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Jeremiah 36:2,28,32
Take thee a roll of a book, and write therein all the words that I have spoken unto thee against Israel, and against Judah, and against all the nations, from the day I spake unto thee, from the days of Josiah, even unto this day…

write

Isaiah 30:8
Now go, write it before them in a table, and note it in a book, that it may be for the time to come for ever and ever:

Job 19:23,24
Oh that my words were now written! oh that they were printed in a book! …

Habakkuk 2:2,3
And the LORD answered me, and said, Write the vision, and makeit plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it…

a man's pen

Revelation 13:18
Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his numberis Six hundred threescoreand six.

Revelation 21:17
And he measured the wall thereof, an hundredand fortyand four cubits,according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel.

Maher-shalal-hash-baz.

Take a large scroll
The instruction to use a large scroll suggests the public and significant nature of the message. Scrolls were common writing materials in ancient times, made from papyrus or parchment. The size of the scroll implies that the message was meant to be seen and understood by many, indicating its importance and urgency.

and write on it with an ordinary stylus
An ordinary stylus, typically made of metal or bone, was used for inscribing on scrolls. The use of an ordinary stylus suggests that the message was to be recorded in a straightforward, accessible manner, without embellishment. This reflects the clarity and directness with which God wanted His message communicated.

Maher-shalal-hash-baz
This name, meaning "Quick to the plunder, swift to the spoil," is prophetic, symbolizing the imminent Assyrian invasion and the swift destruction that would come upon Israel's enemies. The name serves as a sign and a warning to the people of Judah about the impending judgment. It also connects to the broader theme of God's sovereignty and justice throughout Isaiah. The use of symbolic names is a common prophetic tool in the Bible, as seen with other figures like Hosea's children (Hosea 1:4-9).

The verse opens with direct, personal communication from God to Isaiah. Scripture records many moments when the Lord speaks plainly to His servants—Abram inGenesis 12:1, Moses inExodus 3:4, Jeremiah inJeremiah 1:4-5. These encounters remind us that God is neither distant nor silent; He actively directs His people, and Isaiah stands in the line of prophets who relay God’s unfiltered words.

• The reliability of the message rests on the character of the Speaker (Numbers 23:19).

• Because God’s words are living and active (Hebrews 4:12), we can trust their accuracy and permanence (Isaiah 40:8).

A “large scroll” suggests a public, visible record—something that can be read easily and displayed openly (compareHabakkuk 2:2, “Write down the vision and clearly inscribe it on tablets so that a herald may run with it”). God intends the prophecy to be unmistakable, leaving Judah without excuse.

• The size underscores urgency and seriousness; no one could claim ignorance when judgment arrives (Deuteronomy 29:29).

• Similar public acts appear inJeremiah 32:10-14 when the prophet records a deed of purchase as a sign to the nation.

Using a common writing tool, Isaiah is to make the message plain, not hidden in cryptic symbols.Deuteronomy 27:8 commands Israel to “write very clearly all the words of this law,” andRevelation 21:5 echoes, “Write, for these words are faithful and true.”

• God communicates in ways people understand; He is not crafting a secret code but a clear warning (Amos 3:7).

• The ordinary stylus stresses that divine truth doesn’t require human embellishment—clarity, not artistry, is God’s priority (1 Corinthians 2:4-5).

Literally rendered in English, the name proclaims, “Speeding to the spoil, hurrying to the plunder.” It is both a prophetic sign and, soon after (Isaiah 8:3-4), the name of Isaiah’s son whose very life embodies the message: Assyria will swiftly seize the riches of Damascus and Samaria.

•Isaiah 7:14 gave Judah a sign of hope (“Immanuel”); here, God balances that hope with a sober warning.

•2 Kings 16:9 and 15:29 record the historical fulfillment—Assyria overruns Aram and Israel just as foretold.

• The dual role of the child—as prophecy and person—mirrors Hosea’s children inHosea 1:4-9, whose names announce God’s intentions toward the northern kingdom.

Isaiah 8:1 captures a moment when God turns prophecy into a billboard: a large scroll, plain writing, and a name that thunders imminent judgment. Every detail—from the Lord’s personal command to the ordinary stylus—underscores His desire for clarity and accountability. The verse reassures us that Scripture speaks with divine authority, offers unmistakable warnings, and points to the certainty that God’s proclaimed word will come to pass exactly as written.

(1)Moreover the Lord said unto me . . .--The prophecy that follows was clearly separated by an interval of some kind, probably about a year, from that in Isaiah 7. In the meantime much that had happened seemed to cast discredit on the prophet's words. The child that was the type of the greater Immanuel had been born, but there were no signs as yet of the downfall of the northern kingdom. The attack of Rezin and Pekah, though Jerusalem had not been taken, had inflicted an almost irreparable blow on the kingdom of Judah. Multitudes had been carried captive to Damascus (2Chronicles 28:5). Many thousands, but for the intercession of the prophet Oded, would have eaten the bread of exile and slavery. The Edomites were harassing the south-eastern frontier (2Chronicles 28:15-17). The commerce of the Red Sea was cut off by Rezin's capture of Elath (2Kings 16:6). To the weak and faithless Ahaz and his counsellors, it might well seem that the prospect was darker than ever, that there was no hope but in the protection of Assyria. If such was the state of things when the word of the Lord came to Isaiah, was he to recant and confess that he had erred? Was he to shrink back into silence and obscurity? Far otherwise than that. He was to repeat all that he had said, more definitely, more demonstratively than ever.

Take thee a great roll . . .--Better,alarge tablet.The noun is the same as that used for "mirrors" or "glasses" inIsaiah 3:23. The writings of the prophet were commonly written on papyrus and placed in the hands of his disciples to be read aloud. For private and less permanent messages men used small wooden tablets smeared with wax, on which they wrote with an iron stylus. (Comp.Job 19:24;Isaiah 30:8.) Here the tablet was to be large, and the writing was not to be with the sharp point of the artist or learned scribe, but with a "man's pen,"i.e.,such as the common workmen used for sign-boards, that might fix the gaze of the careless passer-by (Habakkuk 2:2), and on that tablet, as though it were the heading of a proclamation or dedication, he was to write TO MAHER-SHALAL-HASH-BAZ. That mysterious name, which we may render "Speed-plunder, haste-spoil," was, for at least nine months, to be the enigma of Jerusalem. . . .