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10 ¶ Woe unto those that establish unrighteous laws and that wilfully prescribe tyranny

to turn aside the poor from right judgment and to take away the right from the afflicted of my people that widows may be their prey and that they may rob the fatherless!

And what will ye do in the day of visitation and in the desolation which shall come from far? To whom will ye flee for help and where will ye leave your glory?

They shall bow down among the prisoners, and they shall fall among the slain. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.

¶ O Assyrian, rod and staff of my anger, in thy hand have I placed my indignation.

I will send him against a hypocritical nation, and upon the people of my wrath will I send him to take spoil and to take prey and to ready them that they might be tread down like the mire of the streets.

Howbeit he shall not think like this; not even in his heart shall he imagine this way of doing things, but his thought shall be to destroy and cut off nations not a few.

For he shall say, Are not my princes altogether kings?

Is not Calno as Carchemish? Is not Hamath as Arpad? Is not Samaria as Damascus?

10 As my hand has found the kingdoms of the idols, and whose graven images did excel those of Jerusalem and of Samaria;

11 shall I not, as I have done unto Samaria and her idols, so do to Jerusalem and her idols?

12 Therefore it shall come to pass, that when the Lord has performed his whole work upon Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, I will come upon the fruit of the pride of the heart of the king of Assyria, and upon the glory of his high looks.

13 For he said, By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom; for I have been prudent: and I have removed the boundaries of the peoples, and have robbed their treasures, and I have cast down as valiant ones those who were seated:

14 And my hand has found as a nest the riches of the peoples: and as one gathers eggs that are left, I have taken control over all the earth; and there was no one that moved the wing, or opened the mouth, or peeped.

15 Shall the axe boast itself against him that hews with it? or shall the saw magnify itself against him that moves it? as if the rod should rise up against those that lift it up, or as if the staff should lift itself up. Is it not wood?

16 Therefore shall the Lord, the LORD of the hosts, send among his fat ones leanness; and under his glory he shall kindle a burning like the burning of a fire.

17 And the light of Israel shall be for a fire, and his Holy One for a flame: and it shall burn and devour his thorns and his briers in one day;

18 and shall consume the glory of his forest and of his fruitful field, from the soul unto the flesh; and they shall come to be as a standard-bearer in defeat.

19 And the trees that shall remain in his forest shall be in number such that a child may count them.

20 ¶ And it shall come to pass in that day that those who shall be left of Israel and those who shall be left of the house of Jacob shall no more again stay upon him that smote them, but shall stay upon the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, in truth.

21 The remnant shall become converted, even the remnant of Jacob, unto the mighty God.

22 For though thy people Israel be as the sand of the sea, yet the remnant of them shall become converted; when the consumption comes to an end, righteousness shall overflow.

23 For the Lord GOD of the hosts shall make a consumption and an end in the midst of all the land.

24 ¶ Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD of the hosts, O my people, dweller of Zion, be not afraid of the Assyrian; he shall smite thee with a rod and shall lift up his stick against thee by the way of Egypt;

25 yet from now until a very little while the indignation and my anger shall cease, to make an end of them.

26 And the LORD of the hosts shall raise up a scourge against him as the slaughter of Midian at the rock of Oreb and shall raise up his rod upon the sea, by the way of Egypt.

27 And it shall come to pass in that day that his burden shall be taken away from off thy shoulder and his yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke shall be consumed in the presence of the anointing.

28 He is come to Aiath; he is passed unto Migron; in Michmash he shall number his army:

29 They are gone over the fords; they have taken up their lodging at Geba; Ramah is afraid; Gibeah of Saul is fled.

30 Lift up thy voice, O daughter of Gallim; Laish cause poor Anathoth to hear thee.

31 Madmenah is in upheaval; the inhabitants of Gebim shall gather themselves together.

32 Even yet shall come a day when he shall rest at Nob; he shall raise his hand unto the mountain of the daughter of Zion unto the hill of Jerusalem.

33 Behold, the Lord, the LORD of the hosts, shall lop the bough with force, and the high ones of stature shall be hewn down, and the haughty shall be humbled.

34 And he shall cut down the thickness of the forest with iron, and Lebanon shall fall by force.

10 Woe(A) to those who make unjust laws,
    to those who issue oppressive decrees,(B)
to deprive(C) the poor of their rights
    and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people,(D)
making widows their prey
    and robbing the fatherless.(E)
What will you do on the day of reckoning,(F)
    when disaster(G) comes from afar?
To whom will you run for help?(H)
    Where will you leave your riches?
Nothing will remain but to cringe among the captives(I)
    or fall among the slain.(J)

Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away,(K)
    his hand is still upraised.

God’s Judgment on Assyria

“Woe(L) to the Assyrian,(M) the rod(N) of my anger,
    in whose hand is the club(O) of my wrath!(P)
I send him against a godless(Q) nation,
    I dispatch(R) him against a people who anger me,(S)
to seize loot and snatch plunder,(T)
    and to trample(U) them down like mud in the streets.
But this is not what he intends,(V)
    this is not what he has in mind;
his purpose is to destroy,
    to put an end to many nations.
‘Are not my commanders(W) all kings?’ he says.
    ‘Has not Kalno(X) fared like Carchemish?(Y)
Is not Hamath(Z) like Arpad,(AA)
    and Samaria(AB) like Damascus?(AC)
10 As my hand seized the kingdoms of the idols,(AD)
    kingdoms whose images excelled those of Jerusalem and Samaria—
11 shall I not deal with Jerusalem and her images
    as I dealt with Samaria and her idols?(AE)’”

12 When the Lord has finished all his work(AF) against Mount Zion(AG) and Jerusalem, he will say, “I will punish the king of Assyria(AH) for the willful pride(AI) of his heart and the haughty look(AJ) in his eyes. 13 For he says:

“‘By the strength of my hand(AK) I have done this,(AL)
    and by my wisdom, because I have understanding.
I removed the boundaries of nations,
    I plundered their treasures;(AM)
    like a mighty one I subdued[a] their kings.(AN)
14 As one reaches into a nest,(AO)
    so my hand reached for the wealth(AP) of the nations;
as people gather abandoned eggs,
    so I gathered all the countries;(AQ)
not one flapped a wing,
    or opened its mouth to chirp.(AR)’”

15 Does the ax raise itself above the person who swings it,
    or the saw boast against the one who uses it?(AS)
As if a rod were to wield the person who lifts it up,
    or a club(AT) brandish the one who is not wood!
16 Therefore, the Lord, the Lord Almighty,
    will send a wasting disease(AU) upon his sturdy warriors;(AV)
under his pomp(AW) a fire(AX) will be kindled
    like a blazing flame.
17 The Light of Israel will become a fire,(AY)
    their Holy One(AZ) a flame;
in a single day it will burn and consume
    his thorns(BA) and his briers.(BB)
18 The splendor of his forests(BC) and fertile fields
    it will completely destroy,(BD)
    as when a sick person wastes away.
19 And the remaining trees of his forests(BE) will be so few(BF)
    that a child could write them down.

The Remnant of Israel

20 In that day(BG) the remnant of Israel,
    the survivors(BH) of Jacob,
will no longer rely(BI) on him
    who struck them down(BJ)
but will truly rely(BK) on the Lord,
    the Holy One of Israel.(BL)
21 A remnant(BM) will return,[b](BN) a remnant of Jacob
    will return to the Mighty God.(BO)
22 Though your people be like the sand(BP) by the sea, Israel,
    only a remnant will return.(BQ)
Destruction has been decreed,(BR)
    overwhelming and righteous.
23 The Lord, the Lord Almighty, will carry out
    the destruction decreed(BS) upon the whole land.(BT)

24 Therefore this is what the Lord, the Lord Almighty, says:

“My people who live in Zion,(BU)
    do not be afraid(BV) of the Assyrians,
who beat(BW) you with a rod(BX)
    and lift up a club against you, as Egypt did.
25 Very soon(BY) my anger against you will end
    and my wrath(BZ) will be directed to their destruction.(CA)

26 The Lord Almighty will lash(CB) them with a whip,
    as when he struck down Midian(CC) at the rock of Oreb;
and he will raise his staff(CD) over the waters,(CE)
    as he did in Egypt.
27 In that day(CF) their burden(CG) will be lifted from your shoulders,
    their yoke(CH) from your neck;(CI)
the yoke(CJ) will be broken
    because you have grown so fat.[c]

28 They enter Aiath;
    they pass through Migron;(CK)
    they store supplies(CL) at Mikmash.(CM)
29 They go over the pass, and say,
    “We will camp overnight at Geba.(CN)
Ramah(CO) trembles;
    Gibeah(CP) of Saul flees.(CQ)
30 Cry out, Daughter Gallim!(CR)
    Listen, Laishah!
    Poor Anathoth!(CS)
31 Madmenah is in flight;
    the people of Gebim take cover.
32 This day they will halt at Nob;(CT)
    they will shake their fist(CU)
at the mount of Daughter Zion,(CV)
    at the hill of Jerusalem.

33 See, the Lord, the Lord Almighty,
    will lop off(CW) the boughs with great power.
The lofty trees will be felled,(CX)
    the tall(CY) ones will be brought low.(CZ)
34 He will cut down(DA) the forest thickets with an ax;
    Lebanon(DB) will fall before the Mighty One.(DC)

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 10:13 Or treasures; / I subdued the mighty,
  2. Isaiah 10:21 Hebrew shear-jashub (see 7:3 and note); also in verse 22
  3. Isaiah 10:27 Hebrew; Septuagint broken / from your shoulders