Isaiah 10

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

Woe to them that make unrighteous decrees, That write oppressive decisions,

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.

To turn away the needy from judgment, And rob the poor of my people of their right; That the widows may become their prey, And that they may plunder the 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 will ye do in the day of visitation, And in the desolation which cometh from afar? To whom will ye flee for help, And where will ye 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.

Forsaken by me, they shall sink down among the prisoners, And fall among the slain. For all this his anger is not turned away, But his hand is stretched out still.

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

Woe to the Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, The staff in whose hands is the instrument of my indignation!

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.

Against an impious nation I will send him, And against a people under my wrath I will give him a charge To gather the spoil, and seize the prey, And to trample them under foot like the mire of the streets.

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 he doth not so purpose, And his heart doth not so intend; But to destroy is in his heart, And to cut off a multitude of nations.

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

For he saith, “Are not my princes 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 hath seized the kingdoms of the idols, Whose graven images were more numerous 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?

Behold! as I have done to Samaria and her idols, So will I do to Jerusalem and her images.”

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,

But when the Lord hath accomplished his whole work upon Mount Zion and Jerusalem, Then will he punish the fruit of the proud heart of the king of Assyria, And the arrogance of his lofty 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 hath said: “By the strength of my hand I have done it, And by my wisdom; for I am wise; I have removed the bounds of nations, I have plundered their treasures; As a hero have I brought down them that sat upon 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.

The riches of the nations hath my hand seized, as a nest; As one gathereth eggs that have been left, So have I gathered the whole world. And there was none that moved the wing, Or that opened the beak, or that chirped.”

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!

Shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth with it? Or shall the saw magnify itself against him that moveth it? As if the rod should wield him that lifteth it! As if the staff should lift up him that 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;

Wherefore the Lord, the Lord of hosts, shall send upon his fat ones leanness, And under his glory shall he kindle a burning, like 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;

The light of Israel shall be a fire, And his Holy One a flame, Which shall burn and devour his thorns and briers 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.

The glory of his forest and of his fruitful field From the spirit even to the flesh shall he consume; It shall be with them as when a sick man fainteth.

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

The remaining trees of the forest shall be few, So that a child may write them down.

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.

In that day shall the remnant of Israel, and they that have escaped of the house of Jacob, no more lean upon him that smote them; They shall lean upon Jehovah, the Holy One of Israel, in truth.

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

The remnant shall return, the remnant of Jacob, to the mighty Potentate;

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 thy people, O Israel, be as the sand of the sea, Only a remnant of them shall return. The devastation is decreed; It shall overflow 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 devastation and punishment doth the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, execute in the midst of the whole 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;

Yet thus saith the Lord, Jehovah of hosts: Fear not, O my people, that dwellest in Zion, because of the Assyrian! With his rod indeed shall he smite thee, And lift up his staff against thee in the manner of Egypt;

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

But yet a very little while, and my indignation shall have past, And my anger shall 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;

Jehovah of hosts shall raise up against him a scourge, As he smote Midian at the rock of Horeb, And as he lifted up the rod against the sea; Yea, he shall lift it up, as 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.

In that day shall his burden be removed from thy shoulder, And his yoke from thy neck; Yea, thy yoke shall be broken, as that of a fat steer.

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

He is come to Aiath; he passeth through Migron; In Michmash he leaveth his baggage;

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

They pass the strait; At Geba they make their night-quarters; Ramah trembleth; Gibeah of Saul fleeth.

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

Cry aloud, O daughter of Gallim! Hear, O Laish! Alas, poor Anathoth!

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

Madmenah hasteth away; The inhabitants of Gebim take to flight.

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 one day shall he rest at Nob, Then shall he shake his hand against the mount of the daughter of Zion, 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;

But behold! the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, shall lop the branches with fearful force, And the high of stature shall be cut down, And the lofty shall be brought low.

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

He shall hew the thickets of the forest with iron, And Lebanon shall fall by a mighty hand.