45:9 One who argues with his creator is in grave danger, 1
one who is like a mere 2 shard among the other shards on the ground!
The clay should not say to the potter, 3
“What in the world 4 are you doing?
Your work lacks skill!” 5
45:10 Danger awaits one who says 6 to his father,
“What in the world 7 are you fathering?”
and to his mother,
“What in the world are you bringing forth?” 8
45:1 This is what the Lord says to his chosen 9 one,
to Cyrus, whose right hand I hold 10
in order to subdue nations before him,
and disarm kings, 11
to open doors before him,
so gates remain unclosed:
8:1 The Lord told me, “Take a large tablet 12 and inscribe these words 13 on it with an ordinary stylus: 14 ‘Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz.’ 15 8:2 Then I will summon 16 as my reliable witnesses Uriah the priest and Zechariah son of Jeberekiah.” 8:3 I then had sexual relations with the prophetess; she conceived and gave birth to a son. The Lord told me, “Name him Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz, 8:4 for before the child knows how to cry out, ‘My father’ or ‘My mother,’ the wealth of Damascus and the plunder of Samaria 17 will be carried off by the king of Assyria.” 18
8:5 The Lord spoke to me again: 8:6 “These people 19 have rejected the gently flowing waters of Shiloah 20 and melt in fear over Rezin and the son of Remaliah. 21 8:7 So look, the sovereign master 22 is bringing up against them the turbulent and mighty waters of the Euphrates River 23 – the king of Assyria and all his majestic power. It will reach flood stage and overflow its banks. 24 8:8 It will spill into Judah, flooding and engulfing, as it reaches to the necks of its victims. He will spread his wings out over your entire land, 25 O Immanuel.” 26
8:9 You will be broken, 27 O nations;
you will be shattered! 28
Pay attention, all you distant lands of the earth!
Get ready for battle, and you will be shattered!
Get ready for battle, and you will be shattered! 29
8:10 Devise your strategy, but it will be thwarted!
Issue your orders, but they will not be executed! 30
For God is with us! 31
8:11 Indeed this is what the Lord told me. He took hold of me firmly and warned me not to act like these people: 32
8:12 “Do not say, ‘Conspiracy,’ every time these people say the word. 33
Don’t be afraid of what scares them; don’t be terrified.
8:13 You must recognize the authority of the Lord who commands armies. 34
He is the one you must respect;
he is the one you must fear. 35
8:14 He will become a sanctuary, 36
but a stone that makes a person trip,
and a rock that makes one stumble –
to the two houses of Israel. 37
He will become 38 a trap and a snare
to the residents of Jerusalem. 39
8:15 Many will stumble over the stone and the rock, 40
and will fall and be seriously injured,
and will be ensnared and captured.”
8:16 Tie up the scroll as legal evidence, 41
seal the official record of God’s instructions and give it to my followers. 42
8:17 I will wait patiently for the Lord,
who has rejected the family of Jacob; 43
I will wait for him.
8:18 Look, I and the sons whom the Lord has given me 44 are reminders and object lessons 45 in Israel, sent from the Lord who commands armies, who lives on Mount Zion.
8:19 46 They will say to you, “Seek oracles at the pits used to conjure up underworld spirits, from the magicians who chirp and mutter incantations. 47 Should people not seek oracles from their gods, by asking the dead about the destiny of the living?” 48 8:20 Then you must recall the Lord’s instructions and the prophetic testimony of what would happen. 49 Certainly they say such things because their minds are spiritually darkened. 50 8:21 They will pass through the land 51 destitute and starving. Their hunger will make them angry, 52 and they will curse their king and their God 53 as they look upward. 8:22 When one looks out over the land, he sees 54 distress and darkness, gloom 55 and anxiety, darkness and people forced from the land. 56 9:1 (8:23) 57 The gloom will be dispelled for those who were anxious. 58
In earlier times he 59 humiliated
the land of Zebulun,
and the land of Naphtali; 60
but now he brings honor 61
to the way of the sea,
the region beyond the Jordan,
and Galilee of the nations. 62
9:2 (9:1) The people walking in darkness
see a bright light; 63
light shines
on those who live in a land of deep darkness. 64
9:3 You 65 have enlarged the nation;
you give them great joy. 66
They rejoice in your presence
as harvesters rejoice;
as warriors celebrate 67 when they divide up the plunder.
9:4 For their oppressive yoke
and the club that strikes their shoulders,
the cudgel the oppressor uses on them, 68
you have shattered, as in the day of Midian’s defeat. 69
9:5 Indeed every boot that marches and shakes the earth 70
and every garment dragged through blood
is used as fuel for the fire.
9:6 For a child has been 71 born to us,
a son has been given to us.
He shoulders responsibility
and is called: 72
Extraordinary Strategist, 73
Mighty God, 74
Everlasting Father, 75
Prince of Peace. 76
9:7 His dominion will be vast 77
and he will bring immeasurable prosperity. 78
He will rule on David’s throne
and over David’s kingdom, 79
establishing it 80 and strengthening it
by promoting justice and fairness, 81
from this time forward and forevermore.
The Lord’s intense devotion to his people 82 will accomplish this.
9:8 83 The sovereign master 84 decreed judgment 85 on Jacob,
and it fell on Israel. 86
9:9 All the people were aware 87 of it,
the people of Ephraim and those living in Samaria. 88
Yet with pride and an arrogant attitude, they said, 89
9:10 “The bricks have fallen,
but we will rebuild with chiseled stone;
the sycamore fig trees have been cut down,
but we will replace them with cedars.” 90
9:11 Then the Lord provoked 91 their adversaries to attack them, 92
he stirred up 93 their enemies –
9:12 Syria from the east,
and the Philistines from the west,
they gobbled up Israelite territory. 94
Despite all this, his anger does not subside,
and his hand is ready to strike again. 95
9:13 The people did not return to the one who struck them,
they did not seek reconciliation 96 with the Lord who commands armies.
9:14 So the Lord cut off Israel’s head and tail,
both the shoots and stalk 97 in one day.
9:15 The leaders and the highly respected people 98 are the head,
the prophets who teach lies are the tail.
9:16 The leaders of this nation were misleading people,
and the people being led were destroyed. 99
9:17 So the sovereign master was not pleased 100 with their young men,
he took no pity 101 on their orphans and widows;
for the whole nation was godless 102 and did wicked things, 103
every mouth was speaking disgraceful words. 104
Despite all this, his anger does not subside,
and his hand is ready to strike again. 105
9:18 For 106 evil burned like a fire, 107
it consumed thorns and briers;
it burned up the thickets of the forest,
and they went up in smoke. 108
9:19 Because of the anger of the Lord who commands armies, the land was scorched, 109
and the people became fuel for the fire. 110
People had no compassion on one another. 111
9:20 They devoured 112 on the right, but were still hungry,
they ate on the left, but were not satisfied.
People even ate 113 the flesh of their own arm! 114
9:21 Manasseh fought against 115 Ephraim,
and Ephraim against Manasseh;
together they fought against Judah.
Despite all this, his anger does not subside,
and his hand is ready to strike again. 116