Judgment on Arrogance and Oppression
ISAIAH 10 [†] Woe to those who y decree iniquitous decrees,
and the writers who z keep writing oppression,
2 to turn aside the needy from justice
and a 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 b the day of punishment,
in the ruin that will come c 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.
d For all this his anger has not turned away,
and his hand is stretched out still.
5[†] Ah, Assyria, e the rod of my anger;
the staff in their hands is my fury!
6[†] Against a f godless nation I send him,
and against the people of my wrath I command him,
to take g spoil and seize plunder,
and to h tread them down like the mire of the streets.
7[†] But he i does not so intend,
and his heart does not so think;
but it is in his heart to destroy,
and to cut off nations not a few;
8[†] for he says:
j “Are not my commanders all kings?
9 k Is not l Calno like m Carchemish?
p Is not q Samaria like Damascus?
10[†] As my hand has reached to r the kingdoms of the idols,
whose carved images were greater than those of Jerusalem and Samaria,
11 shall I not do to Jerusalem and s her idols
t as I have done to Samaria and her images?”
12[†] u When the Lord has finished all his work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, v he [1] will punish the speech of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria and the boastful look in his eyes. 13[†] w For he says:
“By the strength of my hand I have done it,
and by my wisdom, for I have understanding;
I remove the boundaries of peoples,
and plunder their treasures;
like a bull I bring down those who sit on thrones.
14 My hand has found like a nest
the wealth of the peoples;
and as one gathers 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 x the axe boast 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 GOD of hosts
will send wasting sickness among his y stout warriors,
and under his glory z a burning will be kindled,
like the burning of fire.
17 a The light of Israel will become a fire,
and b his Holy One a flame,
and c it will burn and devour
his thorns and briers d in one day.
18 The glory of e his forest and of his f 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.
20[†] g In that day h the remnant of Israel and the survivors of the house of Jacob will no more i lean on him who struck them, but j will lean on the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. 21[†]A remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, k to the mighty God. 22[^][†] l For though your people Israel be as the sand of the sea, m only a remnant of them will return. n Destruction is decreed, overflowing with righteousness. 23For the Lord GOD of hosts will make a full end, as decreed, in the midst of all the earth.
24[†]Therefore thus says the Lord GOD of hosts: “O my people, o who dwell in Zion, p be not afraid of the Assyrians when they strike with the rod and lift up their staff against you as q the Egyptians did. 25For r in a very little while my fury will come to an end, and my anger will be directed to their destruction. 26[†]And s the LORD of hosts will wield against them a whip, as when he struck t Midian u at the rock of Oreb. And his staff will be over the sea, and he will lift it v as he did in Egypt. 27[†]And in that day w his burden will depart from your shoulder, and x his yoke from your neck; and the yoke will be broken because of the fat.” [2]
28[†] He has come to Aiath;
he has passed through y Migron;
at Michmash he stores z his baggage;
29 they have crossed over a the pass;
at b Geba they lodge for the night;
c Ramah trembles;
d Gibeah of Saul has fled.
30 Cry aloud, O daughter of e Gallim!
Give attention, O Laishah!
O poor f Anathoth!
31 Madmenah is in flight;
the inhabitants of Gebim flee for safety.
32 This very day he will halt at g Nob;
he will shake his fist
at the mount of h the daughter of Zion,
the hill of Jerusalem.
33[†] Behold, the Lord GOD of hosts
i will lop j 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 j the thickets of the forest with an axe,
and k Lebanon will fall by the Majestic One.