Isaiah 10:5-15

New American Standard Bible

⁵Woe to ^(A)Assyria, the ^(B)rod of My anger
And the staff in whose hands is ^(C)My indignation,
⁶I send it against a ^(D)godless nation
And commission it against the ^(E)people of My fury
To capture spoils and ^(F)to seize plunder,
And to ^[a]trample them down like ^(G)mud in the streets.
⁷Yet it ^(H)does not so intend,
Nor does ^[b]it plan so in its heart,
But rather it is ^[c]its purpose to destroy
And to eliminate ^[d]many nations.
⁸For it says, “Are not my officers ^[e]all kings?
⁹Is not ^(I)Calno like ^(J)Carchemish,
Or ^(K)Hamath like Arpad,
Or ^(L)Samaria like ^(M)Damascus?
¹⁰As my hand has reached to the ^(N)kingdoms of the idols,
Whose carved images were greater than those of Jerusalem and Samaria,
¹¹Shall I not do the same to Jerusalem and her images
Just as I have done to Samaria and ^(O)her idols?”

¹²So it will be that when the Lord has completed all His ^(P)work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, He will say, “I will ^[f]punish the fruit of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria and ^(Q)the arrogant pride of his eyes.” ¹³For ^(R)he has said,

“By the power of my hand and by my wisdom I did this,
Because I have understanding;
And I ^(S)removed the boundaries of the peoples
And plundered their treasures,
And like a powerful man I brought down ^[g]their inhabitants,
¹⁴And my hand reached to the riches of the peoples like a ^(T)nest,
And as one gathers abandoned eggs, I gathered all the earth;
And there was not one that flapped its wing, opened its beak, or chirped.”

¹⁵Is the ^(U)axe to ^(V)boast itself over the one who chops with it?
Is the saw to exalt itself over the one who wields it?
That would be like ^(W)a ^[h]club wielding those who lift it,
Or like ^(X)a rod lifting the one who is not wood.