Esias 10

1 Woe to them that write wickedness; for when they write they do write wickedness,

Woe [to] those decreeing decrees of iniquity, And writers who have prescribed perverseness.

2 perverting the cause of the poor, violently wresting the judgement of the needy ones of my people, that the widow may be a prey to them, and the orphan a spoil.

To turn aside from judgment the poor, And to take violently away the judgment Of the afflicted of My people, That widows may be their prey, That the fatherless they may spoil.

3 And what will they do in the day of visitation? for affliction shall come to you from afar: and to whom will you flee for help? and where will you leave your glory,

And what do ye at a day of inspection? And at desolation? — from afar it cometh. Near whom do ye flee for help? And where do ye leave your honour?

4 that you may not fall into captivity? For all this [his] wrath is not turned away, but [his] hand is yet exalted.

Without Me it hath bowed down In the place of a bound one, And in the place of the slain they fall. With all this not turned back hath His anger, And still His hand is stretched out.

5 Woe to the Assyrians; the rod of my wrath, and anger are in their hands.

Woe [to] Asshur, a rod of Mine anger, And a staff in their hand [is] Mine indignation.

6 I will send my wrath against a sinful nation, and I will charge my people to take plunder and spoil, and to trample the cities, and to make them dust.

Against a profane nation I send him, And concerning a people of My wrath I charge him, To spoil spoil, and to seize prey, And to make it a treading-place as the clay of out places.

7 But he meant not thus, neither did he devise thus in his soul: but his mind shall change, and [that] to destroy nations not a few.

And he — he thinketh not so, And his heart reckoneth not so, For — to destroy [is] in his heart, And to cut off nations not a few.

8 And if they should say to him, You alone are ruler;

For he saith, 'Are not my princes altogether kings?

9 then shall he say, Have I not taken the country above Babylon and Chalanes, where the tower was built? and have I [not] taken Arabia, and Damascus, and Samaria?

Is not Calno as Carchemish? Is not Hamath as Arpad? Is not Samaria as Damascus?

10 As I have taken them, I will also take all the kingdoms: howl, you idols in Jerusalem, and in Samaria.

As my hand hath got to the kingdoms of a worthless thing, and their graven images, [Greater] than Jerusalem and than Samaria,

11 For as I did to Samaria and her idols, so will I do also to Jerusalem and her idols.

Do I not — as I have done to Samaria, And to her worthless things, So do to Jerusalem and to her grievous things?

12 And it shall come to pass, when the Lord shall have finished doing all things on Mount Sion and Jerusalem, [that] I will visit upon the proud heart, [even] upon the ruler of the Assyrians, and upon the boastful haughtiness of his eyes.

And it hath come to pass, When the Lord doth fulfil all His work In mount Zion and in Jerusalem, I see concerning the fruit of the greatness Of the heart of the king of Asshur. And concerning the glory of the height of his eyes.

13 For he said, I will act in strength, and in the wisdom of [my] understanding I will remove the boundaries of nations, and will spoil their strength.

For he hath said, 'By the power of my hand I have wrought, And by my wisdom, for I have been intelligent, And I remove borders of the peoples, And their chief ones I have spoiled, And I put down as a mighty one the inhabitants,

14 And I will shake the inhabited cities: and I will take with my hand all the world as a nest: and I will even take them as eggs that have been left; and there is none that shall escape me, or contradict me.

And my hand as to a nest Getteth to the wealth of the peoples, And as a gathering of forsaken eggs All the earth I — I have gathered, And there hath not been one moving wing, Or opening mouth, or whispering.'

15 Shall the axe glorify itself without him that hews with it? or shall the saw lift up itself without him that uses it, as if one should lift a rod or staff? but it shall not be so;

— Doth the axe glorify itself Against him who is hewing with it? Doth the saw magnify itself Against him who is shaking it? As a rod waving those lifting it up! As a staff lifting up that which is not wood!

16 but the Lord of hosts shall send dishonour upon your honour, and burning fire shall be kindled upon your glory.

Therefore doth the Lord, the Lord of Hosts, Send among his fat ones leanness, And under his honour He kindleth a burning As the burning of a fire.

17 And the light of Israel shall be for a fire, and he shall sanctify him with burning fire, and it shall devour the wood as grass.

And the light of Israel hath been for a fire, And his Holy One for a flame, And it hath burned, and devoured his thorn And his brier in one day.

18 In that day the mountains shall be consumed, and the hills, and the forests, and [fire] shall devour [both] soul and body: and he that flees shall be as one fleeing from burning flame.

And the honour of his forest, and his fruitful field, From soul even unto flesh He doth consume, And it hath been as the fainting of a standard-bearer.

19 And they that are left of them shall be a [small] number, and a child shall write them.

And the rest of the trees of his forest [are] few, And a youth doth write them.

20 And it shall come to pass in that day [that] the remnant of Israel shall no more join themselves with, and the saved of Jacob shall no more trust in, them that injured them; but they shall trust in the Holy God of Israel, in truth.

And it hath come to pass, in that day, The remnant of Israel, And the escaped of the house of Jacob, Do not add any more to lean on its smiter, And have leant on Jehovah, The Holy One of Israel, in truth.

21 And the remnant of Jacob shall [trust] on the mighty God.

A remnant returneth — a remnant of Jacob, Unto the Mighty God.

22 And though the people of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant of them shall be saved.

For though thy people Israel be as the sand of the sea, A remnant doth return of it, A consumption determined, Overflowing [with] righteousness.

23 He will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness: because the Lord will make a short work in all the world.

For a consumption that is determined, The Lord, Jehovah of Hosts, Is making in the midst of all the land.

24 Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts, Be not afraid, my people who dwell in Sion, of the Assyrians, because he shall strike you with a rod: for I am bringing a stroke upon you, that [you] may see the way of Egypt.

Therefore, thus said the Lord, Jehovah of Hosts, 'Be not afraid, my people, inhabiting Zion, because of Asshur, With a rod he doth smite thee, And his staff lifteth up against thee, in the way of Egypt.

25 For yet a little while, and the indignation shall cease: but my wrath shall be against their council.

For yet a very little, And the indignation hath been completed, And Mine anger by their wearing out.

26 And God will stir up [enemies] against them, according to the stroke of Madiam in the place of affliction: and his wrath shall be by the way of the sea, [even] to the way that leads to Egypt.

And awaking for him is Jehovah of Hosts, A scourge like the smiting of Midian at the rock Oreb, And his rod [is] over the sea, And he hath lifted it in the way of Egypt.

27 And it shall come to pass in that day, [that] his yoke shall be taken away from your shoulder, and his fear from you, and the yoke shall be destroyed from off your shoulders.

And it hath come to pass, in that day, Turned is his burden from off thy shoulder, And his yoke from off thy neck, And destroyed hath been the yoke, because of prosperity.

28 For he shall arrive at the city of Angai, and shall pass on to Maggedo, and shall lay up his stores in Machmas.

He hath come in against Aiath, He hath passed over into Migron, At Michmash he looketh after his vessels.

29 And he shall pass by the valley, and shall arrive at Angai: fear shall seize upon Rama, the city of Saul.

They have gone over the passage, Geba they have made a lodging place, Trembled hath Rama, Gibeah of Saul fled.

30 The daughter of Gallim shall flee; Laisa shall hear; one shall hear in Anathoth.

Cry aloud [with] thy voice, daughter of Gallim, Give attention, Laish! answer her, Anathoth.

31 Madebena also is amazed, and the inhabitants of Gibbir.

Fled away hath Madmenah, The inhabitants of the high places have hardened themselves.

32 Exhort you [them] today to remain in the way: exhort you [beckoning] with the hand the mountain, the daughter of Sion, even you hills that are in Jerusalem.

Yet to-day in Nob to remain, Wave its hand doth the mount of the daughter of Zion, The hill of Jerusalem.

33 Behold, the Lord, the Lord of hosts, will mightily confound the glorious ones; and the haughty in pride shall be crushed, and the lofty shall be brought low:

Lo, the Lord, Jehovah of Hosts, Is lopping a branch with violence, And the high of stature are cut down, And the lofty are become low,

34 and the lofty ones shall fall by the sword, and the Libanus shall fall with his lofty ones.

And He hath gone round the thickets of the forest with iron, And Lebanon by a mighty one falleth!