Isaiah 10
Revised Standard Version
10 Woe to those who decree iniquitous decrees,
and the writers who keep writing oppression,
2 to turn aside the needy from justice
and to rob the poor of my people of their right,
that widows may be their spoil,
and that they may make the fatherless their prey!
3 What will you do on the day of punishment,
in the storm which will come from afar?
To whom will you flee for help,
and where will you leave your wealth?
4 Nothing remains but to crouch among the prisoners
or fall among the slain.
For all this his anger is not turned away
and his hand is stretched out still.
Arrogant Assyria Also Judged
5 Ah, Assyria, the rod of my anger,
the staff of my fury![a]
6 Against a godless nation I send him,
and against the people of my wrath I command him,
to take spoil and seize plunder,
and to tread them down like the mire of the streets.
7 But he does not so intend,
and his mind does not so think;
but it is in his mind to destroy,
and to cut off nations not a few;
8 for he says:
“Are not my commanders all kings?
9 Is not Calno like Car′chemish?
Is not Hamath like Arpad?
Is not Samar′ia like Damascus?
10 As my hand has reached to the kingdoms of the idols
whose graven images were greater than those of Jerusalem and Samar′ia,
11 shall I not do to Jerusalem and her idols
as I have done to Samar′ia and her images?”
12 When the Lord has finished all his work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem he[b] will punish the arrogant boasting of the king of Assyria and his haughty pride. 13 For he says:
“By the strength of my hand I have done it,
and by my wisdom, for I have understanding;
I have removed the boundaries of peoples,
and have plundered their treasures;
like a bull I have brought down those who sat on thrones.
14 My hand has found like a nest
the wealth of the peoples;
and as men gather eggs that have been forsaken
so I have gathered all the earth;
and there was none that moved a wing,
or opened the mouth, or chirped.”
15 Shall the axe vaunt itself over him who hews with it,
or the saw magnify itself against him who wields it?
As if a rod should wield him who lifts it,
or as if a staff should lift him who is not wood!
16 Therefore the Lord, the Lord of hosts,
will send wasting sickness among his stout warriors,
and under his glory a burning will be kindled,
like the burning of fire.
17 The light of Israel will become a fire,
and his Holy One a flame;
and it will burn and devour
his thorns and briers in one day.
18 The glory of his forest and of his fruitful land
the Lord will destroy, both soul and body,
and it will be as when a sick man wastes away.
19 The remnant of the trees of his forest will be so few
that a child can write them down.
The Repentant Remnant of Israel
20 In that day the remnant of Israel and the survivors of the house of Jacob will no more lean upon him that smote them, but will lean upon the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. 21 A remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, to the mighty God. 22 For though your people Israel be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will return. Destruction is decreed, overflowing with righteousness. 23 For the Lord, the Lord of hosts, will make a full end, as decreed, in the midst of all the earth.
24 Therefore thus says the Lord, the Lord of hosts: “O my people, who dwell in Zion, be not afraid of the Assyrians when they smite with the rod and lift up their staff against you as the Egyptians did. 25 For in a very little while my indignation will come to an end, and my anger will be directed to their destruction. 26 And the Lord of hosts will wield against them a scourge, as when he smote Mid′ian at the rock of Oreb; and his rod will be over the sea, and he will lift it as he did in Egypt. 27 And in that day his burden will depart from your shoulder, and his yoke will be destroyed from your neck.”
He has gone up from Rimmon,[c]
28 he has come to Ai′ath;
he has passed through Migron,
at Michmash he stores his baggage;
29 they have crossed over the pass,
at Geba they lodge for the night;
Ramah trembles,
Gib′e-ah of Saul has fled.
30 Cry aloud, O daughter of Gallim!
Hearken, O La′ishah!
Answer her, O An′athoth!
31 Madme′nah is in flight,
the inhabitants of Gebim flee for safety.
32 This very day he will halt at Nob,
he will shake his fist
at the mount of the daughter of Zion,
the hill of Jerusalem.
33 Behold, the Lord, the Lord of hosts
will lop the boughs with terrifying power;
the great in height will be hewn down,
and the lofty will be brought low.
34 He will cut down the thickets of the forest with an axe,
and Lebanon with its majestic trees[d] will fall.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 10:5 Heb a staff it is in their hand my fury
- Isaiah 10:12 Heb I
- Isaiah 10:27 Cn: Heb and his yoke from your neck, and a yoke will be destroyed because of fatness
- Isaiah 10:34 Cn Compare Gk Vg: Heb with a majestic one
Isaiah 10
Names of God Bible
10 How horrible it will be for those who make unjust laws
and who make oppressive regulations.
2 They deprive the poor of justice.
They take away the rights of the needy among my people.
They prey on widows and rob orphans.
3 What will you do on the day
you are called to account for these things,
when the disaster comes from far away?
Where will you run for help?
Where will you leave your wealth?
4 Nothing’s left but to crouch among prisoners
and to fall with those who are killed.
Even after all this, his anger will not disappear,
and he is still ready to use his power.
The Lord’s Message against Assyria
5 “How horrible it will be for Assyria!
It is the rod of my anger.
My fury is the staff in the Assyrians’ hands.
6 I send them against a godless nation.
In my fury I order them against the people
to take their belongings, loot them,
and trample on them like mud in the streets.
7 But that’s not what they intend to do.
Their minds don’t work that way.
Their purpose is to destroy and put an end to many nations.
8 They ask, ‘Aren’t all our commanders kings?
9 Isn’t Calno like Carchemish?
Isn’t Hamath like Arpad?
Isn’t Samaria like Damascus?’
10 My power has reached kingdoms which have idols.
They had more carved statues than Jerusalem or Samaria.
11 I will do to Jerusalem and its idols
what I’ve done to Samaria and its idols.”
12 When Adonay has finished all his work on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, he will punish the king of Assyria for all his boasting and all his arrogance. 13 The king will say,
“I did this with my own two powerful hands.
I did this with my wisdom, because I am so clever.
I’ve eliminated the boundaries of nations.
I’ve looted treasuries.
I’ve brought down people like a mighty man.
14 I’ve found the riches of nations as one finds a nest.
I’ve gathered the whole world as one gathers abandoned eggs.
Not one of them flapped a wing, opened its mouth, or peeped.”
15 Can an ax attack the person who cuts with it?
Can a saw make itself greater than the person who saws with it?
A rod cannot move the person who lifts it.
A wooden stick cannot pick up a person.
16 That is why Adonay Yahweh Tsebaoth
will send a degenerative disease against brave men.
A flame will be turned into a raging fire under his power.
17 Israel’s light will become a flame.
Its Holy One will become a fire.
He will burn up and devour the weeds and thornbushes in one day.
18 The majestic forest and the orchard
will destroy both body and soul.
They will be like a sick person wasting away.
19 The trees that remain in the forest will be so few that
a child could count them.
20 At that time the remaining few Israelites,
the survivors of Jacob’s descendants
will no longer depend on the one who struck them.
They will only depend on Yahweh, Qedosh Yisrael.
21 A few, the remaining few of Jacob, will return to the mighty God.
22 Although your people Israel may be
as numerous as the grains of sand on the seashore,
only a few will return.
Destruction will be complete and fair.
23 Adonay Yahweh Tsebaoth will carry out this destruction
throughout the world as he has determined.
24 Adonay Yahweh Tsebaoth says:
My people who live in Zion,
don’t be afraid of the Assyrians when they strike with a rod
or when they raise their staff against you
as the Egyptians did.
25 Very soon I will unleash my fury,
and my anger will destroy them.
26 Then Yahweh Tsebaoth will raise his whip against them.
As he struck down Midian at the Rock of Oreb
and raised his staff over the water,
so he will lift it as he did in Egypt.
27 At that time their burden will be removed from your shoulders.
Their yoke[a] will be removed from your neck.
The yoke will be torn away because you have grown fat.
28 They come to Aiath.
They pass through Migron.
They store their equipment at Michmash.
29 They go through the mountain pass and lodge at Geba for the night.
The people in Ramah tremble; the people in Saul’s Gibeah flee.
30 Cry aloud, you people in Gallim!
Pay attention, you people in Laishah and miserable Anathoth!
31 The people in Madmenah flee; those who live in Gebim take shelter.
32 This day they stopped at Nob.
They shake their fist at the mountain of my people Zion,
at the mountain of Jerusalem.
33 Now look! Adonay Yahweh Tsebaoth
will trim the branches with terrifying power.
The highest trees will be cut down.
The tallest ones will be brought down.
34 He will cut down the underbrush of the forest with an ax.
Lebanon will fall in front of the Mighty One.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 10:27 A yoke is a wooden bar placed over the necks of work animals so that they can pull plows or carts.
Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1946, 1952, and 1971 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.