Isaiah 10

New American Standard Bible

Assyria Is God’s Instrument

10 Woe to those who ^(A)enact unjust statutes
And to those who constantly record ^[a]harmful decisions,
²So as ^(B)to ^[b]deprive the needy of justice
And rob the poor among My people of their rights,
So ^(C)that widows may be their spoil
And that they may plunder the ^[c]orphans.
³Now ^(D)what will you do in the ^(E)day of punishment,
And in the devastation which will come ^(F)from afar?
^(G)To whom will you flee for help?
And where will you leave your wealth?
⁴Nothing remains but to crouch ^[d]among the ^(H)captives
Or fall ^[e]among those ^(I)killed.
^(J)In spite of all this, His anger does not turn away
And His hand is still stretched out.

⁵Woe to ^(K)Assyria, the ^(L)rod of My anger
And the staff in whose hands is ^(M)My indignation,
⁶I send it against a ^(N)godless nation
And commission it against the ^(O)people of My fury
To capture spoils and ^(P)to seize plunder,
And to ^[f]trample them down like ^(Q)mud in the streets.
⁷Yet it ^(R)does not so intend,
Nor does ^[g]it plan so in its heart,
But rather it is ^[h]its purpose to destroy
And to eliminate ^[i]many nations.
⁸For it says, “Are not my officers ^[j]all kings?
⁹Is not ^(S)Calno like ^(T)Carchemish,
Or ^(U)Hamath like Arpad,
Or ^(V)Samaria like ^(W)Damascus?
¹⁰As my hand has reached to the ^(X)kingdoms of the idols,
Whose carved images were greater than those of Jerusalem and Samaria,
¹¹Shall I not do the same to Jerusalem and her images
Just as I have done to Samaria and ^(Y)her idols?”

¹²So it will be that when the Lord has completed all His ^(Z)work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, He will say, “I will ^[k]punish the fruit of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria and ^(AA)the arrogant pride of his eyes.” ¹³For ^(AB)he has said,

“By the power of my hand and by my wisdom I did this,
Because I have understanding;
And I ^(AC)removed the boundaries of the peoples
And plundered their treasures,
And like a powerful man I brought down ^[l]their inhabitants,
¹⁴And my hand reached to the riches of the peoples like a ^(AD)nest,
And as one gathers abandoned eggs, I gathered all the earth;
And there was not one that flapped its wing, opened its beak, or chirped.”

¹⁵Is the ^(AE)axe to ^(AF)boast itself over the one who chops with it?
Is the saw to exalt itself over the one who wields it?
That would be like ^(AG)a ^[m]club wielding those who lift it,
Or like ^(AH)a rod lifting the one who is not wood.
¹⁶Therefore the Lord, the ^[n]God of armies, will send a ^(AI)wasting disease among his ^(AJ)stout warriors;
And under his ^(AK)glory a fire will be kindled like a burning flame.
¹⁷And the ^(AL)Light of Israel will become a fire and ^[o]Israel’s ^(AM)Holy One a flame,
And it will ^(AN)burn and devour ^[p]his thorns and his briars in a single day.
¹⁸And He will ^(AO)destroy the glory of his forest and of his fruitful garden, both soul and body,
And it will be as when a sick person wastes away.
¹⁹And the ^(AP)rest of the trees of his forest will be so small in number
That a child could write them down.

A Remnant Will Return

²⁰Now on that day the ^(AQ)remnant of Israel, and those of the house of Jacob ^(AR)who have escaped, will no longer rely on the one who struck them, but will truly ^(AS)rely on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel.

²¹A ^(AT)remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, to the ^(AU)mighty God.
²²For ^(AV)though your people, Israel, may be like the sand of the sea,
Only a remnant within them will return;
A ^(AW)destruction is determined, overflowing with righteousness.

²³For a complete destruction, one that is determined, ^(AX)the Lord ^[q]God of armies will execute in the midst of the whole land.

²⁴Therefore this is what the Lord ^[r]God of armies says: “My people, you who dwell in ^(AY)Zion, ^(AZ)do not fear the Assyrian ^[s]who ^(BA)strikes you with the rod, and lifts up his staff against you the way Egypt did. ²⁵For in a very ^(BB)little while ^(BC)My indignation against you will be ended and My anger will be directed toward their destruction.” ²⁶The Lord of armies will ^(BD)wield a whip against him like the defeat of ^(BE)Midian at the rock of Oreb; and His ^(BF)staff will be over the sea, and He will lift it up ^(BG)the way He did in Egypt. ²⁷So it will be on that day, that ^[t]his ^(BH)burden will be removed from your shoulders, and his yoke from your neck; and the yoke will be broken because ^(BI)of fatness.

²⁸He has come against Aiath,
He has passed through ^(BJ)Migron;
At ^(BK)Michmash he deposited his ^(BL)baggage.
²⁹They have gone through ^(BM)the pass, saying,
“^(BN)Geba will be our encampment for the night.”
^(BO)Ramah is terrified, and ^(BP)Gibeah of Saul has fled.
³⁰Cry aloud with your voice, daughter of ^(BQ)Gallim!
Pay attention, Laishah and ^[u]wretched ^(BR)Anathoth!
³¹Madmenah has fled.
The inhabitants of Gebim have sought refuge.
³²Yet today he will halt at ^(BS)Nob;
He ^(BT)shakes his fist at the mountain of the ^[v]^(BU)daughter of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem.

³³Behold, the Lord, the ^[w]God of armies, will lop off the branches with terrifying power;
Those also who are ^(BV)tall in stature will be cut down,
And those who are lofty will be brought low.
³⁴He will cut down the thickets of the forest with an iron axe,
And ^(BW)Lebanon will fall by the Mighty One.