5 “Woe to the Assyrian, the rod of my anger,

in whose hand is the club of my wrath!

6 I send him against a godless nation,

I dispatch him against a people who anger me,

to seize loot and snatch plunder,

and to trample them down like mud in the streets.

7 But this is not what he intends,

this is not what he has in mind;

his purpose is to destroy,

to put an end to many nations.

8 ‘Are not my commanders all kings?’ he says.

9 ‘Has not Kalno fared like Carchemish?

Is not Hamath like Arpad,

and Samaria like Damascus?

10 As my hand seized the kingdoms of the idols,

kingdoms whose images excelled those of Jerusalem and Samaria—

11 shall I not deal with Jerusalem and her images

as I dealt with Samaria and her idols?’ ”

5 O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger,

And the staff in their hand is mine indignation.

6 I will send him against an hypocritical nation,

And against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge,

To take the spoil, and to take the prey,

And to tread them down like the mire of the streets.

7 Howbeit he meaneth not so,

Neither doth his heart think so;

But it is in his heart to destroy

And cut off nations not a few.

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

9 Is not Calno as Carchemish?

Is not Hamath as Arpad?

Is not Samaria as Damascus?

10 As my hand hath found the kingdoms of the idols,

And whose graven images did excel them of Jerusalem and of Samaria;

11 Shall I not, as I have done unto Samaria and her idols,

So do to Jerusalem and her idols?

5 “What sorrow awaits Assyria, the rod of my anger.

I use it as a club to express my anger.

6 I am sending Assyria against a godless nation,

against a people with whom I am angry.

Assyria will plunder them,

trampling them like dirt beneath its feet.

7 But the king of Assyria will not understand that he is my tool;

his mind does not work that way.

His plan is simply to destroy,

to cut down nation after nation.

8 He will say,

‘Each of my princes will soon be a king.

9 We destroyed Calno just as we did Carchemish.

Hamath fell before us as Arpad did.

And we destroyed Samaria just as we did Damascus.

10 Yes, we have finished off many a kingdom

whose gods were greater than those in Jerusalem and Samaria.

11 So we will defeat Jerusalem and her gods,

just as we destroyed Samaria with hers.’ ”

5 “Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger

And the staff in whose hand is My indignation.

6 I will send him against an ungodly nation,

And against the people of My wrath

I will give him charge,

To seize the spoil, to take the prey,

And to tread them down like the mire of the streets.

7 Yet he does not mean so,

Nor does his heart think so;

But it is in his heart to destroy,

And cut off not a few nations.

8 For he says,

‘Are not my princes altogether kings?

9 Is not Calno like Carchemish?

Is not Hamath like Arpad?

Is not Samaria like Damascus?

10 As my hand has found the kingdoms of the idols,

Whose carved images excelled those of Jerusalem and Samaria,

11 As I have done to Samaria and her idols,

Shall I not do also to Jerusalem and her idols?’ ”

5 God says, “How terrible it will be for the king of Assyria.

I use him like a rod to show my anger;

in anger I use Assyria like a club.

6 I send it to fight against a nation that is separated from God.

I am angry with those people,

so I command Assyria to fight against them,

to take their wealth from them,

to trample them down like dirt in the streets.

7 But Assyria’s king doesn’t understand that I am using him;

he doesn’t know he is a tool for me.

He only wants to destroy other people

and to defeat many nations.

8 The king of Assyria says to himself,

‘All of my commanders are like kings.

9 The city Calno is like the city Carchemish.

The city Hamath is like the city Arpad.

The city Samaria is like the city Damascus.

10 I defeated those kingdoms that worship idols,

and those idols were more than the idols of Jerusalem and Samaria.

11 As I defeated Samaria and her idols,

I will also defeat Jerusalem and her idols.’ ”

5 Ho Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, the staff in whose hand is mine indignation! 6 I will send him against a profane nation, and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge, to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets. 7 Howbeit he meaneth not so, neither doth his heart think so; but it is in his heart to destroy, and to cut off nations not a few. 8 For he saith, Are not my princes all of them kings? 9 Is not Calno as Carchemish? is not Hamath as Arpad? is not Samaria as Damascus? 10 As my hand hath found the kingdoms of the idols, whose graven images did excel them of Jerusalem and of Samaria; 11 shall I not, as I have done unto Samaria and her idols, so do to Jerusalem and her idols?

5 Ah! the Assyrian! the rod of mine anger! and the staff in their hand is mine indignation. 6 I will send him against a hypocritical nation, and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge; to take the spoil, and to seize the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets. 7 But he meaneth not so, neither doth his heart think so; for it is in his heart to extirpate and cut off nations not a few. 8 For he saith, Are not my princes all kings? 9 Is not Calno as Karkemish? Is not Hamath as Arpad? Is not Samaria as Damascus? 10 As my hand hath found the kingdoms of the idols, —and their graven images exceeded those of Jerusalem and Samaria, 11 —shall I not, as I have done unto Samaria and her idols, so do to Jerusalem and her images?

5 “How horrible it will be for Assyria! 

It is the rod of my anger. 

My fury is the staff in the Assyrians’ hands. 

6 I send them against a godless nation. 

In my fury I order them against the people 

to take their belongings, loot them, 

and trample on them like mud in the streets. 

7 But that’s not what they intend to do. 

Their minds don’t work that way. 

Their purpose is to destroy and put an end to many nations. 

8 They ask, ‘Aren’t all our commanders kings? 

9 Isn’t Calno like Carchemish? 

Isn’t Hamath like Arpad? 

Isn’t Samaria like Damascus?’ 

10 My power has reached kingdoms which have idols. 

They had more carved statues than Jerusalem or Samaria. 

11 I will do to Jerusalem and its idols 

what I’ve done to Samaria and its idols.” 

5 Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger—

the staff in their hands is My wrath.

6 I will send him against a godless nation;

I will command him to go

against a people destined for My rage,

to take spoils, to plunder,

and to trample them down like clay in the streets.

7 But this is not what he intends;

this is not what he plans.

It is his intent to destroy

and to cut off many nations.

8 For he says,

“Aren’t all my commanders kings?

9 Isn’t Calno like Carchemish?

Isn’t Hamath like Arpad?

Isn’t Samaria like Damascus?

10 As my hand seized the idolatrous kingdoms,

whose idols exceeded those of Jerusalem and Samaria,

11 and as I did to Samaria and its idols

will I not also do to Jerusalem and its idols?”

5 Ah, Assyria, the rod of my anger—

the club in their hands is my fury!

6 Against a godless nation I send him,

and against the people of my wrath I command him,

to take spoil and seize plunder,

and to tread them down like the mire of the streets.

7 But this is not what he intends,

nor does he have this in mind;

but it is in his heart to destroy,

and to cut off nations not a few.

8 For he says:

“Are not my commanders all kings?

9 Is not Calno like Carchemish?

Is not Hamath like Arpad?

Is not Samaria like Damascus?

10 As my hand has reached to the kingdoms of the idols

whose images were greater than those of Jerusalem and Samaria,

11 shall I not do to Jerusalem and her idols

what I have done to Samaria and her images?”

5 Ah! Assyria, the rod of my anger,

and a staff is in their hand: my wrath!

6 I send him against a godless nation,

and I command him against the people of my wrath,

to capture spoil

and to carry off plunder,

and to make them a trampling place,

like the clay of the streets.

7 But he does not think this,

and his heart does not plan this.

For it is in his heart to destroy

and to cut off not a few nations.

8 For he says, “Are not my commanders altogether kings?

9 Is not Calno like Carchemish?

Is not Hamath like Arpad?

Is not Samaria like Damascus?

10 As my hand has reached to the kingdoms of the idols

—and their images were greater than those of Jerusalem and Samaria—

11 shall I not do to Jerusalem and its idols

what I have done to Samaria and her idols?”

5 The Lord says, “How terrible it will be for the people of Assyria!

They are the war club that carries out my anger.

6 I will send them against the ungodly nation of Judah.

I will order them to fight against my own people.

They make me angry.

I will order them to take their goods and carry them away.

I will order them to walk on my people

as if they were walking on mud.

7 But that is not what the king of Assyria plans.

It is not what he has in mind.

His purpose is to destroy many nations.

His purpose is to put an end to them.

8 ‘Aren’t all of my commanders kings?’ he says.

9 ‘I took over Calno just as I took Carchemish.

I took over Hamath just as I did Arpad.

I took Samaria just as I did Damascus.

10 My powerful hand grabbed hold of kingdoms

whose people worship statues of gods.

They had more gods than Jerusalem and Samaria did.

11 I took over Samaria and its statues of gods.

In the same way, I will take Jerusalem and its gods.’ ”

5 Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger

And the staff in whose hands is My indignation,

6 I send it against a godless nation

And commission it against the people of My fury

To capture booty and to seize plunder,

And to trample them down like mud in the streets.

7 Yet it does not so intend,

Nor does it plan so in its heart,

But rather it is its purpose to destroy

And to cut off many nations.

8 For it says, “Are not my princes all kings?

9 “Is not Calno like Carchemish,

Or Hamath like Arpad,

Or Samaria like Damascus?

10 “As my hand has reached to the kingdoms of the idols,

Whose graven images were greater than those of Jerusalem and Samaria,

11 Shall I not do to Jerusalem and her images

Just as I have done to Samaria and her idols?”