Isaiah 10

1 Woe unto them that decree unrighteous decrees, and to the writers that write iniquity;

Woe to those who enact unjust statutes and issue oppressive decrees,

2 To turn aside the needy from judgment, and to take away the right of the poor of My people, that widows may be their spoil, and that they may make the fatherless their prey!

to deprive the poor of fair treatment and withhold justice from the oppressed of My people, to make widows their prey and orphans their plunder.

3 And what will ye do in the day of visitation, and in the ruin which shall come from far? To whom will ye flee for help? And where will ye leave your glory?

What will you do on the day of reckoning when devastation comes from afar? To whom will you flee for help? Where will you leave your wealth?

4 They can do nought except crouch under the captives, and fall under the slain. For all this His anger is not turned away, but His hand is stretched out still.

Nothing will remain but to crouch among the captives or fall among the slain. Despite all this, His anger is not turned away; His hand is still upraised.

5 O Asshur, the rod of Mine anger, in whose hand as a staff is Mine indignation!

Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger; the staff in their hands is My wrath.

6 I do send him against an ungodly nation, and against the people of My wrath do I give him a charge, to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets.

I will send him against a godless nation; I will dispatch him against a people destined for My rage, to take spoils and seize plunder, and to trample them down like clay in the streets.

7 Howbeit he meaneth not so, neither doth his heart think so; but it is in his heart to destroy, and to cut off nations not a few.

But this is not his intention; this is not his plan. For it is in his heart to destroy and cut off many nations.

8 For he saith: 'Are not my princes all of them kings?

“Are not all my commanders kings?” he says.

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

“Is not Calno like Carchemish? Is not Hamath like Arpad? Is not Samaria like Damascus?

10 As my hand hath reached the kingdoms of the idols, whose graven images did exceed them of Jerusalem and of Samaria;

As my hand seized the idolatrous kingdoms whose images surpassed those of Jerusalem and Samaria,

11 Shall I not, as I have done unto Samaria and her idols, so do to Jerusalem and her idols?'

and as I have done to Samaria and its idols, will I not also do to Jerusalem and her idols?”

12 Wherefore it shall come to pass, that when the Lord hath performed His whole work upon mount Zion and on Jerusalem, I will punish the fruit of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his haughty looks.

So when the Lord has completed all His work against Mount Zion and Jerusalem, He will say, “I will punish the king of Assyria for the fruit of his arrogant heart and the proud look in his eyes.

13 For he hath said: by the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom, for I am prudent; in that I have removed the bounds of the peoples, and have robbed their treasures, and have brought down as one mighty the inhabitants;

For he says: ‘By the strength of my hand I have done this, and by my wisdom, for I am clever. I have removed the boundaries of nations and plundered their treasures; like a mighty one I subdued their rulers.

14 And my hand hath found as a nest the riches of the peoples; and as one gathereth eggs that are forsaken, have I gathered all the earth; and there was none that moved the wing, or that opened the mouth, or chirped.

My hand reached as into a nest to seize the wealth of the nations. Like one gathering abandoned eggs, I gathered all the earth. No wing fluttered, no beak opened or chirped.’”

15 Should the axe boast itself against him that heweth therewith? Should the saw magnify itself against him that moveth it? as if a rod should move them that lift it up, or as if a staff should lift up him that is not wood.

Does an axe raise itself above the one who swings it? Does a saw boast over him who saws with it? It would be like a rod waving the one who lifts it, or a staff lifting him who is not wood!

16 Therefore will the Lord, the LORD of hosts, send among his fat ones leanness; and under his glory there shall be kindled a burning like the burning of fire.

Therefore the Lord GOD of Hosts will send a wasting disease among Assyria’s stout warriors, and under his pomp will be kindled a fire like a burning flame.

17 And the light of Israel shall be for a fire, and his Holy One for a flame; and it shall burn and devour his thorns and his briers in one day.

And the Light of Israel will become a fire, and its Holy One a flame. In a single day it will burn and devour Assyria’s thorns and thistles.

18 And the glory of his forest and of his fruitful field, he will consume both soul and body; and it shall be as when a sick man wasteth away.

The splendor of its forests and orchards, both soul and body, it will completely destroy, as a sickness consumes a man.

19 And the remnant of the trees of his forest shall be few, that a child may write them down.

The remaining trees of its forests will be so few that a child could count them.

20 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the remnant of Israel, and they that are escaped of the house of Jacob, shall no more again stay upon him that smote them; but shall stay upon the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, in truth.

On that day the remnant of Israel and the survivors of the house of Jacob will no longer depend on him who struck them, but they will truly rely on the LORD, the Holy One of Israel.

21 A remnant shall return, even the remnant of Jacob, unto God the Mighty.

A remnant will return —a remnant of Jacob— to the Mighty God.

22 For though thy people, O Israel, be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them shall return; an extermination is determined, overflowing with righteousness.

Though your people, O Israel, be like the sand of the sea, only a remnant will return. Destruction has been decreed, overflowing with righteousness.

23 For an extermination wholly determined shall the Lord, the GOD of hosts, make in the midst of all the earth.

For the Lord GOD of Hosts will carry out the destruction decreed upon the whole land.

24 Therefore thus saith the Lord, the GOD of hosts: O My people that dwellest in Zion, be not afraid of Asshur, though he smite thee with the rod, and lift up his staff against thee, after the manner of Egypt.

Therefore this is what the Lord GOD of Hosts says: “O My people who dwell in Zion, do not fear Assyria, who strikes you with a rod and lifts his staff against you as the Egyptians did.

25 For yet a very little while, and the indignation shall be accomplished, and Mine anger shall be to their destruction.

For in just a little while My fury against you will subside, and My anger will turn to their destruction.”

26 And the LORD of hosts shall stir up against him a scourge, as in the slaughter of Midian at the Rock of Oreb; and as His rod was over the sea, so shall He lift it up after the manner of Egypt.

And the LORD of Hosts will brandish a whip against them, as when He struck Midian at the rock of Oreb. He will raise His staff over the sea, as He did in Egypt.

27 And it shall come to pass in that day, that his burden shall depart from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed by reason of fatness.

On that day the burden will be lifted from your shoulders, and the yoke from your neck. The yoke will be broken because your neck will be too large.

28 He is come to Aiath, he is passed through Migron; at Michmas he layeth up his baggage;

Assyria has entered Aiath and passed through Migron, storing their supplies at Michmash.

29 They are gone over the pass; they have taken up their lodging at Geba; Ramah trembleth; Gibeath-shaul is fled.

They have crossed at the ford: “We will spend the night at Geba.” Ramah trembles; Gibeah of Saul flees.

30 Cry thou with a shrill voice, O daughter of Gallim! Hearken, O Laish! O thou poor Anathoth!

Cry aloud, O Daughter of Gallim! Listen, O Laishah! O wretched Anathoth!

31 Madmenah is in mad flight; the inhabitants of Gebim flee to cover.

Madmenah flees; the people of Gebim take refuge.

32 This very day shall he halt at Nob, shaking his hand at the mount of the daughter of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem.

Yet today they will halt at Nob, shaking a fist at the mount of Daughter Zion, at the hill of Jerusalem.

33 Behold, the Lord, the LORD of hosts, shall lop the boughs with terror; and the high ones of stature shall be hewn down, and the lofty shall be laid low.

Behold, the Lord GOD of Hosts will lop off the branches with terrifying power. The tall trees will be cut down, the lofty ones will be felled.

34 And He shall cut down the thickets of the forest with iron, and Lebanon shall fall by a mighty one.

He will clear the forest thickets with an axe, and Lebanon will fall before the Mighty One.