Isaiah 10

1 Woe to them that decree unrighteous decrees, and that write grievousness which they have prescribed;

Terrible things will happen to you judges who are unjust and who make unfair laws.

2 To turn aside the needy from judgment, and to take away the right from the poor of my people, that widows may be their prey, and that they may rob the fatherless!

You refuse to help poor people, and you do not allow them to get the things that they should get. You [allow people to] steal things from widows and do unfair things to orphans.

3 And what will ye do in the day of punishment, and in the desolation which shall come from far? to whom will ye flee for help? and where will ye leave your glory?

When I punish you by sending people from distant lands to cause you to experience disasters, (to whom will you run to get help?/there will be no one who can help you.) [RHQ] Your valuable possessions will certainly [not be safe] [RHQ] anywhere.

4 Without me they shall bow down under the prisoners, and they shall fall under the slain. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.

You will be able only to stumble along as you are taken away with other prisoners, or [else] your corpses will lie on the ground with others who have been killed. But even after that happens, Yahweh will still be very angry with you. He will still be ready to strike you again with his fist.

5 O Assyrian, the rod of my anger, and the staff in their hand is my indignation.

[Yahweh says], “Terrible things will happen to Assyria. [It is true that their army] is like a rod/club [DOU] with which I [punish other nations] because I am very angry with those nations [DOU].

6 I will send him against an hypocritical nation, and against the people of my wrath will I command him, to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets.

[Sometimes] I send the armies of Assyria to attack a godless nation, to fight against [other] people who have caused me to be angry. I send them to capture people and to seize and take away their possessions, and to trample them like [SIM] people walk on mud in the streets.

7 Yet 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.

But the [king of Assyria] does not understand, he does not realize [that he is only like a weapon in my hand]. He wants [only] to destroy people, to get rid of many nations.

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

He says, ‘All of my army commanders will soon be kings [of these nations that I conquer]!

9 Is not Calno as Carchemish? is not Hamath as Arpad? is not Samaria as Damascus?

We destroyed Calno [city] like we destroyed Carchemish [city], We destroyed Hamath [city] like we destroyed Arpad [city]; we destroyed Samaria just like we destroyed Damascus.

10 As my hand hath found the kingdoms of the idols, and whose graven images excelled them of Jerusalem and of Samaria;

We were able to destroy [all] those kingdoms [that were full] of idols, kingdoms whose idols were greater than the idols in Jerusalem and Samaria.

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

So we will defeat Jerusalem and destroy the idols that are there, just like we destroyed Samaria and the idols that were there!’

12 Therefore it shall come to pass, that when the Lord hath performed his whole work upon mount Zion and on Jerusalem, I will punish the fruit of the stout heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his high looks.

[But, I, Yahweh, say that] after I [have used Assyria to] finish what I want to do to punish the people in Jerusalem [DOU], I will punish the king of Assyria because he has been very proud and arrogant/boastful [DOU].

13 For he saith, By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom; for I am prudent: and I have removed the bounds of the people, and have robbed their treasures, and I have put down the inhabitants like a valiant man:

He says, ‘By my own great power [MTY] I have done these things. I have been able to do them because I am very wise and very intelligent. My army removed the barriers [at the borders] of nations and carried away all their valuable things. My army has knocked down their kings like [SIM] a ferocious bull would.

14 And my hand hath found as a nest the riches of the people: and as one gathereth eggs that are left, have I gathered all the earth; and there was none that moved the wing, or opened the mouth, or peeped.

Like [MET] a farmer reaches into a bird’s nest [to take away the eggs], we have taken away the treasures of other countries [DOU]. The people were not like birds that would flap their wings or chirp loudly [to protest about their eggs being stolen]; the people did not object at all [to their treasures being stolen].’

15 Shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth with it? or shall the saw magnify itself against him that moveth it? as if the rod should shake itself against them that lift it, or as if the staff should lift itself, as if it were no wood.

[But I, Yahweh, say that] an axe certainly cannot [RHQ] boast about being stronger than the person who uses it, and a saw is not greater than the person who uses it. A rod cannot control the one who holds it [RHQ], and a wooden club cannot lift up a person [RHQ]. [So the king of Assyria should not boast that he has done these things with his own wisdom and strength].

16 Therefore shall the Lord, the Lord of hosts, send among his fat ones leanness; and under his glory he shall kindle a burning like the burning of a fire.

And [I], the Commander of the armies of angels, will send a plague among the proud soldiers of Assyria; it will be like [MET] a fire that will kill them and get rid of their glory/wealth.

17 And the light of Israel shall be for a fire, and his Holy One for a flame: and it shall burn and devour his thorns and his briers in one day;

[I], Yahweh, who am like [MET] a light for the people of Israel, will be the fire; [I], the Holy One, will be like a flame. [The soldiers of Assyria are like] [MET] thorns and briers, and I will burn them up in one night.

18 And shall consume the glory of his forest, and of his fruitful field, both soul and body: and they shall be as when a standardbearer fainteth.

There are glorious forests and fertile farmlands in Assyria, but I will completely destroy them; they will be like [SIM] a [very] sick person who shrivels up and then dies.

19 And the rest of the trees of his forest shall be few, that a child may write them.

There will be very few trees left in those forests; even a child will be able to count them.”

20 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the remnant of Israel, and such as have escaped of the house of Jacob, shall no more again lean upon him that smote them; but shall lean upon the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, in truth.

In the future there will be only a few people left in Israel; not many descendants of Jacob will still be alive. [But] they will no longer rely on [the king of Assyria], [the king of the nation] that tried to destroy them. Instead, they will faithfully/sincerely trust in Yahweh, the Holy One of Israel.

21 The remnant shall return, even the remnant of Jacob, to the mighty God.

Those Israelis will return to their mighty God.

22 For though thy people Israel be as the sand of the sea, yet a remnant of them shall return: the full end decreed shall overflow with righteousness.

[Now], the people of Israel are as numerous as the grains of sand on the seashore, but only a few of them will return [from the countries to which they were exiled]. Yahweh has decided to destroy [most of the Israelis] and that is what [he must do because he is completely] just/righteous.

23 For the Lord GOD of hosts shall make a full end, even determined, in the midst of all the land.

[Yes, ] the Commander of the armies of angels has [already] decided to destroy the entire land [of Israel].

24 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.

This is what the Commander of the armies of angels says: “My people in Jerusalem, do not be afraid of the army of Assyria when they beat you with rods and clubs, like the men of Egypt did [to your ancestors long ago].

25 For yet a very little while, and the indignation shall cease, and my anger in their destruction.

Soon I will no longer be angry with you, and [then] I will be angry with the people of Assyria and destroy them!”

26 And the LORD of hosts shall raise 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.

The Commander of the armies of angels will whip them. He will do to them like he did when he helped Gideon [and his 300 soldiers] to defeat the [army of the] Midian people-group, and like he did when he showed his mighty power [MTY] [by causing the army of Egypt to drown] in the [Red] Sea.

27 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.

Some day, Yahweh will cause the army of Assyria to stop oppressing you, [his people]; he will end your suffering and your being slaves of the people of Assyria [MET]; he will take away the load that you people of Judah have been carrying, and cause things to go well for you.

28 He is come to Aiath, he is passed to Migron; at Michmash he hath attended to his carriages:

[The army of Assyria will enter northern Judah] near Aiath [town], they will go through Migron [town] and store their supplies at Micmash [town north of Jerusalem].

29 They have gone over the pass: they have taken up their lodging at Geba; Ramah is afraid; Gibeah of Saul hath fled.

They will cross through a mountain pass and set up their tents at Geba [town]. [People in] Ramah [town] will tremble [because of being afraid]. [The people of] Gibeah [town], where King Saul [was born], will [all] run away.

30 Lift up thy voice, O daughter of Gallim: cause it to be heard to Laish, O poor Anathoth.

You people of Gallim [town] will cry out [for help]. You will shout to [the people of] Laish [city near Jerusalem] to warn them! [The people of] Anathoth [town] will suffer a lot.

31 Madmenah is removed; the inhabitants of Gebim gather themselves to flee.

[The people of] Madmenah [town north of Jerusalem will all] be running away, and [the people of] Gebim [town close to Jerusalem] will be trying to hide.

32 As yet shall he remain at Nob that day: he shall shake his hand against the mount of the daughter of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem.

The soldiers of Assyria will stop at Nob [city outside Jerusalem]. They will shake their fists [as they threaten the people] on Zion Hill in Jerusalem.

33 Behold, the Lord, the LORD of hosts, shall lop the bough with terror: and the high ones of stature shall be hewn down, and the haughty shall be humbled.

But listen to this! The Commander of the armies of angels with his great power will destroy [MET] the mighty army of Assyria. [It is as though they are] a huge tree [MET] that he will cut down.

34 And he shall cut down the thickets of the forests with iron, and Lebanon shall fall by a mighty one.

He will destroy the [soldiers of Assyria] like men use big axes to cut down the tall trees in the forests of Lebanon.