Isaiah 10

10“Woe to those who ^adecree unrighteous decrees,

Who write misfortune,

Which they have prescribed

²To rob the needy of justice,

And to take what is right from the poor of My people,

That widows may be their prey,

And that they may rob the fatherless.

^3bWhat will you do in ^cthe day of punishment,

And in the desolation which will come from ^dafar?

To whom will you flee for help?

And where will you leave your glory?

⁴Without Me they shall bow down among the ^eprisoners,

And they shall fall ¹among the slain.”

^fFor all this His anger is not turned away,

But His hand is stretched out still.

Arrogant Assyria Also Judged

⁵“Woe to Assyria, ^gthe rod of My anger

And the staff in whose hand is My indignation.

⁶I will send him against ^han ungodly nation,

And against the people of My wrath

I will ⁱgive him charge,

To seize the spoil, to take the prey,

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

^7jYet 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.

^8kFor he says,

‘Are not my princes altogether kings?

⁹Is not ^lCalno ^mlike Carchemish?

Is not Hamath like Arpad?

Is not Samaria ⁿlike Damascus?

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

Whose carved images excelled those of Jerusalem and Samaria,

¹¹As I have done to Samaria and her idols,

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

¹²Therefore it shall come to pass, when the Lord has ²performed all His work ^oon Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, that He will say, ^p“I will punish the fruit of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his haughty looks.”

^13qFor he says:

“By the strength of my hand I have done it,

And by my wisdom, for I am prudent;

Also I have removed the boundaries of the people,

And have robbed their treasuries;

So I have put down the inhabitants like a ³valiant man.

^14rMy hand has found like a nest the riches of the people,

And as one gathers eggs that are left,

I have gathered all the earth;

And there was no one who moved his wing,

Nor opened his mouth with even a peep.”

¹⁵Shall ^sthe ax boast itself against him who chops with it?

Or shall the saw exalt itself against him who saws with it?

As if a rod could wield itself against those who lift it up,

Or as if a staff could lift up, as if it were not wood!

¹⁶Therefore the Lord, the ⁴Lord of hosts,

Will send leanness among his fat ones;

And under his glory

He will kindle a burning

Like the burning of a fire.

¹⁷So the Light of Israel will be for a fire,

And his Holy One for a flame;

^tIt will burn and devour

His thorns and his briers in one day.

¹⁸And it will consume the glory of his forest and of ^uhis fruitful field,

Both soul and body;

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

¹⁹Then the rest of the trees of his forest

Will be so few in number

That a child may write them.

The Returning Remnant of Israel

²⁰And it shall come to pass in that day

That the remnant of Israel,

And such as have escaped of the house of Jacob,

^vWill never again depend on him who ⁵defeated them,

But will depend on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, in truth.

²¹The remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob,

To the ^wMighty God.

^22xFor though your people, O Israel, be as the sand of the sea,

^yA remnant of them will return;

The destruction decreed shall overflow with righteousness.

^23zFor the Lord God of hosts

Will make a determined end

In the midst of all the land.

²⁴Therefore thus says the Lord God of hosts: “O My people, who dwell in Zion, ^ado not be afraid of the Assyrian. He shall strike you with a rod and lift up his staff against you, in the manner of ^bEgypt. ²⁵For yet a very little while ^cand the indignation will cease, as will My anger in their destruction.” ²⁶And the Lord of hosts will ⁶stir up ^da scourge for him like the slaughter of ^eMidian at the rock of Oreb; ^fas His rod was on the sea, so will He lift it up in the manner of Egypt.

²⁷It shall come to pass in that day

That his burden will be taken away from your shoulder,

And his yoke from your neck,

And the yoke will be destroyed because of ^gthe anointing oil.

²⁸He has come to Aiath,

He has passed Migron;

At Michmash he has attended to his equipment.

²⁹They have gone ⁷along ^hthe ridge,

They have taken up lodging at Geba.

Ramah is afraid,

ⁱGibeah of Saul has fled.

³⁰⁸Lift up your voice,

O daughter ^jof Gallim!

Cause it to be heard as far as ^kLaish—

⁹O poor Anathoth!

^31lMadmenah has fled,

The inhabitants of Gebim seek refuge.

³²As yet he will remain ^mat Nob that day;

He will ⁿshake his fist at the mount of ^othe daughter of Zion,

The hill of Jerusalem.

³³Behold, the Lord,

The Lord of hosts,

Will lop off the bough with terror;

^pThose of high stature will be hewn down,

And the haughty will be humbled.

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

And Lebanon will fall by the Mighty One.