Isaiah 10

1 Woe to those who enact unjust statutes and issue oppressive decrees,

2 to deprive the poor of fair treatment and withhold justice from the oppressed of My people, to make widows their prey and orphans their plunder.

3 What will you do on the day of reckoning when devastation comes from afar? To whom will you flee for help? Where will you leave your wealth?

4 Nothing will remain but to crouch among the captives or fall among the slain. Despite all this, His anger is not turned away; His hand is still upraised.

5 Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger; the staff in their hands is My wrath.

6 I will send him against a godless nation; I will dispatch him against a people destined for My rage, to take spoils and seize plunder, and to trample them down like clay in the streets.

7 But this is not his intention; this is not his plan. For it is in his heart to destroy and cut off many nations.

8 “Are not all my commanders kings?” he says.

9 “Is not Calno like Carchemish? Is not Hamath like Arpad? Is not Samaria like Damascus?

10 As my hand seized the idolatrous kingdoms whose images surpassed those of Jerusalem and Samaria,

11 and as I have done to Samaria and its idols, will I not also do to Jerusalem and her idols?”

12 So when the Lord has completed all His work against Mount Zion and Jerusalem, He will say, “I will punish the king of Assyria for the fruit of his arrogant heart and the proud look in his eyes.

13 For he says: ‘By the strength of my hand I have done this, and by my wisdom, for I am clever. I have removed the boundaries of nations and plundered their treasures; like a mighty one I subdued their rulers.

14 My hand reached as into a nest to seize the wealth of the nations. Like one gathering abandoned eggs, I gathered all the earth. No wing fluttered, no beak opened or chirped.’”

15 Does an axe raise itself above the one who swings it? Does a saw boast over him who saws with it? It would be like a rod waving the one who lifts it, or a staff lifting him who is not wood!

16 Therefore the Lord GOD of Hosts will send a wasting disease among Assyria’s stout warriors, and under his pomp will be kindled a fire like a burning flame.

17 And the Light of Israel will become a fire, and its Holy One a flame. In a single day it will burn and devour Assyria’s thorns and thistles.

18 The splendor of its forests and orchards, both soul and body, it will completely destroy, as a sickness consumes a man.

19 The remaining trees of its forests will be so few that a child could count them.

20 On that day the remnant of Israel and the survivors of the house of Jacob will no longer depend on him who struck them, but they will truly rely on the LORD, the Holy One of Israel.

21 A remnant will return—a remnant of Jacob—to the Mighty God.

22 Though your people, O Israel, be like the sand of the sea, only a remnant will return. Destruction has been decreed, overflowing with righteousness.

23 For the Lord GOD of Hosts will carry out the destruction decreed upon the whole land.

24 Therefore this is what the Lord GOD of Hosts says: “O My people who dwell in Zion, do not fear Assyria, who strikes you with a rod and lifts his staff against you as the Egyptians did.

25 For in just a little while My fury against you will subside, and My anger will turn to their destruction.”

26 And the LORD of Hosts will brandish a whip against them, as when He struck Midian at the rock of Oreb. He will raise His staff over the sea, as He did in Egypt.

27 On that day the burden will be lifted from your shoulders, and the yoke from your neck. The yoke will be broken because your neck will be too large.

28 Assyria has entered Aiath and passed through Migron, storing their supplies at Michmash.

29 They have crossed at the ford: “We will spend the night at Geba.” Ramah trembles; Gibeah of Saul flees.

30 Cry aloud, O Daughter of Gallim! Listen, O Laishah! O wretched Anathoth!

31 Madmenah flees; the people of Gebim take refuge.

32 Yet today they will halt at Nob, shaking a fist at the mount of Daughter Zion, at the hill of Jerusalem.

33 Behold, the Lord GOD of Hosts will lop off the branches with terrifying power. The tall trees will be cut down, the lofty ones will be felled.

34 He will clear the forest thickets with an axe, and Lebanon will fall before the Mighty One.

1 ¶ Woe unto them that decree unrighteous decrees, and that write grievousness [which] they have prescribed;

2 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!

3 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?

4 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.

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

6 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.

7 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.

8 For he saith, [Are] not my princes altogether kings?

9 [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 standardbearer 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.

1 Woe unto the scribes that make unrighteous laws, and that write unrighteous judgments,

2 That they may plead the cause of the poor, and do violence in the judgment of the wretched among my people, that widows may be their spoil, and fatherless their prey.

3 What will ye do in the day of visitation, and in the day of calamity that cometh from afar? To whom will ye flee for help, and where will ye leave your honour?

4 That it be not bowed down among the captives, and fall among them that are slain? In all this his anger is not abated; his hand is yet stretched out.

5 O woe unto Assyria, which is the rod of mine anger, and her hand the staff of my fury!

6 And I will send him against a hypocritical people, and will command him against the people of mine anger, to spoil them, and to divide them, and to tread them down as the dung of the street,

7 Though he mean not so, neither think so in his heart; but his heart is to destroy and to cut off not a few nations.

8 For he saith, Are not all my princes kings?

9 Is not Kalno like Karchemis? Is not Hamath like Arpad? Is not Samaria like Damascus?

10 As mine hand hath found the kingdoms of idols, though their idols were stronger than those that are in Jerusalem and Samaria:

11 Shall I not do to Jerusalem and her idols, as I did to Samaria and her idols?

12 And it shall come to pass, when the LORD hath finished all his work in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, that I will punish the fruit of the proud king of Assyria, and the glory of his haughty eyes,

13 Because he saith, I have wrought it out by the power of mine hands, and by my wisdom; for I am wise: I have divided the countries in other ways, and have spoiled their revenue, and have cast down the inhabitants to the ground like a mighty man,

14 And mine hand hath found the nations like a bird's nest; and I have gathered all the countries together, as one gathereth up eggs that are left, when no man stirreth up a feather, or openeth his beak, or hisseth.

15 May an axe boast against him that heweth therewith, or a saw defy him that cutteth therewith, as he that leadeth the rod, and lifteth it up, and leadeth it as lightly as if it were not wood?

16 Therefore the LORD of hosts will send drought among his fat ones, and he will kindle his glory, and it shall burn as the fire.

17 And the light of Israel shall be a fire, and his holy one shall be a flame, and shall kindle his thorns and his hedges, and consume them in one day.

18 And the glory of his forest and of his field shall be destroyed from the souls even to the flesh, and shall perish and vanish away,

19 That the rest of the trees of his forest may be numbered, and a lad may mark them.

20 In that day the remnant of Israel, and they that are saved of the house of Jacob, shall no more rely upon him that smiteth them; but they shall rely upon the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, in truth.

21 The remnant shall be converted, even the remnant in Jacob, unto GOD the strong.

22 For though thy people, O Israel, be as the sand of the sea, yet the remnant of them shall be converted. For when destruction is prevented, righteousness cometh abundantly.

23 For the LORD of hosts shall cause destruction to come, and shall bring it upon all the earth.

24 Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts; Fear not, my people that dwell in Zion, before Assyria. He shall smite thee with a rod, and lift up his staff against thee, as it was in Egypt.

25 For there is yet but a little to be done, and there shall be an end of iniquity, and of mine anger against their iniquity.

26 Then shall the LORD of hosts raise up a scourge upon him, as in the battle of Midian upon the rock Oreb; and he shall lift up his rod, which he used by the sea, as in Egypt.

27 In that day shall his burden depart from thy shoulder, and his yoke from thy neck: for the yoke shall rot before the fatness.

28 He cometh (let it be) to Ajath; he passeth through Migron; he musteth his stuff to Michmash.

29 They pass over Geba before our camp: Ramah is afraid, Gibeath of Saul is afraid.

30 Thou daughter of Gallim, cry aloud; take heed, Laishah, thou wretched Anathoth!

31 Madmena gives way; the citizens of Gebim strengthen themselves.

32 For it may be that he will tarry a day at Nob; and he will lift up his hand against the mountain of the daughter of Zion, and against the hill of Jerusalem.

33 But, behold, the LORD of hosts shall hew down the boughs with power, and shall shorten the things that are lifted up, that the high places may be humbled.

34 And the thick forest shall be hewn down with iron, and Lebanon shall fall by the mighty.