Isaiah 10
1 Alas! for them who ordain iniquitous decrees, —And, busy writers, who make a business of writing mischief:
Tragedy is coming to those who pass evil decrees and who write laws to harm people.
2 Turning aside from judgment, the poor, And robbing, of justice, the oppressed of my people, —So that, widows, become, their spoil, And of the fatherless, they make prey.
They pervert the legal rights of the needy, and rob justice from the poor of my people. They steal from widows and cheat orphans.
3 What, then, will ye do for the day of visitation, And for the devastation, which from afar, shall come? Unto whom, will ye flee for help? And where will ye leave your gory?
What are you going to do on the day you're punished, when disaster falls on you from far away? Who are you going to run to so you can get help? Where are you going to leave all your wealth?
4 Without me, one hath bowed under a prisoner Yea under the slain, do they fall! For all this, hath his anger, not turned back, But still, is his hand outstretched.
All you'll be able to do is to bow down as prisoners, or lie among the dead! In all of this he is still angry and his hand is still raised.
5 Alas! for Assyria, the rod of mine anger, —Yea, the very staff in their hand, is, my displeasure:
Tragedy is coming to the Assyrians, even though the rod they use represents my anger and the stick they hold in their hands represents my fury!
6 Against an irreligious nation, will I send him, Yea against the people with whom I am wroth, will I command him, —To capture spoil And lay hold on prey, And cause them to be trodden down as the mire of the lanes.
I am sending the Assyrians against a nation that has given up on its God, against a people that make me angry. I order the Assyrians to loot them, to take their possessions, and to trample them down like mud in the street.
7 But as for him, not so, doth he deem, And in his heart, not so, doth he think, —For, to destroy, is in his heart, And to cut off nations, not a few;
But this isn't what is behind the thinking of the king of Assyria. This isn't the plan he has in mind. What he wants to do is to destroy and eliminate many nations.
8 For he saith: —Are not, my generals, all alike, kings?
He says: “All my commanders are kings!
9 Is not, Calno, like Carchemish? Is not, Hamath, like Arpad? Is not, Samaria, like Damascus?
We conquered Calno like we did Carchemish; Hamath like Arpad; Samaria like Damascus.
10 As my hand hath reached unto the kingdoms of idols, —whose images did excel them of Jerusalem and Samaria,
I was the one who conquered these kingdoms along with the idols of their gods. These kingdoms had images of their gods that were better than those of Jerusalem and Samaria.
11 Shall I not as I have done to Samaria and her idols, so, do to Jerusalem and her images?
Why shouldn't I do to Jerusalem and her idols just what I did to Samaria and her idols?”
12 Wherefore it shall come to pass—When My Lord shall finish his whole work upon Mount Zion and upon Jerusalem, I will bring punishment—Upon the fruit of the greatness of heart of the king of Assyria. And upon the vainglory of his uplifted eyes,
Once the Lord has finished all his work against Mount Zion and Jerusalem, he will punish the king of Assyria for his terrible arrogance and for the conceited look in his eyes.
13 For he hath said—By the strength of mine own hand, have I effectually wrought, And by my wisdom—for I have discernment, —That I might remove the bounds of peoples, Yea their treasures, have I plundered That I might lay prostrate as a mighty one the inhabitants;
For the king of Assyria says: “I have done this in my own strength. It was through my wisdom, because I'm clever. I have wiped out the boundaries of nations and looted their treasures. Like a bull I knocked their rulers off their thrones.
14 And my hand hath found as a nest the wealth of the peoples, And as the gathering of eggs that are forsaken, all the earth, have, I, gathered, —And there was none to flap a wing, or open a mouth or chirp.
Like robbing a bird's nest, I took the wealth of the nations. Like collecting abandoned eggs, I collected the whole the earth. There wasn't a fluttering wing or an open beak, not even a chirp!”
15 Shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth therewith? Or, the saw, magnify itself, against him that wieldeth it? As if a rod, could wield, them who lift it up! As if a staff, could raise, what is, not wood!
Does an ax say it's more important than the person swinging it? Does a saw boast that it's greater than the person sawing with it? It would be as if a rod waved the person holding it, or a walking stick lifted up a person—who certainly wasn't wood!
16 Therefore, shall the Lord, Yahweh of hosts, Send, among his fat ones, leanness, And under his glory, shall he kindle a kindling, like the kindling of fire;
So the Lord, the Lord Almighty, will send a disease on the king of Assyria's strong warriors that will make them waste away; a flaming fire will be set under everything he's so proud of.
17 So shall, the Light of Israel, become, a fire, And his Holy One, a flame, Which shall burn and consume his thorns and his briars, in one day;
Israel's light will become a fire, and his Holy One will become a flame. It will burn up his thorns and brambles in just one day.
18 And the glory of his forest and of his garden land, both soul and body, shall it bring to an end, —And it shall be like the wasting away of a consumptive.
It will totally destroy its splendid forests and orchards. Assyria will waste away, staggering off like someone sick.
19 And, the remnant of his forest-trees, few in number, shall become, —yea, a child, might describe them!
The trees left in 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 the escaped of the house of Jacob Shall, no more again, lean upon him that smote them, —But shall lean upon Yahweh the Holy One of Israel, in truth.
At that time those who are left in Israel and the survivors of the house of Jacob will no longer trust in those who turn on them, but they will truly trust in the Lord, the Holy One of Israel.
21 A remnant, shall return, The remnant of Jacob, —unto the mighty GOD;
A remnant will return, a remnant of Jacob will come back to the Mighty God.
22 For though thy people, O Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, A [mere] remnant, shall return of them, —A full end decreed, bringeth in, justice, like a flood;
Israel, even though your people are as numerous as sand on the seashore, only a remnant will return. The Lord has rightly decided to destroy his people.
23 For, a full end and that a decreed one, is My Lord Yahweh of hosts executing in the midst of all the earth.
The Lord God Almighty has rightly decided to bring destruction throughout the whole country.
24 Therefore, thus, saith My Lord, Yahweh of hosts, Do not fear O my people dwelling in Zion, because of Assyria, —When with his rod, he would smite thee, And when his staff, he would lift up against thee in the manner of Egypt;
So this is what the Lord, the Lord Almighty, says, My people living in Zion, don't be afraid of the Assyrians who beat you with rods and hit you with clubs, just like the Egyptians did.
25 For, yet a very little while, and displeasure shall end, Yea, mine anger, over their destruction.
Very shortly I will stop being angry with you. Then I will turn my anger on them and I will destroy them.
26 And Yahweh of hosts, will brandish over him, a scourge—Like the smiting of Midian at the rock Oreb, —And his staff being over the sea, He will lift it up in the manner of Egypt;
The Lord Almighty will lash them with a whip, just as he did when he attacked the Midianites at the rock of Oreb. He will hold up his rod over the sea, just as he did in Egypt.
27 And it shall come to pass, in that day, That his burden shall remove from off thy shoulder, And his yoke from off thy neck, —Yea, the yoke shall be broken because of fatness.
At that time he will remove the burden from your shoulders and the yoke from your neck. The yoke will be broken because of the anointing with oil.
28 He hath come in unto Ayyath, Hath passed through Migron, —At Michmash, storeth his baggage:
The Assyrians came to Aiath, passed through Migron, and stored their supplies at Michmash.
29 They have passed over the pass, Geba is his halting-place, —Terror-stricken is Ramah, Gibeah of Saul, hath fled!
They cross the pass, saying, “We'll stay overnight at Geba.” The people of Ramah tremble in fear; the inhabitants of Gibeah of Saul run away.
30 Make shrill thy voice, O daughter of Gallim! Hearken, O Laishah, Answer, O Anathoth!
Shout out a warning, people of Gallim! Pay attention, those living in Laishah! You poor people of Anathoth!
31 Madmenah, hath fled, —The inhabitants of Gebim, have gone into safety:
The people of Madmenah, are all running away. The inhabitants of Gebim are looking for somewhere safe.
32 While yet to-day, in Nob, he tarrieth, He brandisheth his hand toward The mount of the daughter of Zion, The hill of Jerusalem.
Today the invaders stop at Nob, shaking their fists at the mountain of the Daughter of Zion, at the hill of Jerusalem.
33 Behold! the Lord, Yahweh of hosts, is about to lop off a tree-crown, with a crash, —Then shall, they who are lifted on high, be hewn down, And, the lofty, be laid low;
Look how the Lord Almighty is going to chop off the branches with great force. The tall trees will be cut down, the proud trees will be brought crashing down.
34 Then will he fell the thickets of the forest with iron, —And, Lebanon by a majestic one shall fall.
He will cut down the thick forest with an ax, and Lebanon will fall at the hand of the Mighty One.
