who was a prophetess, and she became pregnant and then gave birth to a son. Then Yahweh said to me, “Give him the name Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz (which means ‘suddenly attacked, quickly conquered’), 4 because before he is old enough to say ‘papa’ or ‘mama’, the King of Assyria will come with his army and quickly take away all the valuable things in Damascus and in Samaria.”

5 Yahweh spoke to me again and said, “Tell the people of Judah,

6 ‘I have taken good care of you people,

but you have rejected that, thinking that my help was very little,

like [MET] the little canal through which water flows from the Gihon Spring into Jerusalem.

Instead, you have been happy to request help from King Rezin and King Pekah.

7 Therefore, I will cause the people of Judah to be attacked by the powerful army of the King of Assyria, which will be like a great flood from the Euphrates River.

Their soldiers will be everywhere in your country, like a river that overflows all its banks.

8 Those soldiers will go all over Judah—

like a river whose water [MET] rises as high as a person’s neck.

Their army will spread over the land quickly, like an eagle,

and they will cover your entire land!

But I will be with you!’ ”

9 Listen, all you people in distant countries!

You can prepare to attack Judah.

You can prepare for battle, and shout your war-cries,

but your armies will be crushed/shattered!

10 You can prepare for what you will do to attack Judah,

but what you plan to do will not happen!

You will not succeed,

because God is with us!