Isaiah 10

1 Woe to those who enact unjust laws and write unfair decrees.

Alas! for them who ordain iniquitous decrees, —And, busy writers, who make a business of writing mischief:

2 They deprive the needy of justice, rob the poor of my people of their rights, plunder widows, and make the fatherless their prey!

Turning aside from judgment, the poor, And robbing, of justice, the oppressed of my people, —So that, widows, become, their spoil, And of the fatherless, they make prey.

3 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?

What, then, will ye do for the day of visitation, And for the devastation, which from afar, shall come? Unto whom, will ye flee for help? And where will ye leave your gory?

4 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.

Without me, one hath bowed under a prisoner Yea under the slain, do they fall! For all this, hath his anger, not turned back, But still, is his hand outstretched.

5 Woe to the Assyrian, the club of my anger, the rod by whom I wield my fury!

Alas! for Assyria, the rod of mine anger, —Yea, the very staff in their hand, is, my displeasure:

6 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.

Against an irreligious nation, will I send him, Yea against the people with whom I am wroth, will I command him, —To capture spoil And lay hold on prey, And cause them to be trodden down as the mire of the lanes.

7 But this is not what he intends, nor does he think this way. It is in his heart to destroy and eliminate many nations.

But as for him, not so, doth he deem, And in his heart, not so, doth he think, —For, to destroy, is in his heart, And to cut off nations, not a few;

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

For he saith: —Are not, my generals, all alike, kings?

9 Is not Kalno like Carchemish? Is not Hamath like Arpad? Is not Samaria like Damascus?

Is not, Calno, like Carchemish? Is not, Hamath, like Arpad? Is not, Samaria, like Damascus?

10 As my hand has overcome idolatrous kingdoms, whose carved figures were greater than those of Jerusalem and Samaria,

As my hand hath reached unto the kingdoms of idols, —whose images did excel them of Jerusalem and Samaria,

11 just as I did to Samaria and her worthless idols, will I not also do the same to Jerusalem and to her idols?”

Shall I not as I have done to Samaria and her idols, so, do to Jerusalem and her images?

12 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.

Wherefore it shall come to pass—When My Lord shall finish his whole work upon Mount Zion and upon Jerusalem, I will bring punishment—Upon the fruit of the greatness of heart of the king of Assyria. And upon the vainglory of his uplifted eyes,

13 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.

For he hath said—By the strength of mine own hand, have I effectually wrought, And by my wisdom—for I have discernment, —That I might remove the bounds of peoples, Yea their treasures, have I plundered That I might lay prostrate as a mighty one the inhabitants;

14 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.”

And my hand hath found as a nest the wealth of the peoples, And as the gathering of eggs that are forsaken, all the earth, have, I, gathered, —And there was none to flap a wing, or open a mouth or chirp.

15 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.

Shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth therewith? Or, the saw, magnify itself, against him that wieldeth it? As if a rod, could wield, them who lift it up! As if a staff, could raise, what is, not wood!

16 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.

Therefore, shall the Lord, Yahweh of hosts, Send, among his fat ones, leanness, And under his glory, shall he kindle a kindling, like the kindling of fire;

17 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.

So shall, the Light of Israel, become, a fire, And his Holy One, a flame, Which shall burn and consume his thorns and his briars, in one day;

18 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.

And the glory of his forest and of his garden land, both soul and body, shall it bring to an end, —And it shall be like the wasting away of a consumptive.

19 The remnant of the trees of his forest will be so few, that a child could count them.

And, the remnant of his forest-trees, few in number, shall become, —yea, a child, might describe them!

20 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.

And it shall come to pass in that day, That the remnant of Israel. And the escaped of the house of Jacob Shall, no more again, lean upon him that smote them, —But shall lean upon Yahweh the Holy One of Israel, in truth.

21 A remnant of Jacob will return to the mighty God.

A remnant, shall return, The remnant of Jacob, —unto the mighty GOD;

22 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.

For though thy people, O Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, A [mere] remnant, shall return of them, —A full end decreed, bringeth in, justice, like a flood;

23 For the Lord Yahweh of hosts, is about to carry out the destruction determined throughout the land.

For, a full end and that a decreed one, is My Lord Yahweh of hosts executing in the midst of all the earth.

24 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.

Therefore, thus, saith My Lord, Yahweh of hosts, Do not fear O my people dwelling in Zion, because of Assyria, —When with his rod, he would smite thee, And when his staff, he would lift up against thee in the manner of Egypt;

25 Do not fear him, for in a very short time my anger against you will end, and my anger will lead to his destruction.”

For, yet a very little while, and displeasure shall end, Yea, mine anger, over their destruction.

26 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.

And Yahweh of hosts, will brandish over him, a scourge—Like the smiting of Midian at the rock Oreb, —And his staff being over the sea, He will lift it up in the manner of Egypt;

27 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.

And it shall come to pass, in that day, That his burden shall remove from off thy shoulder, And his yoke from off thy neck, —Yea, the yoke shall be broken because of fatness.

28 The enemy has come to Aiath and has passed through Migron; at Michmash he has stored his provisions.

He hath come in unto Ayyath, Hath passed through Migron, —At Michmash, storeth his baggage:

29 They have crossed over the pass and they lodge at Geba. Ramah trembles and Gibeah of Saul has fled.

They have passed over the pass, Geba is his halting-place, —Terror-stricken is Ramah, Gibeah of Saul, hath fled!

30 Cry aloud, daughter of Gallim! Give attention, Laishah! You poor Anathoth!

Make shrill thy voice, O daughter of Gallim! Hearken, O Laishah, Answer, O Anathoth!

31 Madmenah is fleeing, and the inhabitants of Gebim run for safety.

Madmenah, hath fled, —The inhabitants of Gebim, have gone into safety:

32 This very day he will halt at Nob and shake his fist at the mountain of the daughter of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem.

While yet to-day, in Nob, he tarrieth, He brandisheth his hand toward The mount of the daughter of Zion, The hill of Jerusalem.

33 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.

Behold! the Lord, Yahweh of hosts, is about to lop off a tree-crown, with a crash, —Then shall, they who are lifted on high, be hewn down, And, the lofty, be laid low;

34 He will chop down the thickets of the forest with an ax, and Lebanon in his majesty will fall.

Then will he fell the thickets of the forest with iron, —And, Lebanon by a majestic one shall fall.