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10 How terrible it will be for the lawmakers who write evil laws.
    They write laws that make life hard for people.
They are not fair to the poor.
    They rob my people of their rights.
They allow people to steal from widows
    and to take from orphans what they should get.
Lawmakers, how will you explain the things you have done?
    What will you do when your destruction comes from far away?
Where will you run for help?
    Where will you hide your money and your riches then?
You will have to bow down among the captives.
    You will fall down among the dead bodies.

But the Lord is still angry.
    His hand is still raised to strike down the people.

God Will Punish Assyria

God says, “How terrible it will be for the king of Assyria.
    I use him like a stick.
    In anger I use Assyria like a club.
I send it to fight against a nation that is separated from God.
    I am angry with those people.
    So I command Assyria to fight against them.
Assyria will take their wealth from them.
    Judah will become like dirt for them to walk on in the streets.
But Assyria’s king doesn’t understand that I am using him.
    He doesn’t know he is a tool for me.
He only wants to destroy other people.
    He plans to destroy many nations.
The king of Assyria says to himself,
    ‘All of my commanders are like kings.
The city Calno is like the city Carchemish.
    And the city Hamath is like the city Arpad.
    The city Samaria is like the city Damascus.
10 I defeated those kingdoms that worship idols.
    And those idols were more than the idols of Jerusalem and Samaria.
11 I defeated Samaria and her idols.
    So I will also defeat Jerusalem and her idols.’”

12 The Lord will finish doing what he planned to Mount Zion and Jerusalem. Then he will punish Assyria. The king of Assyria is very proud. His pride made him do these bad things. So God will punish him. 13 The king of Assyria says this:

“By my own power I have done these things.
    By my wisdom I have defeated many nations.
I have taken their wealth.
    And like a mighty one, I have taken their people.
14 I have taken the riches of all these people,
    like one who reaches into a bird’s nest.
I have taken these nations,
    like a person taking eggs.
No one raised a hand against me.
    No one opened his mouth to stop me.”

15 An ax is not better than the person who swings it.
    A saw is not better than the person who uses it.
A stick cannot control the person who picks it up.
    A club cannot pick up the person!
16 So the Master, the Lord of heaven’s armies,
    will send a terrible disease against Assyria’s soldiers.
The strength of Assyria will be burned up.
    It will be like a fire burning until everything is gone.
17 God, the Light of Israel, will be like a fire.
    The Holy One will be like a flame.
He will be like a fire
    that suddenly burns the weeds and thorns.
18 The fire burns away the great trees and rich farmlands.
    It will destroy everything.
    Things will be like a sick man who wastes away.
19 Only a few trees will be left standing.
    There will be so few even a child will be able to count them.

20 At that time some people will be left alive in Israel
    from the family of Jacob.
They will not continue to depend
    on the person who defeated them.
They will learn truly to depend on the Lord,
    the Holy One of Israel.
21 The people who are left alive in Jacob’s family
    will again follow the powerful God.
22 Israel, your people are very many.
    They are like the grains of sand by the sea.
    But only a few of them will be left alive to return to the Lord.
God has announced that he will destroy the land
    completely and fairly.
23 The Master, the Lord of heaven’s armies, will certainly destroy this land.
    He will destroy it as he has announced.

24 This is what the Master, the Lord of heaven’s armies, says:

“My people living in Jerusalem,
    don’t be afraid of the Assyrians.
They beat you with a rod.
    They raise a stick to hurt you, as Egypt did.
25 But after a short time my anger will stop.
    Then I will turn my anger to destroying them.”

26 Then the Lord of heaven’s armies will beat the Assyrians with a whip.
    He will defeat them as he defeated Midian at the rock of Oreb.
He will raise his stick over the waters
    as he did in Egypt.
27 Then the troubles that Assyria puts on you
    will be removed.
The load they make you carry
    will be taken away.

Assyria Invades Israel

28 The army of Assyria will enter near Aiath.
    They will walk through Migron.
    They will store their food in Micmash.
29 The army will go over the pass.
    They will sleep at Geba.
The people of Ramah will be afraid.
    The people at Gibeah of Saul will run away.
30 Cry out, Bath Gallim!
    Laishah, listen!
    Poor Anathoth!
31 The people of Madmenah are running away.
    The people of Gebim are hiding.
32 This day the army will stop at Nob.
    And the army will shake their fist at Mount Zion,
    at the hill of Jerusalem.

33 Watch! The Master, the Lord of heaven’s armies,
    will chop them down like a great tree.
    He will do this with his great power.
Those who are great will be cut down.
    Those who are important will fall to the ground.
34 The Lord will cut them down
    as a forest is cut down with an ax.
And the great trees of Lebanon
    will fall by the power of the Mighty One.

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

10 Woe unto them that decree unrighteous decrees, and that write grievousness which they have prescribed;

To turn aside the needy from judgment, and to take away the right from the poor 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?

Without me they shall bow down under the prisoners, and they shall fall under the slain. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.

O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the staff in their hand is mine indignation.

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.

Howbeit he meaneth not so, neither doth his heart think so; but it is in his heart to destroy and cut off nations not a few.

For he saith, 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 hath found the kingdoms of the idols, and whose graven images did excel them 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 Wherefore it shall come to pass, that when the Lord hath performed his whole work upon mount Zion and on Jerusalem, I will punish the fruit of the stout heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his high looks.

13 For he saith, By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom; for I am prudent: and I have removed the bounds of the people, and have robbed their treasures, and I have put down the inhabitants like a valiant man:

14 And my hand hath found as a nest the riches of the people: and as one gathereth eggs that are left, have I gathered all the earth; and there was none that moved the wing, or opened the mouth, or peeped.

15 Shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth therewith? or shall the saw magnify itself against him that shaketh it? as if the rod should shake itself against them that lift it up, or as if the staff should lift up itself, as if it were no wood.

16 Therefore shall the Lord, the Lord of 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, both soul and body: and they shall be as when a standard-bearer fainteth.

19 And the rest of the trees of his forest shall be few, that a child may write them.

20 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the remnant of Israel, and such as are escaped 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 return, even the remnant of Jacob, unto the mighty God.

22 For though thy people Israel be as the sand of the sea, yet a remnant of them shall return: the consumption decreed shall overflow with righteousness.

23 For the Lord God of hosts shall make a consumption, even determined, in the midst of all the land.

24 Therefore thus saith the Lord God of hosts, O my people that dwellest in Zion, be not afraid of the Assyrian: he shall smite thee with a rod, and shall lift up his staff against thee, after the manner of Egypt.

25 For yet a very little while, and the indignation shall cease, and mine anger in their destruction.

26 And the Lord of hosts shall stir up a scourge for him according to the slaughter of Midian at the rock of Oreb: and as his rod was upon the sea, so shall he lift it up after the manner 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 destroyed because of the anointing.

28 He is come to Aiath, he is passed to Migron; at Michmash he hath laid up his carriages:

29 They are gone over the passage: 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: cause it to be heard unto Laish, O poor Anathoth.

31 Madmenah is removed; the inhabitants of Gebim gather themselves to flee.

32 As yet shall he remain at Nob that day: he shall shake his hand against the mount of the daughter of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem.

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

34 And he shall cut down the thickets of the forest with iron, and Lebanon shall fall by a mighty one.