Isaiah 10

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

Woe to them that make wicked laws: and when they write, write injustice:

2 To turn aside from judgment the poor, And to take violently away the judgment Of the afflicted of My people, That widows may be their prey, That the fatherless they may spoil.

To oppress the poor in judgment, and do violence to the cause of the humble of my people: that widows might be their prey, and that they might rob the fatherless.

3 And what do ye at a day of inspection? And at desolation? — from afar it cometh. Near whom do ye flee for help? And where do ye leave your honour?

What will you do in the day of visitation, and of the calamity which cometh from afar? to whom will ye flee for help? and where will ye leave your glory?

4 Without Me it hath bowed down In the place of a bound one, And in the place of the slain they fall. With all this not turned back hath His anger, And still His hand is stretched out.

That you be not bowed down under the bond, and fall with the slain? In all these things his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.

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

Woe to the Assyrian, he is the rod and the staff of my anger, and my indignation is in their hands.

6 Against a profane nation I send him, 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.

I will send him to a deceitful nation, and I will give him a charge against the people of my wrath, to take away the spoils, and to lay hold on the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets.

7 And he — he thinketh not so, And his heart reckoneth not so, For — to destroy [is] in his heart, And to cut off nations not a few.

But he shall not take it so, and his heart shall not think so: but his heart shall be set to destroy, and to cut off nations not a few.

8 For he saith, 'Are not my princes altogether kings?

For he shall say:

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

Are not my princes as so many kings? is not Calano as Charcamis: and Emath as Arphad? is not Samaria as Damascus?

10 As my hand hath got to the kingdoms of a worthless thing, and their graven images, [Greater] than Jerusalem and than Samaria,

As my hand hath found the kingdoms of the idol, so also their idols of Jerusalem, and of Samaria.

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

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

12 And it hath come to pass, When the Lord doth fulfil 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.

And it shall come to pass, that when the Lord shall have performed all his works in mount Sion, and in Jerusalem, I will visit the fruit of the proud heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of the haughtiness of his eyes.

13 For he hath said, 'By the power of my hand I have wrought, And by my wisdom, for I have been intelligent, And I remove borders of the peoples, And their chief ones I have spoiled, And I put down as a mighty one the inhabitants,

For he hath said: By the strength of my own hand I have done it, and by my own wisdom I have understood: and I have removed the bounds of the people, and have taken the spoils of the princes, and as a mighty man hath pulled down them that sat on high.

14 And my hand as to a nest Getteth to the wealth of the peoples, And as a gathering of forsaken eggs All the earth I — I have gathered, And there hath not been one moving wing, Or opening mouth, or whispering.'

And my hand hath found the strength of the people as a nest; and as eggs are gathered, that are left, so have I gathered all the earth: and there was none that moved the wing, or opened the mouth, or made the least noise.

15 — Doth the axe glorify itself Against him who is hewing with it? Doth 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!

Shall the axe boast itself against him that cutteth with it? or shall the saw exalt itself against him by whom it is drawn? as if a rod should lift itself up against him that lifteth it up, and a staff exalt itself, which is but wood.

16 Therefore doth the Lord, the Lord of Hosts, Send among his fat ones leanness, And under his honour He kindleth a burning As the burning of a fire.

Therefore the sovereign Lord, the Lord of hosts, shall send leanness among his fat ones: and under his glory shall be kindled a burning, as it were the burning of a fire.

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

And the light of Israel shall be as a fire, and the Holy One thereof as a flame: and his thorns and his briers shall be set on fire, and shall be devoured in one day.

18 And the honour of his forest, and his fruitful field, From soul even unto flesh He doth consume, And it hath been as the fainting of a standard-bearer.

And the glory of his forest, and of his beautiful hill, shall be consumed from the soul even to the flesh, and he shall run away through fear.

19 And the rest of the trees of his forest [are] few, And a youth doth write them.

And they that remain of the trees of his forest shall be so few, that they shall easily be numbered, and a child shall write them down.

20 And it hath come to pass, in that day, The remnant of Israel, And the escaped of the house of Jacob, Do not add any more to lean on its smiter, And have leant on Jehovah, The Holy One of Israel, in truth.

And it shall come to pass in that day, that the remnant of Israel, and they that shall escape of the house of Jacob, shall lean no more upon him that striketh them: but they shall lean upon the Lord the Holy One of Israel, in truth.

21 A remnant returneth — a remnant of Jacob, Unto the Mighty God.

The remnant shall be converted, the remnant, I say, of Jacob, to the mighty God.

22 For though thy people Israel be as the sand of the sea, A remnant doth return of it, A consumption determined, Overflowing [with] righteousness.

For if thy people, O Israel, shall be as the sand of the sea, a remnant of them shall be converted, the consumption abridged shall overflow with justice.

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

For the Lord God of hosts shall make a consumption, and an abridgment in the midst of all the land.

24 Therefore, thus said the Lord, Jehovah of Hosts, 'Be not afraid, my people, inhabiting Zion, because of Asshur, With a rod he doth smite thee, And his staff lifteth up against thee, in the way of Egypt.

Therefore, thus saith the Lord the God of hosts: O my people that dwellest in Sion, be not afraid of the Assyrian: he shall strike thee with his rod, and he shall lift up his staff over thee in the way of Egypt.

25 For yet a very little, And the indignation hath been completed, And Mine anger by their wearing out.

For yet a little and a very little while, and my indignation shall cease, and my wrath shall be upon their wickedness.

26 And awaking for him is Jehovah of Hosts, A scourge like the smiting of Midian at the rock Oreb, And his rod [is] over the sea, And he hath lifted it in the way of Egypt.

And the Lord of hosts shall raise up a scourge against him, according to the slaughter of Madian in the rock of Oreb, and his rod over the sea, and he shall lift it up in the way of Egypt.

27 And it hath come to pass, in that day, Turned is his burden from off thy shoulder, And his yoke from off thy neck, And destroyed hath been the yoke, because of prosperity.

And it shall come to pass in that day, that his burden shall be taken away from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke shall putrify at the presence of the oil.

28 He hath come in against Aiath, He hath passed over into Migron, At Michmash he looketh after his vessels.

He shall come into Aiath, he shall pass into Magron: at Machmas he shall lay up his carriages.

29 They have gone over the passage, Geba they have made a lodging place, Trembled hath Rama, Gibeah of Saul fled.

They have passed in haste, Gaba is our lodging: Rama was astonished, Gabaath of Saul fled away.

30 Cry aloud [with] thy voice, daughter of Gallim, Give attention, Laish! answer her, Anathoth.

Lift up thy voice, O daughter of Gallim, attend, O Laisa, poor Anathoth.

31 Fled away hath Madmenah, The inhabitants of the high places have hardened themselves.

Medemena is removed: ye inhabitants of Gabim, take courage.

32 Yet to-day in Nob to remain, Wave its hand doth the mount of the daughter of Zion, The hill of Jerusalem.

It is yet day enough, to remain in Nobe: he shall shake his hand against the mountain of the daughter of Sion, the hill of Jerusalem.

33 Lo, the Lord, Jehovah of Hosts, Is lopping a branch with violence, And the high of stature are cut down, And the lofty are become low,

Behold the sovereign Lord of hosts shall break the earthen vessel with terror, and the tall of stature shall be cut down, and the lofty shall be humbled.

34 And He hath gone round the thickets of the forest with iron, And Lebanon by a mighty one falleth!

And the thickets of the forest shall be cut down with iron, and Libanus with its high ones shall fall.