Isaiah 10
1 Woe [to] those decreeing decrees of iniquity, And writers who have prescribed perverseness.
Woe to those who enact unjust laws and write unfair decrees.
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.
They deprive the needy of justice, rob the poor of my people of their rights, plunder widows, and make the fatherless their prey!
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 on judgment day when the destruction comes from far away? To whom will you flee for help, and where will you leave your wealth?
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.
Nothing remains, and you crouch among the prisoners or fall among the killed. In all these things, his anger does not subside; instead, his hand is still stretched out.
5 Woe [to] Asshur, a rod of Mine anger, And a staff in their hand [is] Mine indignation.
Woe to the Assyrian, the club of my anger, the rod by whom I wield my fury!
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 send him against an arrogant nation and against the people who bear my overflowing wrath. I order him to take the spoil, to take the prey, and to trample them like mud in 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 this is not what he intends, nor does he think this way. It is in his heart to destroy and eliminate many nations.
8 For he saith, 'Are not my princes altogether kings?
For he says, “Are not all my princes kings?
9 Is not Calno as Carchemish? Is not Hamath as Arpad? Is not Samaria as Damascus?
Is not Kalno like Carchemish? Is not Hamath like Arpad? Is not Samaria like 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 has overcome idolatrous kingdoms, whose carved figures were greater than those of Jerusalem and 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?
just as I did to Samaria and her worthless idols, will I not also do the same to Jerusalem and to 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.
When the Lord has finished his work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, I will punish the speech of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria and his prideful looks.
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 says, “By my strength and by my wisdom I acted. I have understanding, and I have removed the boundaries of the peoples. I have stolen their treasures, and like a bull I have brought down the inhabitants.
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.'
My hand has seized, as from a nest, the wealth of nations, and as one gathers abandoned eggs, I gathered all the earth. None fluttered their wings or opened their mouth or chirped.”
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!
Will the ax boast about itself against the one who wields it? Will the saw praise itself more than the one who cuts with it? It is as if a rod could lift up those who raise it, or as if a wooden club could lift up a person.
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 Lord Yahweh of hosts will send emaciation among his elite warriors; and under his glory there will be kindled a burning like 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.
The light of Israel will become a fire, and his Holy One a flame; it will burn and devour his thorns and briers 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.
Yahweh will consume the glory of his forest and of his fruitful land, both soul and body; it will be like when a sick man's life wastes away.
19 And the rest of the trees of his forest [are] few, And a youth doth write them.
The remnant of the trees of his forest will be so few, that a child could count them.
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.
On that day, the remnant of Israel, the family of Jacob that has escaped, will no longer rely on the one who defeated them, but will indeed depend on Yahweh, the Holy One of Israel.
21 A remnant returneth — a remnant of Jacob, Unto the Mighty God.
A remnant of Jacob will return 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 though your people, Israel, are like the sand of the seashore, only a remnant of them will return. Destruction is decreed, as overflowing righteousness demands.
23 For a consumption that is determined, The Lord, Jehovah of Hosts, Is making in the midst of all the land.
For the Lord Yahweh of hosts, is about to carry out the destruction determined throughout 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 the Lord Yahweh of hosts says, “My people who live in Zion, do not fear the Assyrian. He will strike you with the rod and raise his staff against you, as the Egyptians did.
25 For yet a very little, And the indignation hath been completed, And Mine anger by their wearing out.
Do not fear him, for in a very short time my anger against you will end, and my anger will lead to his destruction.”
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.
Then Yahweh of hosts will wield a whip against them, as when he defeated Midian at the rock of Oreb. He will raise his rod over the sea and lift it up as he did in 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.
On that day, his burden is lifted from your shoulder and his yoke from off your neck, and the yoke will be destroyed because of fatness.
28 He hath come in against Aiath, He hath passed over into Migron, At Michmash he looketh after his vessels.
The enemy has come to Aiath and has passed through Migron; at Michmash he has stored his provisions.
29 They have gone over the passage, Geba they have made a lodging place, Trembled hath Rama, Gibeah of Saul fled.
They have crossed over the pass and they lodge at Geba. Ramah trembles and Gibeah of Saul has fled.
30 Cry aloud [with] thy voice, daughter of Gallim, Give attention, Laish! answer her, Anathoth.
Cry aloud, daughter of Gallim! Give attention, Laishah! You poor Anathoth!
31 Fled away hath Madmenah, The inhabitants of the high places have hardened themselves.
Madmenah is fleeing, and the inhabitants of Gebim run for safety.
32 Yet to-day in Nob to remain, Wave its hand doth the mount of the daughter of Zion, The hill of Jerusalem.
This very day he will halt at Nob and shake his fist at the mountain of the daughter of Zion, 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 Lord Yahweh of hosts will lop off the boughs with a terrifying crash; the tallest trees will be cut down, and the lofty will be brought low.
34 And He hath gone round the thickets of the forest with iron, And Lebanon by a mighty one falleth!
He will chop down the thickets of the forest with an ax, and Lebanon in his majesty will fall.
