Isaiah 10
1 Wo to them that maken wickid lawis, and thei writynge han wryte vnriytfulnesse, for to oppresse pore men in doom,
Woe to those who enact unjust statutes and issue oppressive decrees,
2 and to do violence to the cause of meke men of my puple; that widewis schulen be the prey of them, and that thei schulden rauysche fadirles children.
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 What schulen ye do in the dai of visitacioun, and of wretchidnesse comynge fro fer? To whos help schulen ye fle? and where schulen ye leeue youre glorie,
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 that ye be not bowid doun vndur boond, and falle not doun with slayn men? On alle these thingis his strong veniaunce is not turned awei, but yit his hond is stretchid forth.
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 Wo to Assur, he is the yerde and staf of my strong veniaunce; myn indignacioun is in the hond of them.
Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger; the staff in their hands is My wrath.
6 Y schal send hym to a fals folk, and Y schal comaunde to hym ayens the puple of my strong veniaunce; that he take awei the spuylis, and departe prey, and that he sette that puple in to defouling, as the fen of stretis.
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 Forsothe he schal not deme so, and his herte schal not gesse so, but his herte schal be for to al to-breke, and to the sleynge of many folkis.
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 schal seie, Whether my princes ben not kyngis to gidere?
“Are not all my commanders kings?” he says.
9 Whether not as Carcamys, so Calanno; and as Arphat, so Emath? whether not as Damask, so Samarie?
“Is not Calno like Carchemish? Is not Hamath like Arpad? Is not Samaria like Damascus?
10 As myn hond foond the rewmes of idol, so and the symylacris of hem of Jerusalem and of Samarie.
As my hand seized the idolatrous kingdoms whose images surpassed those of Jerusalem and Samaria,
11 Whether not as Y dide to Samarie, and to the idols therof, so Y schal do to Jerusalem, and to the simylacris therof?
and as I have done to Samaria and its idols, will I not also do to Jerusalem and her idols?”
12 And it schal be, whanne the Lord hath fillid alle hise werkis in the hil of Syon and in Jerusalem, Y schal visite on the fruit of the greet doynge herte of the kyng of Assur, and on the glorie of the hiynesse of hise iyen.
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 seide, Y haue do in the strengthe of myn honde, and Y haue understonde in my wisdom; and Y haue take awei the endis of peplis, and Y haue robbid the princes of them, and Y as a myyti man haue drawun doun them that saten an hiy.
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 myn hond foond the strengthe of puplis as a nest, and as eirun ben gaderid togidere that ben forsakun, so Y gaderid togidere al erthe; and noon was that mouyde a fethere, and openyde the mouth, and grutchide.
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 Whether an ax schal haue glorie ayens hym that kittith with it? ether a sawe schal be enhaunsid ayens hym of whom it is drawun? as if a yerde is reisid ayens hym that reisith it, and a staf is enhaunsid, which sotheli is a tre.
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 For this thing the lordli gouernour, Lord of oostis, schal sende thinnesse in the fatte men of hym, and his glorie kyndlid vndur schal brenne as `the brenning of fier.
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 liyt of Israel schal be in fier, and the hooli of it in flawme; and the thorn of him and brere schal be kyndlid and deuourid in o dai.
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 glorie of his forest and of his Carmele schal be wastid, fro the soule `til to fleisch; and he schal be fleynge awei for drede.
The splendor of its forests and orchards, both soul and body, it will completely destroy, as a sickness consumes a man.
19 And the relifs of the tree of his forest schulen be noumbrid for fewnesse, and a child schal write hem.
The remaining trees of its forests will be so few that a child could count them.
20 And it schal be in that dai, the remenaunt of Israel, and thei that fledden of the house of Jacob, schal not adde for to triste on hym that smytith hem; but it schal triste on the hooli Lord of Israel, in treuthe.
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 The relifs, Y seie, the relifs of Jacob, schulen be conuertid to the stronge Lord.
A remnant will return —a remnant of Jacob— to the Mighty God.
22 Forwhi, Israel, if thi puple is as the grauel of the see, the relifs schulen be turned therof; an endyng maad schort schal make riytfulnesse to be plenteuouse.
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 whi the Lord God of oostis schal make an endyng and a breggyng in the myddis of al erthe.
For the Lord GOD of Hosts will carry out the destruction decreed upon the whole land.
24 For this thing the Lord God of oostis seith these thingis, My puple, the dwellere of Sion, nyle thou drede of Assur, for he schal smite thee in a yerde, and he schal reise his staf on thee in the weie of Egipt.
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 Forwhi yit a litil, and a litil, and myn indignacioun and my strong veniaunce schal be endid on the greet trespas of hem.
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 oostis schal reise a scourge on hym bi the veniaunce of Madian in the stoon of Oreb, and bi his yerde on the see; and he schal reise that yerde in the wei of Egipt.
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 schal be in that dai, his birthun schal be takun awei fro thi schuldre, and his yok fro thi necke; and the yok schal wexe rotun fro the face of oile.
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 schal come in to Aioth, he schal passe in to Magron, at Magynas he schal bitake his vessels to kepyng.
Assyria has entered Aiath and passed through Migron, storing their supplies at Michmash.
29 Thei passiden swiftli, Gabaa is oure seete, Rama was astonyed, Gabaa of Saul fled.
They have crossed at the ford: “We will spend the night at Geba.” Ramah trembles; Gibeah of Saul flees.
30 Thou douytir of Gallym, weile with thi vois; thou Laisa, perseyue, thou pore Anatot.
Cry aloud, O Daughter of Gallim! Listen, O Laishah! O wretched Anathoth!
31 Medemena passide; the dwelleris of Gabyn fledden; be ye coumfortid.
Madmenah flees; the people of Gebim take refuge.
32 Yit it is dai, that me stonde in Nobe; he schal dryue his hond on the hil of the douyter of Syon, on the litil hil of Jerusalem.
Yet today they will halt at Nob, shaking a fist at the mount of Daughter Zion, at the hill of Jerusalem.
33 Lo! the lordli gouernour, the Lord of oostis, schal breke a potel in drede, and hiy men of stature schulen be kit doun.
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 proude men schulen be maade low, and the thicke thingis of the forest schulen be distried bi irun; and the Liban with hiy thingis schal falle doun.
He will clear the forest thickets with an axe, and Lebanon will fall before the Mighty One.
