Isaiah 10

1 Alas! for them who ordain iniquitous decrees, —And, busy writers, who make a business of writing mischief:

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

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.

Of My people, That widows may be their prey, That they may spoil the fatherless.

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?

And what do you do at a day of inspection? And at desolation that comes from afar? Near whom do you flee for help? And where do you leave your glory?

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.

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

5 Alas! for Assyria, the rod of mine anger, —Yea, the very staff in their hand, is, my displeasure:

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

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 send him against a profane nation, 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 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;

And he does not think [it] so, And his heart does not reckon [it] so, For—to destroy [is] in his heart, And to cut off nations—not a few.

8 For he saith: —Are not, my generals, all alike, kings?

For he says, Are my princes not altogether kings?

9 Is not, Calno, like Carchemish? Is not, Hamath, like Arpad? Is not, Samaria, like Damascus?

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

10 As my hand hath reached unto the kingdoms of idols, —whose images did excel them of Jerusalem and Samaria,

As my hand has gotten to the kingdoms of a worthless thing, and their carved images, [Greater] than Jerusalem and than Samaria,

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

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

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,

And it has come to pass, When the Lord fulfills 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 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 he has said, “I have worked by the power of my hand, And by my wisdom, for I have been intelligent, And I remove borders of the peoples, And I have spoiled their chief ones, And I put down the inhabitants as a mighty one,

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.

And my hand gets to the wealth of the peoples as to a nest, And as a gathering of forsaken eggs I have gathered all the earth, And there has not been one moving wing, Or opening mouth, or whispering.”

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 the axe glorify itself Against him who is hewing with it? Does 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 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;

Therefore the Lord, the Lord of Hosts, Sends leanness among his fat ones, And under his glory He kindles a burning As the burning of a fire.

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;

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

And the glory of his forest, and his fruitful field, He consumes from soul even to flesh, And it has been as the fainting of a standard-bearer.

19 And, the remnant of his forest-trees, few in number, shall become, —yea, a child, might describe them!

And the rest of the trees of his forest [are] few, And a youth writes 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.

And it has come to pass in that day, The remnant of Israel, And the escaped of the house of Jacob, Do not add anymore to lean on its striker, And have leaned on YHWH, The Holy One of Israel, in truth.

21 A remnant, shall return, The remnant of Jacob, —unto the mighty GOD;

A remnant returns—a remnant of Jacob, 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;

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

23 For, a full end and that a decreed one, is My Lord Yahweh of hosts executing in the midst of all the earth.

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

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;

Therefore, thus said the Lord, YHWH of Hosts: “Do not be afraid, My people, inhabiting Zion, because of Asshur, He strikes you with a rod, And his staff lifts up against you, in the way of Egypt.

25 For, yet a very little while, and displeasure shall end, Yea, mine anger, over their destruction.

For yet a very little [while], And the indignation has been completed, And My anger by their wearing out.”

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;

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

And it has come to pass in that day, His burden is turned from off your shoulder, And his yoke from off your neck, And the yoke has been destroyed, because of prosperity.

28 He hath come in unto Ayyath, Hath passed through Migron, —At Michmash, storeth his baggage:

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

29 They have passed over the pass, Geba is his halting-place, —Terror-stricken is Ramah, Gibeah of Saul, hath fled!

They have gone over the passage, They have made Geba a lodging place, Rama has trembled, Gibeah of Saul fled.

30 Make shrill thy voice, O daughter of Gallim! Hearken, O Laishah, Answer, O Anathoth!

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

31 Madmenah, hath fled, —The inhabitants of Gebim, have gone into safety:

Madmenah has fled away, The inhabitants of the high places have hardened themselves.

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.

Yet today to remain in Nob, The mountain of the daughter of Zion waves its hand, 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;

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

34 Then will he fell the thickets of the forest with iron, —And, Lebanon by a majestic one shall fall.

And He has gone around the thickets of the forest with iron, And Lebanon falls by a mighty one!