God’s Anger with Israel’s Arrogance

8 The Lord sends a 1message against Jacob,

And it falls on Israel.

9 And all the people know it,

That is, aEphraim and the inhabitants of Samaria,

Asserting in pride and in barrogance of heart:

10 “The bricks have fallen down,

But we will arebuild with smooth stones;

The sycamores have been cut down,

But we will replace them with cedars.”

11 Therefore the Lord raises against them adversaries from aRezin

And spurs their enemies on,

12 The Arameans on the east and the aPhilistines on the west;

And they bdevour Israel with 1gaping jaws.

cIn spite of all this, His anger does not turn away

And His hand is still stretched out.

13 Yet the people ado not turn back to Him who struck them,

Nor do they bseek the Lord of hosts.

14 So the Lord cuts off ahead and tail from Israel,

Both palm branch and bulrush bin a single day.

15 The head is athe elder and honorable man,

And the prophet who teaches bfalsehood is the tail.

16 aFor those who guide this people are leading them astray;

And those who are guided by them are 1brought to confusion.

17 Therefore the Lord does anot take pleasure in their young men,

bNor does He have pity on their 1orphans or their widows;

For every one of them is cgodless and an devildoer,

And every emouth is speaking foolishness.

fIn spite of all this, His anger does not turn away

And His hand is still stretched out.

18 aFor wickedness burns like a fire;

It consumes briars and thorns;

It even sets the thickets of the forest aflame

And they roll upward in a column of smoke.

19 By the afury of the Lord of hosts the bland is burned up,

And the cpeople are like fuel for the fire;

No dman spares his brother.

20 1They slice off what is on the right hand but still are ahungry,

And 2they eat what is on the left hand but they are not satisfied;

Each of them eats the bflesh of his own arm.

21 Manasseh devours Ephraim, and Ephraim Manasseh,

aAnd together they are against Judah.

bIn spite of all this, His anger does not turn away

And His hand is still stretched out.

Chapter 10

Assyria Is God’s Instrument

1 Woe to those who aenact evil statutes

And to those who constantly record 1unjust decisions,

2 So as ato 1deprive the needy of justice

And rob the poor of My people of their rights,

So bthat widows may be their spoil

And that they may plunder the 2orphans.

3 Now awhat will you do in the bday of punishment,

And in the devastation which will come cfrom afar?

dTo whom will you flee for help?

And where will you leave your 1wealth?

4 Nothing remains but to crouch 1among the acaptives

Or fall 1among the bslain.

cIn spite of all this, His anger does not turn away

And His hand is still stretched out.

5 Woe to aAssyria, the brod of My anger

And the staff in whose hands is cMy indignation,

6 I send it against a agodless nation

And commission it against the bpeople of My fury

To capture booty and cto seize plunder,

And to 1trample them down like dmud in the streets.

7 Yet it adoes not so intend,

Nor does 1it plan so in its heart,

But rather it is 2its purpose to destroy

And to cut off 3many nations.

8 For it says, “Are not my princes 1all kings?

9 “Is not aCalno like bCarchemish,

Or cHamath like Arpad,

Or dSamaria like eDamascus?

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

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

11 Shall I not 1do to Jerusalem and her images

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

12 So it will be that when the Lord has completed all His awork on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, He will say, “I will 1punish the fruit of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria and bthe pomp of 2his haughtiness.”

13 For ahe has said,

“By the power of my hand and by my wisdom I did this,

For I have understanding;

And I bremoved the boundaries of the peoples

And plundered their treasures,

And like a mighty man I brought down 1their inhabitants,

14 And my hand reached to the riches of the peoples like a anest,

And as one gathers abandoned eggs, I gathered all the earth;

And there was not one that flapped its wing or opened its beak or chirped.”

15 Is the aaxe to bboast itself over the one who chops with it?

Is the saw to exalt itself over the one who wields it?

That would be like ca 1club wielding those who lift it,

Or like ca rod lifting him who is not wood.

16 Therefore the Lord, the 1God of hosts, will send a awasting disease among his bstout warriors;

And under his cglory a fire will be kindled like a burning flame.

17 And the alight of Israel will become a fire and his bHoly One a flame,

And it will cburn and devour his thorns and his briars in a single day.

18 And He will adestroy the glory of his forest and of his fruitful garden, both soul and body,

And it will be as when a sick man wastes away.

19 And the arest of the trees of his forest will be so small in number

That a child could write them down.

A Remnant Will Return

20 Now in that day the aremnant of Israel, and those of the house of Jacob bwho have escaped, will never again rely on the one who struck them, but will truly crely on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel.

21 A aremnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, to the bmighty God.

22 For athough your people, O Israel, may be like the sand of the sea,

Only a remnant within them will return;

A bdestruction is determined, overflowing with righteousness.

23 For a complete destruction, one that is decreed, athe Lord 1God of hosts will execute in the midst of the whole land.

24 Therefore thus says the Lord 1God of hosts, “O My people who dwell in aZion, bdo not fear the Assyrian 2who cstrikes you with the rod and lifts up his staff against you, the way Egypt did.

25 “For in a very alittle while bMy indignation against you will be spent and My anger will be directed to their destruction.”

26 The Lord of hosts will aarouse a scourge against him like the slaughter of bMidian at the rock of Oreb; and His cstaff will be over the sea and He will lift it up dthe way He did in Egypt.

27 So it will be in that day, that 1his aburden will be removed from your shoulders and his yoke from your neck, and the yoke will be broken because bof fatness.

28 He has come against Aiath,

He has passed through aMigron;

At bMichmash he deposited his cbaggage.

29 They have gone through athe pass, saying,

“bGeba will be our lodging place.”

cRamah is terrified, and dGibeah of Saul has fled away.

30 Cry aloud with your voice, O daughter of aGallim!

Pay attention, Laishah and 1wretched bAnathoth!

31 Madmenah has fled.

The inhabitants of Gebim have sought refuge.

32 Yet today he will halt at aNob;

He bshakes his fist at the mountain of the 1cdaughter of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem.

33 Behold, the Lord, the 1God of hosts, will lop off the boughs with a terrible crash;

Those also who are atall in stature will be cut down

And those who are lofty will be abased.

34 He will cut down the thickets of the forest with an iron axe,

And aLebanon will fall 1by the Mighty One.