Add parallel Print Page Options

10 ·How terrible it will be for [L Woe to] those who make ·unfair [evil; unjust] ·laws [decrees],
    and those who ·write [or issue] ·laws that make life hard for people [oppressive regulations/edicts].
They ·are not fair [withold justice] to the poor [Ex. 23:6, 11; Deut. 15:4–11],
    and they ·rob [deprive] my people of their rights.
They ·allow people to steal from widows [L make widows their plunder/prey; Ex. 22:22]
    and ·to take from orphans what really belongs to them [L plunder/loot the fatherless; Deut. 10:18].
·How will you explain the things you have done [L What will you do on the day of accounting/visitation]?
    What will you do when your destruction comes from far away?
·Where [or To whom] will you run for help?
    Where will you ·hide your riches [or leave your wealth/glory] then?
You will have to ·bow down [kneel; cower] among the captives
    or fall down among the ·dead bodies [L slain ones].
But the Lord is still angry;
    his hand is still ·raised to strike down the people [outstretched].

God Will Punish Assyria

God says, “·How terrible it will be for the king of Assyria [L Woe to Assyria].
    ·I use him like a rod to show my anger […the rod of my anger];
    in ·anger [my wrath/fury] I use Assyria like a club.
I send ·it [or him; C the king of Assyria] to fight against a godless nation [C Judah; see v. 10].
    I ·command [order; dispatch] ·Assyria [L it; or him] to fight against the people ·with whom I am angry [L of my wrath].
to ·take their wealth from them [L plunder the plunder and loot the loot],
    to trample them down like dirt in the streets.
But Assyria’s king doesn’t ·understand that I am using him [intend to do this];
    ·he [L his heart] doesn’t ·know he is a tool for me [think/reason this way].
He only wants to destroy other people
    and to ·defeat [L cut off] many nations.
The king of Assyria says to himself,
    ‘All of my ·commanders [princes] are like kings
The city Calno is like the city Carchemish.
    The city Hamath is like the city Arpad.
    The city Samaria is like the city Damascus [C all city-states conquered by Assyria].
10 ·I defeated [L My hand has found/seized] those kingdoms that worship idols,
    and those ·idols [carved images] were ·more [greater] than the idols of Jerusalem and Samaria.
11 As I ·defeated [L have done to] Samaria and her idols,
    ·I will also defeat [L shall I also do to…?] Jerusalem and her idols.’”

12 When the Lord finishes doing what he planned to Mount Zion and Jerusalem, he will punish the king of Assyria for ·his proud heart and evil deeds [L the fruit of his great/exalted heart and glory of his haughty/high eyes]. 13 The king of Assyria says this:

“By ·my own power [L the strength of my hand] I have done these things;
    by my wisdom ·and careful planning [L because I have understanding] I have ·defeated many [L removed the boundaries/borders of] nations.
I have ·taken their wealth [plundered their treasures],
    and, like a ·mighty one [or bull], I have ·taken their people [or defeated their kings; L removed the sitting ones; C referring to those inhabiting the land or to kings on thrones].
14 ·I have taken [L My hand has found] the riches of all these people,
    like a person reaching into a bird’s nest.
I have ·taken [gathered] these nations,
    like a person ·taking [L gathering abandoned] eggs.
Not one ·raised a hand [L flapped a wing]
    or opened its mouth to ·stop me [L chirp].”

15 ·An ax is not better than [L Does an ax exalt itself above…?] the person who swings it.
    ·A saw is not better than […or a saw over…?] the one who uses it.
A ·stick [rod; or scepter] cannot control the person who picks it up.
    A club cannot pick up ·the person [L one who is not wood; or as if it were not made of wood]!
16 So the Lord God ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts]
    will send ·a terrible disease [L leanness; emaciation] upon Assyria’s ·soldiers [strong/stout/fat ones].
·The strength of Assyria will be burned up [L Under his glory a fire will be lit]
    like a fire burning.
17 The Light of Israel [C God], will be like a fire;
    the Holy One [1:4] will be like a flame.
He will be like a fire
    that ·suddenly [L in one day] burns and ·consumes [devours] the weeds and thorns.
18 The fire burns away the ·great [glorious] trees and rich farmlands,
    destroying everything.
    It will be like a sick person who wastes away.
19 The trees left standing will be so few
    that even a child could count them.

20 At that time the ·people left in [remnant of] Israel
    and the survivors of the ·family [L house] of Jacob.
will not continue to depend
    on the person who ·defeated [struck] them [9:13].
They will learn truly to depend on the Lord,
    the Holy One of Israel [1:4].
21 ·Those who are left alive in Jacob’s family [L A remnant will return, a remnant of Jacob; 7:3]
    will ·again follow [return to] the powerful God.
22 Israel, though your people are many,
    like the grains of sand by the sea [48:19; Gen. 15:5; 22:17; Hos. 1:10].
    only a ·few [L remnant] of them will ·be left alive to return to the Lord [L return; 7:3].
·God has announced that he will destroy the land [Destruction has been decreed]
    ·completely and fairly [L overflowing/overwhelming with righteousness/justice].
23 The Lord God ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts] will ·certainly [or fully] destroy this land,
    as he has ·announced [decreed].

24 This is what the Lord God ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts] says:

“My people living in ·Jerusalem [L Zion; 1:27],
    don’t be afraid of the Assyrians,
who beat you with a ·rod [staff; scepter]
    and raise a ·stick [staff; rod; club] against you, as Egypt did.
25 After a short time my anger against you will stop,
    and then I will turn my anger to destroying them.”

26 Then the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts] will beat the Assyrians with a whip
    as he defeated Midian at the rock of Oreb [Judg. 7:25].
He will raise his ·stick [staff; rod] over the waters
    as he did in Egypt [Ex. 14:15–16].
27 ·Then [L In that day] ·the troubles that Assyria puts on you [L their burden on your shoulders]
    will be removed,
and the ·load they make you carry [L yoke from your neck]
    will be ·taken away[a] [L destroyed because of the fat/oil; C because of Israel’s new strength, or because of the Lord’s blessings, or because of an Anointed One].

Assyria Invades Israel

28 ·The army of Assyria [L They] will enter near Aiath.
    Its soldiers will walk through Migron.
    They will store their ·food [supplies; equipment] in Micmash.
29 The army will go over the pass.
    The soldiers will ·sleep [camp; lodge] at Geba.
·The people of Ramah will be afraid [L Ramah trembles],
    ·and the people at Gibeah of Saul will run away [L Gibeah of Saul flees; 1 Sam. 11:4].
30 Cry out, ·Bath [or Daughter of] Gallim!
    Laishah, listen!
    ·Poor [or Answer her] Anathoth!
31 ·The people of Madmenah are running away [L Madmenah flees];
    the people of Gebim ·are hiding [seek cover].
32 This day the army will stop at Nob [1 Sam 21–22].
    They will shake their fist at ·Mount Zion [L the mount of Daughter Zion],
at the hill of Jerusalem.

33 Watch! The Lord God ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts]
    with his ·great [terrifying] power will chop them down like a great tree.
Those who are ·great [lofty] will be cut down;
    those who are ·important [or tallest] will ·fall to the ground [be brought low].
34 He will cut them down
    as a forest is cut down with an ax.
And ·the great trees of Lebanon [L Lebanon]
    will fall ·by the power of [or before] the Mighty One.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 10:27 taken away Hebrew copies read “taken away.” Some Greek copies read, “broken from your shoulders.”

Bible Gateway Recommends