Isaiah 8:4
New International Version
For before the boy knows how to say ‘My father’ or ‘My mother,’ the wealth of Damascus and the plunder of Samaria will be carried off by the king of Assyria.”

New Living Translation
For before this child is old enough to say ‘Papa’ or ‘Mama,’ the king of Assyria will carry away both the abundance of Damascus and the riches of Samaria.”

English Standard Version
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.”

Berean Standard Bible
For before the boy knows how to cry ‘Father’ or ‘Mother,’ the wealth of Damascus and the plunder of Samaria will be carried off by the king of Assyria.”

King James Bible
For before the child shall have knowledge to cry, My father, and my mother, the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria shall be taken away before the king of Assyria.

New King James Version
for before the child shall have knowledge to cry ‘My father’ and ‘My mother,’ the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria will be taken away before the king of Assyria.”

New American Standard Bible
for before the boy knows how to cry out ‘My father’ or ‘My mother,’ the wealth of Damascus and the spoils of Samaria will be carried away before the king of Assyria.”

NASB 1995
for before the boy knows how to cry out ‘My father ‘ or ‘My mother,’ the wealth of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria will be carried away before the king of Assyria.”

NASB 1977
for before the boy knows how to cry out ‘My father’or ‘My mother,’ the wealth of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria will be carried away before the king of Assyria.”

Legacy Standard Bible
for before the boy knows how to cry out ‘My father’ or ‘My mother,’ the wealth of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria will be carried away before the king of Assyria.”

Amplified Bible
for before the boy knows how to say, ‘My father’ or ‘My mother,’ the riches of Damascus (Aram’s capital) and the spoil of Samaria (Israel’s capital) will be carried away by the king of Assyria.”

Christian Standard Bible
for before the boy knows how to call ‘Father,’ or ‘Mother,’ the wealth of Damascus and the spoils of Samaria will be carried off to the king of Assyria.”

Holman Christian Standard Bible
for before the boy knows how to call out father or mother, the wealth of Damascus and the spoils of Samaria will be carried off to the king of Assyria.”

American Standard Version
For before the child shall have knowledge to cry, My father, and, My mother, the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria shall be carried away before the king of Assyria.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
Because before the boy will know to call father and mother, he shall carry the possessions of Darmsuq and the spoil of Samaria before the King of Assyria

Brenton Septuagint Translation
For before the child shall know how to call his father or his mother, one shall take the power of Damascus and the spoils of Samaria before the king of the Assyrians.

Contemporary English Version
Because before he can say 'Mommy' or 'Daddy,' the king of Assyria will attack and take everything of value from Damascus and Samaria."

Douay-Rheims Bible
For before the child know to call his father and his mother, the strength of Damascus, and the spoils of Samaria shall be taken away before the king of the Assyrians.

English Revised Version
For before the child shall have knowledge to cry, My father, and, My mother, the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria shall be carried away before the king of Assyria.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Before the boy knows how to say 'Daddy' or 'Mommy,' the wealth of Damascus and the loot from Samaria will be carried away to the king of Assyria."

Good News Translation
Before the boy is old enough to say 'Mamma' and 'Daddy,' all the wealth of Damascus and all the loot of Samaria will be carried off by the king of Assyria."

International Standard Version
for before the young lad knows how to call out to his father or mother, the wealth of Damascus and the plunder of Samaria will be carried off by the king of Assyria."

JPS Tanakh 1917
For before the child shall have knowledge to cry: My father, and: My mother, the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria shall be carried away before the king of Assyria.'

Literal Standard Version
for before the youth knows to cry, My father, and, My mother, one takes away the wealth of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria, before the king of Asshur.”

Majority Standard Bible
For before the boy knows how to cry ‘Father’ or ‘Mother,’ the wealth of Damascus and the plunder of Samaria will be carried off by the king of Assyria.”

New American Bible
for before the child learns to say, “My father, my mother,” the wealth of Damascus and the spoils of Samaria shall be carried off by the king of Assyria.

NET Bible
for before the child knows how to cry out, 'My father' or 'My mother,' the wealth of Damascus and the plunder of Samaria will be carried off by the king of Assyria."

New Revised Standard Version
for before the child knows how to call “My father” or “My mother,” the wealth of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria will be carried away by the king of Assyria.

New Heart English Bible
For 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."

Webster's Bible Translation
For before the child shall have knowledge to cry, My father, and my mother, the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria shall be taken away before the king of Assyria.

World English Bible
For before the child knows how to say, ‘My father’ and ‘My mother,’ the riches of Damascus and the plunder of Samaria will be carried away by the king of Assyria.”

Young's Literal Translation
for before the youth doth know to cry, My father, and My mother, one taketh away the wealth of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria, before the king of Asshur.'

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Assyrian Invasion Prophesied
3And I had relations with the prophetess, and she conceived and gave birth to a son. The LORD said to me, “Name him Maher-shalal-hash-baz. 4For before the boy knows how to cry ‘Father’ or ‘Mother,’ the wealth of Damascus and the plunder of Samaria will be carried off by the king of Assyria.” 5And the LORD spoke to me further:…

Cross References
Isaiah 7:8
For the head of Aram is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin. Within sixty-five years Ephraim will be shattered as a people.

Isaiah 7:9
The head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is the son of Remaliah. If you do not stand firm in your faith, then you will not stand at all.'"

Isaiah 7:16
For before the boy knows enough to reject evil and choose good, the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste.

Isaiah 8:5
And the LORD spoke to me further:

Isaiah 17:1
This is the burden against Damascus: "Behold, Damascus is no longer a city; it has become a heap of ruins.

Isaiah 17:3
The fortress will disappear from Ephraim, and the sovereignty from Damascus. The remnant of Aram will be like the splendor of the Israelites," declares the LORD of Hosts.

Amos 1:3
This is what the LORD says: "For three transgressions of Damascus, even four, I will not revoke My judgment, because they threshed Gilead with sledges of iron.


Treasury of Scripture

For before the child shall have knowledge to cry, My father, and my mother, the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria shall be taken away before the king of Assyria.

before

Isaiah 7:15,16
Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good…

Deuteronomy 1:39
Moreover your little ones, which ye said should be a prey, and your children, which in that day had no knowledge between good and evil, they shall go in thither, and unto them will I give it, and they shall possess it.

Jonah 4:11
And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?

the riches of Damascus, etc.

Isaiah 10:6-14
I will send him against an hypocritical nation, and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge, to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets…

Isaiah 17:3
The fortress also shall cease from Ephraim, and the kingdom from Damascus, and the remnant of Syria: they shall be as the glory of the children of Israel, saith the LORD of hosts.

2 Kings 15:29
In the days of Pekah king of Israel came Tiglathpileser king of Assyria, and took Ijon, and Abelbethmaachah, and Janoah, and Kedesh, and Hazor, and Gilead, and Galilee, all the land of Naphtali, and carried them captive to Assyria.

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Able Asshur Assyria Boy Carried Child Cry Damascus Goods Lad Mother Plunder Riches Samaria Sama'ria Spoil Wealth Youth
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Able Asshur Assyria Boy Carried Child Cry Damascus Goods Lad Mother Plunder Riches Samaria Sama'ria Spoil Wealth Youth
Isaiah 8
1. In Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz, he prophesies Syria and Israel shall be subdued by Assyria
5. Judah likewise for their infidelity
9. God's judgments shall be irresistible
11. Comfort shall be to those who fear God
19. Great afflictions to idolaters














(4) For before the child shall have knowledge to cry . . .--Here then was another sign like that of Isaiah 7:14-16. The two witnesses of Isaiah 8:2 were probably summoned to the circumcision and naming of the child, and the mysterious name at which all Jerusalem had gazed with wonder was given to the new-born infant. The prediction is even more definite than before. Before the first cries of childhood (Heb. Abi, Ami) should be uttered, i.e., within a year of its birth, the spoils of the two capitals of the kings of the confederate armies should be carried to the king of Assyria. The conclusion of the period thus defined would coincide more or less closely with the longer period assigned at an earlier date (Isaiah 7:16). Historically the trans-Jordanic region and Damascus fell before Tiglath-pilneser; Samaria, besieged by Salmaneser, before his successor Sargon (2Kings 15:29; 2Kings 16:9; 2Kings 17:6). . . . Verse 4. - My father... my mother. "Abi," "Immi," would have been among the first utterances of childhood - simple sounds, combinations of primary vowels with labials, corresponding in easiness of utterance to "Pappy," "Mammy," rather than to the expressions of the text. A child commonly utters such sounds when it is about a year old. The riches of Damascus. The position of Damascus lay in the direct path of the main trade that was carried on between the West and East, which was conducted by the merchants of Tyro chiefly, and passed from the Syrian coast by way of Damascus and Tadmor to Nineveh and Babylon. This commerce greatly enriched the cities lying upon its route. "Damascus," says Ezekiel, addressing Tyre, "was thy merchant in the multitude of the wares of thy making, for the multitude of all riches; in the wine of Helbon, and white wool" (Ezekiel 27:18). The "palaces of Benhadad" seem to have been noted for their magnificence (Jeremiah 49:27; Amos 1:4). The spoil of Samaria shall be taken away before the King of Assyria. Scripture does not record the fulfillment of this prophecy, which makes the same Assyrian king carry off the spoil of Samaria and the spoil of Damascus, fixing also the time of the carrying off as within a few years of the time when the prophecy was given. But the inscriptions of Tiglath-Pileser himself supply the deficiency. They state that this monarch "sent the population, the goods of the people of Beth-Omri, and their furniture to the land of Assyria;" after which he "appointed Husih (Hoshea) to the dominion ever them," and fixed their annual tribute at two talents of gold and a thousand talents of silver (see 'Records of the Past,' vol. 5. p. 52).

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
For
כִּ֗י (kî)
Conjunction
Strong's 3588: A relative conjunction

before
בְּטֶ֙רֶם֙ (bə·ṭe·rem)
Preposition-b | Adverb
Strong's 2962: Non-occurrence, not yet, before

the boy
הַנַּ֔עַר (han·na·‘ar)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 5288: A boy, lad, youth, retainer

knows
יֵדַ֣ע (yê·ḏa‘)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 3045: To know

how to cry
קְרֹ֖א (qə·rō)
Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct
Strong's 7121: To call, proclaim, read

‘Father’
אָבִ֣י (’ā·ḇî)
Noun - masculine singular construct | first person common singular
Strong's 1: Father

or ‘Mother,’
וְאִמִּ֑י (wə·’im·mî)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - feminine singular construct | first person common singular
Strong's 517: A mother, )

the wealth
חֵ֣יל (ḥêl)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 2428: A force, an army, wealth, virtue, valor, strength

of Damascus
דַּמֶּ֗שֶׂק (dam·me·śeq)
Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 1834: Damascus -- a city in Aram (Syria)

and the plunder
שְׁלַ֣ל (šə·lal)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 7998: A prey, spoil, plunder, booty

of Samaria
שֹׁמְר֔וֹן (šō·mə·rō·wn)
Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 8111: Samaria -- capital of northern kingdom of Israel

will be carried off
יִשָּׂ֣א ׀ (yiś·śā)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 5375: To lift, carry, take

to
לִפְנֵ֖י (lip̄·nê)
Preposition-l | Noun - common plural construct
Strong's 6440: The face

the king
מֶ֥לֶךְ (me·leḵ)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 4428: A king

of Assyria.”
אַשּֽׁוּר׃ (’aš·šūr)
Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 804: Ashshur


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OT Prophets: Isaiah 8:4 For before the child knows how (Isa Isi Is)
Isaiah 8:3
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