The connector Then (New Revised Standard Version also) does not mean the speech of Yahweh which follows was made immediately after the last words of chapter 7. Although the general context is still the war of Syria and Israel against Judah, the precise time relationship between this chapter and the previous one is hard to determine since there are no historical references. So the connector Then, which translates the usual conjunction “And” in Hebrew, may be omitted if there is a danger that it could be understood as a time marker. Most versions do not render the conjunction. Translators should not give the impression that the child spoken of in this chapter is the same as Immanuel mentioned in the previous chapter.
Take a large tablet and write upon it in common characters: This command, with its two imperative verbs Take and write, may be expressed in indirect speech by saying “The LORD told me to take … and write….” The meaning of the Hebrew term rendered tablet is uncertain, but most commentators believe it refers to something flat upon which to write, whether it was made of clay (most likely), stone, or some other substance. This understanding is based on the context, since the word is not found elsewhere in the Old Testament. New International Version says “scroll,” but since Isaiah has to write only four words, a scroll is hardly appropriate. “Something to write on” (Contemporary English Version) is acceptable; “[a piece of] paper” is not.
The phrase common characters is a difficult one. The Hebrew noun translated characters is the word for a stylus or the tip of a pen. The adjective attached to it is actually the Hebrew word for “person.” So the phrase is literally “a pen of a person.” It is rendered this way by the Septuagint. It seems to mean either “ordinary stylus/pen” (so New Jerusalem Bible) or “ordinary script/letters” (so Revised Standard Version, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, Bible en français courant), which is the most common interpretation. “Common language,” a language that can be understood by everyone, is another option. Other translations are “large letters” (Good News Translation), “big clear letters” (Contemporary English Version), and “clearly readable writing” (Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch), but these renderings are doubtful and probably too specific. The general implication of these instructions seems to be that the tablet was a large notice, meant to be put in an open space for public reading.
Belonging to Maher-shalal-hash-baz: The preposition Belonging to links the tablet and its words to Isaiah’s son, who will be born and named Maher-shalal-hash-baz. Is the writing on behalf of his son, or dedicated to him? Or are the two events, the writing and the naming, unconnected? Translators should not make any of these speculations explicit. The preposition may also be rendered “Concerning” or “About,” so that it is not limited to indicate possession. Bible en français courant says “To him who is called,” while New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh has simply “For.” Good News Translation, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, and New Jerusalem Bible do not translate this preposition, and only give the name.
The name Maher-shalal-hash-baz may either be transliterated (Revised Standard Version, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, Contemporary English Version) or translated literally (Good News Translation, Bible en français courant, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). If it is transliterated, there should be a footnote giving its approximate, disturbing sense; it is literally “The spoil speeds, the prey hurries.” Bible en français courant, freely translated, has “Quick-to-loot-Hurry-to-plunder.” Present tense forms or timeless ones are the most appropriate forms to use here. The name is not explained in this verse. However, in verse 4 we learn that it points to nations under threat from the one who plunders and spoils. Those nations are identified as Syria and the northern kingdom of Israel. The plunderer is Assyria. The double message in this name indicates how quickly the enemy attack will come.
Translation examples for this verse are:
• Yahweh said to me, “Take a writing tablet and write in common language, ‘Maher-shalal-hash-baz.’”
• Yahweh told me to take something to write on and to write in ordinary letters, “Concerning Maher-shalal-hash-baz.”
• The LORD said, “Write clearly on a clay tablet the following message: ‘Soon the spoil, in haste the prey.’”
Quoted with permission from Ogden, Graham S. and Sterk, Jan. A Handbook on Isaiah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2011. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .