“Yahweh said
To Satan.
‘Yahweh rebukes you!
O Satan!
Yahweh,
Who has chosen Jerusalem,
Rebukes you!
Is not this man
A brand
Plucked from the fire?’”
Yahweh then had a conversation with the adversarial Satan. Yahweh was rebuking him. Yahweh had chosen Jerusalem. Yet he still was going to rebuke Satan. Then he asked if this man Joshua was a hot brand from the fire. He wanted to know if Joshua was the representative of the Israelites of Jerusalem or from Satan.
“The king said to him.
‘Why do you
Not worship Bel?’
Daniel answered.
‘Because I do not revere
Idols,
Made with human hands.
But I revere
The living God,
Who created heaven,
Who created earth.
He has dominion
Over all living creatures.’”
King Cyrus and Daniel got into a conversation about Bel, the Babylonian god. The king wanted to know why Daniel did not worship Bel. Daniel explained that he did not worship or revere man made idols. Instead, he revered and worshipped the living God, who created heaven and earth. Thus, his God had dominion over all living creatures.
“Then Yahweh said to me.
‘Take a large tablet.
Write on it
In common characters,
‘Belonging to Maher-shalal-hash-baz.’
‘The spoil speeds.
The prey hastens.’
Have it attested for me
By reliable witnesses,
The priest Uriah,
And Zechariah
Son of Jeberechiah.’
I went to the prophetess.
She conceived.
She bore a son.
Then Yahweh said to me.
‘Name him
Maher-shalal-hash-baz.
Before the child knows how to cry
‘My father’ or
‘My mother,’
The wealth of Damascus
With the spoil of Samaria
Will be carried away
By the king of Assyria.’”
Once again, we have a conversation between Yahweh and Isaiah directly. Yahweh told him to write down on a large wooden tablet, the letters Maher-shalal-hash-bar, which means spoil spreads and prey hastens. Then Isaiah had to go to the priest Uriah, mentioned in 2 Kings, chapter 16, as well as Zechariah, probably the father of the wife of Ahaz, to have it attested. Next he went to the prophetess, probably his wife, who then conceived and bore a son that was to be named after the word on the large tablet. Before this boy would be able to utter the words father or mother, the wealth of Damascus in Syria and the spoils of Samaria in Ephraim would be carried away by the king of Assyria. This alliance of King Ahaz of Judah with the King of Assyria can also be found in 2 Kings, chapter 16. Thus the name of the child was really talking about what was about to happen to Syria and Ephraim.
“One who hates gossip
Has less evil.
Never repeat a conversation.
You will lose nothing at all.
With a friend,
With a foe,
Do not report it.
Unless it would be a sin for you,
Do not reveal it.
Someone may have heard you.
Someone may have watched you.
In time,
They will hate you.
Have you heard something?
Let it die with you!
Be brave!
It will not make you burst.
Having heard something,
The fool suffers birth pangs
Like a woman in labor with a child.
Like an arrow stuck in a person’s thigh,
So is gossip inside a fool.”
Gossip or idle chatter appears to be an evil. Sirach reminds you that you should not repeat a conversation with another person, whether it was your friend or your foe. The only reason for repeating a conversation would be if it was a sin not to do so. You should not reveal your conversations since somebody may have heard or seen you doing it. This then can turn into hatred. If you have heard something, just let it die. A fool, on the other hand, hears something and immediately wants to let everyone know about it. This foolish gossip person is like a woman in labor trying to deliver her baby. This fool is like someone who has an arrow stuck in his leg. He just can’t wait to get it out.
Eugene Finnegan Bible Project 