^10:24So⁵² here is what the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies, says: “My people who live in Zion, do not be afraid of Assyria, even though they beat you with a club and lift their cudgel against you as Egypt did.⁵³^10:25For very soon my fury⁵⁴ will subside, and my anger will be directed toward their destruction.” ^10:26The Lord who commands armies is about to beat them⁵⁵ with a whip, similar to the way he struck down Midian at the rock of Oreb.⁵⁶ He will use his staff against the sea, lifting it up as he did in Egypt.⁵⁷

^10:27At that time⁵⁸

the Lord will remove their burden from your shoulders,⁵⁹

and their yoke from your neck;

the yoke will be taken off because your neck will be too large.⁶⁰

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Footnotes

52 Heb “therefore.” The message that follows is one of encouragement, for it focuses on the eventual destruction of the Assyrians. Consequently “therefore” relates back to vv. 5–21, not to vv. 22–23, which must be viewed as a brief parenthesis in an otherwise positive speech.
53 Heb “in the way [or “manner”] of Egypt.”
54 The Hebrew text has simply “fury,” but the pronominal element can be assumed on the basis of what immediately follows (see “my anger” in the clause). It is possible that the suffixed yod (י) has been accidentally dropped by virtual haplography. Note that a vav (ו) is prefixed to the form that immediately follows; yod and vav are very similar in later script phases.
55 Heb “him” (so , , ); the singular refers to the leader or king who stands for the entire nation. This is specified by , as “the Assyrians.”
56 According to Judg 7:25, the Ephraimites executed the Midianite general Oreb at a rock which was subsequently named after the executed enemy.
57 The Hebrew text reads literally, “and his staff [will be] against the sea, and he will lift it in the way [or “manner”] of Egypt.” If the text is retained, “the sea” symbolizes Assyria’s hostility, the metaphor being introduced because of the reference to Egypt. The translation above assumes an emendation of עַל הַיָּם (’al hayyam, “against the sea”) to עַלֵיהֶם (’alehem, “against them”). The proposed shift from the third singular pronoun (note “beat him” earlier in the verse) to the plural is not problematic, for the singular is collective. Note that a third plural pronoun is used at the end of v. 25 (“their destruction”). The final phrase, “in the way/manner of Egypt,” probably refers to the way in which God used the staff of Moses to bring judgment down on Egypt.
58 Or “in that day” (). The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in .
59 Heb “he [i.e., the Lord] will remove his [i.e, Assyria’s] burden from upon your shoulder.”
60 The meaning of this line is uncertain. The Hebrew text reads literally, “and the yoke will be destroyed (or perhaps, “pulled down”) because of fatness.” Perhaps this is a bizarre picture of an ox growing so fat that it breaks the yoke around its neck or can no longer fit into its yoke. Fatness would symbolize the Lord’s restored blessings; the removal of the yoke would symbolize the cessation of Assyrian oppression. Because of the difficulty of the metaphor, many prefer to emend the text at this point. Some emend וְחֻבַּל (vékhubbal, “and it will be destroyed,” a perfect with prefixed vav), to יִחְבֹּל (yikhbol, “[it] will be destroyed,” an imperfect), and take the verb with what precedes, “and their yoke will be destroyed from your neck.” Proponents of this view (cf. , ) then emend עֹל (’ol, “yoke”) to עָלָה (’alah, “he came up”) and understand this verb as introducing the following description of the Assyrian invasion (vv. 28–32). מִפְּנֵי־שָׁמֶן (mippéney-shamen, “because of fatness”) is then emended to read “from before Rimmon” (, ), “from before Samaria,” or “from before Jeshimon.” Although this line may present difficulties, it appears best to regard the line as a graphic depiction of God’s abundant blessings on his servant nation.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

Therefore thus says the Lord God of hosts: “O my people, who dwell in Zion, be not afraid of the Assyrians when they strike with the rod and lift up their staff against you as the Egyptians did. For in a very little while my fury will come to an end, and my anger will be directed to their destruction. And the Lord of hosts will wield against them a whip, as when he struck Midian at the rock of Oreb. And his staff will be over the sea, and he will lift it as he did in Egypt. And in that day his burden will depart from your shoulder, and his yoke from your neck; and the yoke will be broken because of the fat.”

NIVNew International Version (2011)

Therefore this is what the Lord, the Lord Almighty, says:

“My people who live in Zion,

do not be afraid of the Assyrians,

who beat you with a rod

and lift up a club against you, as Egypt did.

Very soon my anger against you will end

and my wrath will be directed to their destruction.”

The Lord Almighty will lash them with a whip,

as when he struck down Midian at the rock of Oreb;

and he will raise his staff over the waters,

as he did in Egypt.

In that day their burden will be lifted from your shoulders,

their yoke from your neck;

the yoke will be broken

because you have grown so fat.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

Therefore, the Lord God of Armies says this: “My people who dwell in Zion, do not fear Assyria, though they strike you with a rod and raise their staff over you as the Egyptians did. In just a little while my wrath will be spent and my anger will turn to their destruction.” And the Lord of Armies will brandish a whip against him as he did when he struck Midian at the rock of Oreb; and he will raise his staff over the sea as he did in Egypt.

On that day

his burden will fall from your shoulders,

and his yoke from your neck.

The yoke will be broken because your neck will be too large.

NLTNew Living Translation

So this is what the Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, says: “O my people in Zion, do not be afraid of the Assyrians when they oppress you with rod and club as the Egyptians did long ago. In a little while my anger against you will end, and then my anger will rise up to destroy them.” The Lord of Heaven’s Armies will lash them with his whip, as he did when Gideon triumphed over the Midianites at the rock of Oreb, or when the Lord’s staff was raised to drown the Egyptian army in the sea.

In that day the Lord will end the bondage of his people.

He will break the yoke of slavery

and lift it from their shoulders.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh of hosts:

“My people who live in Zion,

you must not be afraid of Assyria.

It beats you with the rod,

and it lifts up its staff against you as the Egyptians did.

My indignation will come to an end in just a very little while,

and my anger will be directed to their destruction.”

And Yahweh of hosts is going to swing a whip against him,

as when Midian was defeated at the rock of Oreb;

and his staff will be over the sea,

and he will lift him up as he did in Egypt.

And this shall happen: on that day,

he will remove his burden from your shoulder

and his yoke from your neck,

and a yoke will be destroyed because of fat.

KJV 1900King James Version

Therefore thus saith the Lord God of hosts,

O my people that dwellest in Zion,

Be not afraid of the Assyrian:

He shall smite thee with a rod,

And shall lift up his staff against thee, after the manner of Egypt.

For yet a very little while, and the indignation shall cease,

And mine anger in their destruction.

And the Lord of hosts shall stir up a scourge for him

According to the slaughter of Midian at the rock of Oreb:

And as his rod was upon the sea,

So shall he lift it up after the manner of Egypt.

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 be destroyed because of the anointing.

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