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Chapter 10

Perversion of Justice

[a]Ah! Those who enact unjust statutes,
    who write oppressive decrees,(A)
Depriving the needy of judgment,
    robbing my people’s poor of justice,
Making widows their plunder,
    and orphans their prey!(B)
What will you do on the day of punishment,
    when the storm comes from afar?
To whom will you flee for help?
    Where will you leave your wealth,
Lest it sink beneath the captive
    or fall beneath the slain?
For all this, his wrath is not turned back,
    his hand is still outstretched![b]

Judgment on Assyria

[c]Ah! Assyria, the rod of my wrath,
    the staff I wield in anger.(C)
Against an impious nation[d] I send him,
    and against a people under my wrath I order him
To seize plunder, carry off loot,
    and to trample them like the mud of the street.
But this is not what he intends,
    nor does he have this in mind;
Rather, it is in his heart to destroy,
    to make an end of not a few nations.
For he says, “Are not my commanders all kings?”
    [e]“Is not Calno like Carchemish,
Or Hamath like Arpad,
    or Samaria like Damascus?
10 Just as my hand reached out to idolatrous kingdoms
    that had more images than Jerusalem and Samaria—
11 Just as I treated Samaria and her idols,
    shall I not do to Jerusalem and her graven images?”

12 But when the Lord has brought to an end all his work on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem,

I will punish the utterance
    of the king of Assyria’s proud heart,
    and the boastfulness of his haughty eyes.
13 For he says:
“By my own power I have done it,
    and by my wisdom, for I am shrewd.
I have moved the boundaries of peoples,
    their treasures I have pillaged,
    and, like a mighty one, I have brought down the enthroned.
14 My hand has seized, like a nest,
    the wealth of nations.
As one takes eggs left alone,
    so I took in all the earth;
No one fluttered a wing,
    or opened a mouth, or chirped!”
15 Will the ax boast against the one who hews with it?
    Will the saw exalt itself above the one who wields it?
As if a rod could sway the one who lifts it,
    or a staff could lift the one who is not wood!
16 Therefore the Lord, the Lord of hosts,
    will send leanness among his fat ones,[f]
And under his glory there will be a kindling
    like the kindling of fire.(D)
17 The Light of Israel will become a fire,
    the Holy One, a flame,
That burns and consumes its briers
    and its thorns in a single day.(E)
18 And the glory of its forests and orchards
    will be consumed, soul and body,
    and it will be like a sick man who wastes away.
19 And the remnant of the trees in his forest
    will be so few,
    that any child can record them.
20     On that day
The remnant of Israel,
    the survivors of the house of Jacob,
    will no more lean upon the one who struck them;
But they will lean upon the Lord,
    the Holy One of Israel, in truth.
21 A remnant will return,[g] the remnant of Jacob,
    to the mighty God.
22 Though your people, O Israel,
    were like the sand of the sea,(F)
Only a remnant of them will return;
    their destruction is decreed,
    as overflowing justice demands.(G)

23 For the Lord, the God of hosts, is about to carry out the destruction decreed in the midst of the whole land.(H)

24 [h]Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of hosts: My people, who dwell in Zion, do not fear the Assyrian, though he strikes you with a rod, and raises his staff against you as did the Egyptians. 25 For just a brief moment more, and my wrath shall be over, and my anger shall be set for their destruction. 26 Then the Lord of hosts will raise against them a scourge such as struck Midian at the rock of Oreb;(I) and he will raise his staff over the sea as he did in Egypt.(J) 27 On that day,

His burden shall be taken from your shoulder,
    and his yoke shattered from your neck.(K)

The March of an Enemy Army[i]

He has come up from Rimmon,
28     he has reached Aiath, passed through Migron,
    at Michmash he has stored his supplies.
29 He has crossed the ravine,
    at Geba he has camped for the night.
Ramah trembles,
    Gibeah of Saul has fled.
30 Cry and shriek, Bath-Gallim!
    Hearken, Laishah! Answer her, Anathoth!
31 Madmenah is in flight,
    the inhabitants of Gebim seek refuge.
32 Even today he will halt at Nob,
    he will shake his fist at the mount of daughter Zion,
    the hill of Jerusalem!
33 [j]Now the Lord, the Lord of hosts,
    is about to lop off the boughs with terrible violence;
The tall of stature shall be felled,
    and the lofty ones shall be brought low;
34 He shall hack down the forest thickets with an ax,
    and Lebanon in its splendor shall fall.

Footnotes

  1. 10:1–4 This is another hoy-oracle; cf. note on 5:8–24. It may originally have been part of the collection at 5:8–24.
  2. 10:4 For all this…outstretched!: this refrain appears to be out of place here; cf. 9:11, 16, 20.
  3. 10:5–34 These verses contain a series of oracles directed against Assyria. Verses 5–15 portray Assyria as simply the rod God uses to punish Israel, though Assyria does not realize this. The original conclusion to this unit may be the judgment found in vv. 24–27a, which continues the imagery and motifs found in vv. 5–15. Verses 16–23, because of the quite different imagery and motifs, may originally have been an insertion directed against Aram and Israel at the time of the Syro-Ephraimite War.
  4. 10:6 Impious nation: Judah. It was God’s intention to use Assyria merely to punish, not to destroy, the nation.
  5. 10:9–10 The cities mentioned were all cities captured, some more than once, by the Assyrians in the eighth century B.C. Verse 9 suggests a certain historical order in the fall of these cities, and v. 10 suggests that all of them had fallen before Samaria (cf. Am 6:2). That implies that one should think primarily of events during the reign of Tiglath-pileser III (745–727).
  6. 10:16 His fat ones: the strong men of the enemy army.
  7. 10:21 A remnant will return: in Hebrew, shear-jashub, an allusion to the name of Isaiah’s son, Shear-jashub; cf. 7:3.
  8. 10:24 This verse with its reference to Assyria’s rod may introduce the original conclusion to vv. 5–15.
  9. 10:27b–32 A poetic description of the march of an enemy army from the north, advancing south to the very gates of Jerusalem, where the enemy waves his hand in a gesture of derision against the city. Though Sennacherib’s troops took a different route, advancing down the coast and then approaching Jerusalem from the southeast, the arrogant attitude toward God’s chosen city was the same. Aiath: the Ai of Jos 7:22–8:29. Migron: modern Makrun north of Michmash. The ravine: the deep valley between Michmash and Geba (cf. 1 Sm 14:1–5). Ramah…Gibeah…Bath-Gallim…Laishah…Anathoth…Madmenah…Gebim: cities north of Jerusalem threatened by the sudden appearance of this enemy army. Nob: probably to be identified with the present Mount Scopus from where one has a clear view of Jerusalem.
  10. 10:33–34 Just when the enemy is about to capture Jerusalem, God intervenes and destroys the hostile army. Cf. 29:1–8; 31:4–9.

10 Woe to those who decree iniquitous decrees,
    and the writers who keep writing oppression,
to turn aside the needy from justice
    and to rob the poor of my people of their right,
that widows may be their spoil,
    and that they may make the fatherless their prey!
What will you do on the day of punishment,
    in the storm which will come from afar?
To whom will you flee for help,
    and where will you leave your wealth?
Nothing remains but to crouch among the prisoners
    or fall among the slain.
For all this his anger is not turned away
    and his hand is stretched out still.

Arrogant Assyria Also Judged

Ah, Assyria, the rod of my anger,
    the staff of my fury![a]
Against a godless nation I send him,
    and against the people of my wrath I command him,
to take spoil and seize plunder,
    and to tread them down like the mire of the streets.
But he does not so intend,
    and his mind does not so think;
but it is in his mind to destroy,
    and to cut off nations not a few;
for he says:
“Are not my commanders all kings?
Is not Calno like Car′chemish?
    Is not Hamath like Arpad?
    Is not Samar′ia like Damascus?
10 As my hand has reached to the kingdoms of the idols
    whose graven images were greater than those of Jerusalem and Samar′ia,
11 shall I not do to Jerusalem and her idols
    as I have done to Samar′ia and her images?”

12 When the Lord has finished all his work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem he[b] will punish the arrogant boasting of the king of Assyria and his haughty pride. 13 For he says:

“By the strength of my hand I have done it,
    and by my wisdom, for I have understanding;
I have removed the boundaries of peoples,
    and have plundered their treasures;
    like a bull I have brought down those who sat on thrones.
14 My hand has found like a nest
    the wealth of the peoples;
and as men gather eggs that have been forsaken
    so I have gathered all the earth;
and there was none that moved a wing,
    or opened the mouth, or chirped.”

15 Shall the axe vaunt itself over him who hews with it,
    or the saw magnify itself against him who wields it?
As if a rod should wield him who lifts it,
    or as if a staff should lift him who is not wood!
16 Therefore the Lord, the Lord of hosts,
    will send wasting sickness among his stout warriors,
and under his glory a burning will be kindled,
    like the burning of fire.
17 The light of Israel will become a fire,
    and his Holy One a flame;
and it will burn and devour
    his thorns and briers in one day.
18 The glory of his forest and of his fruitful land
    the Lord will destroy, both soul and body,
    and it will be as when a sick man wastes away.
19 The remnant of the trees of his forest will be so few
    that a child can write them down.

The Repentant Remnant of Israel

20 In that day the remnant of Israel and the survivors of the house of Jacob will no more lean upon him that smote them, but will lean upon the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. 21 A remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, to the mighty God. 22 For though your people Israel be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will return. Destruction is decreed, overflowing with righteousness. 23 For the Lord, the Lord of hosts, will make a full end, as decreed, in the midst of all the earth.

24 Therefore thus says the Lord, the Lord of hosts: “O my people, who dwell in Zion, be not afraid of the Assyrians when they smite with the rod and lift up their staff against you as the Egyptians did. 25 For in a very little while my indignation will come to an end, and my anger will be directed to their destruction. 26 And the Lord of hosts will wield against them a scourge, as when he smote Mid′ian at the rock of Oreb; and his rod will be over the sea, and he will lift it as he did in Egypt. 27 And in that day his burden will depart from your shoulder, and his yoke will be destroyed from your neck.”

He has gone up from Rimmon,[c]
28     he has come to Ai′ath;
he has passed through Migron,
    at Michmash he stores his baggage;
29 they have crossed over the pass,
    at Geba they lodge for the night;
Ramah trembles,
    Gib′e-ah of Saul has fled.
30 Cry aloud, O daughter of Gallim!
    Hearken, O La′ishah!
    Answer her, O An′athoth!
31 Madme′nah is in flight,
    the inhabitants of Gebim flee for safety.
32 This very day he will halt at Nob,
    he will shake his fist
    at the mount of the daughter of Zion,
    the hill of Jerusalem.

33 Behold, the Lord, the Lord of hosts
    will lop the boughs with terrifying power;
the great in height will be hewn down,
    and the lofty will be brought low.
34 He will cut down the thickets of the forest with an axe,
    and Lebanon with its majestic trees[d] will fall.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 10:5 Heb a staff it is in their hand my fury
  2. Isaiah 10:12 Heb I
  3. Isaiah 10:27 Cn: Heb and his yoke from your neck, and a yoke will be destroyed because of fatness
  4. Isaiah 10:34 Cn Compare Gk Vg: Heb with a majestic one

10 You are doomed! You make unjust laws that oppress my people. That is how you keep the poor from having their rights and from getting justice. That is how you take the property that belongs to widows and orphans. What will you do when God punishes you? What will you do when he brings disaster on you from a distant country? Where will you run to find help? Where will you hide your wealth? You will be killed in battle or dragged off as prisoners. Yet even so the Lord's anger will not be ended; his hand will still be stretched out to punish.

The Emperor of Assyria as the Instrument of God

(A)The Lord said, “Assyria! I use Assyria like a club to punish those with whom I am angry. I sent Assyria to attack a godless nation, people who have made me angry. I sent them to loot and steal and trample the people like dirt in the streets.”

But the Assyrian emperor has his own violent plans in mind. He is determined to destroy many nations. He boasts, “Every one of my commanders is a king! I conquered the cities of Calno and Carchemish, the cities of Hamath and Arpad. I conquered Samaria and Damascus. 10 I reached out to punish those kingdoms that worship idols, idols more numerous than those of Jerusalem and Samaria. 11 I have destroyed Samaria and all its idols, and I will do the same to Jerusalem and the images that are worshiped there.”

12 But the Lord says, “When I finish what I am doing on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, I will punish the emperor of Assyria for all his boasting and all his pride.”

13 The emperor of Assyria boasts, “I have done it all myself. I am strong and wise and clever. I wiped out the boundaries between nations and took the supplies they had stored. Like a bull I have trampled the people who live there. 14 The nations of the world were like a bird's nest, and I gathered their wealth as easily as gathering eggs. Not a wing fluttered to scare me off; no beak opened to scream at me!”

15 But the Lord says, “Can an ax claim to be greater than the one who uses it? Is a saw more important than the one who saws with it? A club doesn't lift up a person; a person lifts up a club.”

16 The Lord Almighty is going to send disease to punish those who are now well-fed. In their bodies there will be a fire that burns and burns. 17 God, the light of Israel, will become a fire. Israel's holy God will become a flame, which in a single day will burn up everything, even the thorns and thistles. 18 The rich forests and farmlands will be totally destroyed, in the same way that a fatal sickness destroys someone. 19 There will be so few trees left that even a child will be able to count them.

A Few Will Come Back

20 A time is coming when the people of Israel who have survived will not rely any more on the nation that almost destroyed them. They will truly put their trust in the Lord, Israel's holy God. 21 A few of the people of Israel will come back to their mighty God. 22 (B)Even though now there are as many people of Israel as there are grains of sand by the sea, only a few will come back. Destruction is in store for the people, and it is fully deserved. 23 Yes, throughout the whole country the Sovereign Lord Almighty will bring destruction, as he said he would.

The Lord Will Punish Assyria

24 The Sovereign Lord Almighty says to his people who live in Zion, “Do not be afraid of the Assyrians, even though they oppress you as the Egyptians used to do. 25 In only a little while I will finish punishing you, and then I will destroy them. 26 I, the Lord Almighty, will beat them with my whip as I did the people of Midian at Oreb Rock. I will punish Assyria as I punished Egypt. 27 When that time comes, I will free you from the power of Assyria, and their yoke will no longer be a burden on your shoulders.”[a]

The Invader Attacks

28 The enemy army has captured the city of Ai![b] They have passed through Migron! They left their supplies at Michmash! 29 They have crossed the pass and are spending the night at Geba! The people in the town of Ramah are terrified, and the people in King Saul's hometown of Gibeah have run away. 30 Shout, people of Gallim! Listen, people of Laishah! Answer, people of Anathoth! 31 The people of Madmenah and Gebim are running for their lives. 32 Today the enemy are in the town of Nob, and there they are shaking their fists at Mount Zion, at the city of Jerusalem.

33 The Lord Almighty will bring them crashing down like branches cut off a tree. The proudest and highest of them will be cut down and humiliated. 34 The Lord will cut them down as trees in the heart of the forest are cut down with an ax, as even the finest trees of Lebanon fall!

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 10:27 Hebrew has three additional words, the meaning of which is unclear.
  2. Isaiah 10:28 Ai: This and the other places mentioned in verses 28-32 were located near Jerusalem, along the way by which an invader would come to attack from the north.

Assyria Is God’s Instrument

10 Woe to those who (A)enact unjust statutes
And to those who constantly record [a]harmful decisions,
So as (B)to [b]deprive the needy of justice
And rob the poor among My people of their rights,
So (C)that widows may be their spoil
And that they may plunder the [c]orphans.
Now (D)what will you do in the (E)day of punishment,
And in the devastation which will come (F)from afar?
(G)To whom will you flee for help?
And where will you leave your wealth?
Nothing remains but to crouch [d]among the (H)captives
Or fall [e]among those (I)killed.
(J)In spite of all this, His anger does not turn away
And His hand is still stretched out.

Woe to (K)Assyria, the (L)rod of My anger
And the staff in whose hands is (M)My indignation,
I send it against a (N)godless nation
And commission it against the (O)people of My fury
To capture spoils and (P)to seize plunder,
And to [f]trample them down like (Q)mud in the streets.
Yet it (R)does not so intend,
Nor does [g]it plan so in its heart,
But rather it is [h]its purpose to destroy
And to eliminate [i]many nations.
For it says, “Are not my officers [j]all kings?
Is not (S)Calno like (T)Carchemish,
Or (U)Hamath like Arpad,
Or (V)Samaria like (W)Damascus?
10 As my hand has reached to the (X)kingdoms of the idols,
Whose carved images were greater than those of Jerusalem and Samaria,
11 Shall I not do the same to Jerusalem and her images
Just as I have done to Samaria and (Y)her idols?”

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

“By the power of my hand and by my wisdom I did this,
Because I have understanding;
And I (AC)removed the boundaries of the peoples
And plundered their treasures,
And like a powerful man I brought down [l]their inhabitants,
14 And my hand reached to the riches of the peoples like a (AD)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.”

15 Is the (AE)axe to (AF)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 (AG)a [m]club wielding those who lift it,
Or like (AH)a rod lifting the one who is not wood.
16 Therefore the Lord, the [n]God of armies, will send a (AI)wasting disease among his (AJ)stout warriors;
And under his (AK)glory a fire will be kindled like a burning flame.
17 And the (AL)Light of Israel will become a fire and [o]Israel’s (AM)Holy One a flame,
And it will (AN)burn and devour [p]his thorns and his briars in a single day.
18 And He will (AO)destroy the glory of his forest and of his fruitful garden, both soul and body,
And it will be as when a sick person wastes away.
19 And the (AP)rest of the trees of his forest will be so small in number
That a child could write them down.

A Remnant Will Return

20 Now on that day the (AQ)remnant of Israel, and those of the house of Jacob (AR)who have escaped, will no longer rely on the one who struck them, but will truly (AS)rely on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel.

21 A (AT)remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, to the (AU)mighty God.
22 For (AV)though your people, Israel, may be like the sand of the sea,
Only a remnant within them will return;
A (AW)destruction is determined, overflowing with righteousness.

23 For a complete destruction, one that is determined, (AX)the Lord [q]God of armies will execute in the midst of the whole land.

24 Therefore this is what the Lord [r]God of armies says: “My people, you who dwell in (AY)Zion, (AZ)do not fear the Assyrian [s]who (BA)strikes you with the rod, and lifts up his staff against you the way Egypt did. 25 For in a very (BB)little while (BC)My indignation against you will be ended and My anger will be directed toward their destruction.” 26 The Lord of armies will (BD)wield a whip against him like the defeat of (BE)Midian at the rock of Oreb; and His (BF)staff will be over the sea, and He will lift it up (BG)the way He did in Egypt. 27 So it will be on that day, that [t]his (BH)burden will be removed from your shoulders, and his yoke from your neck; and the yoke will be broken because (BI)of fatness.

28 He has come against Aiath,
He has passed through (BJ)Migron;
At (BK)Michmash he deposited his (BL)baggage.
29 They have gone through (BM)the pass, saying,
(BN)Geba will be our encampment for the night.”
(BO)Ramah is terrified, and (BP)Gibeah of Saul has fled.
30 Cry aloud with your voice, daughter of (BQ)Gallim!
Pay attention, Laishah and [u]wretched (BR)Anathoth!
31 Madmenah has fled.
The inhabitants of Gebim have sought refuge.
32 Yet today he will halt at (BS)Nob;
He (BT)shakes his fist at the mountain of the [v](BU)daughter of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem.

33 Behold, the Lord, the [w]God of armies, will lop off the branches with terrifying power;
Those also who are (BV)tall in stature will be cut down,
And those who are lofty will be brought low.
34 He will cut down the thickets of the forest with an iron axe,
And (BW)Lebanon will fall by the Mighty One.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 10:1 Lit harm
  2. Isaiah 10:2 Lit turn the needy aside from
  3. Isaiah 10:2 Or fatherless
  4. Isaiah 10:4 Lit under
  5. Isaiah 10:4 Lit under
  6. Isaiah 10:6 Lit make them a trampled place
  7. Isaiah 10:7 Lit its heart so plan
  8. Isaiah 10:7 Lit in its heart
  9. Isaiah 10:7 Lit not a few
  10. Isaiah 10:8 Lit altogether
  11. Isaiah 10:12 Lit visit
  12. Isaiah 10:13 Or those who sit on thrones
  13. Isaiah 10:15 Lit staff
  14. Isaiah 10:16 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
  15. Isaiah 10:17 Lit his
  16. Isaiah 10:17 I.e., the Assyrian king’s forces
  17. Isaiah 10:23 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
  18. Isaiah 10:24 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
  19. Isaiah 10:24 Lit he
  20. Isaiah 10:27 I.e., the Assyrian
  21. Isaiah 10:30 An ancient version reads Answer her, O Anathoth
  22. Isaiah 10:32 Another reading is house of
  23. Isaiah 10:33 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord

10 Woe(A) to those who make unjust laws,
    to those who issue oppressive decrees,(B)
to deprive(C) the poor of their rights
    and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people,(D)
making widows their prey
    and robbing the fatherless.(E)
What will you do on the day of reckoning,(F)
    when disaster(G) comes from afar?
To whom will you run for help?(H)
    Where will you leave your riches?
Nothing will remain but to cringe among the captives(I)
    or fall among the slain.(J)

Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away,(K)
    his hand is still upraised.

God’s Judgment on Assyria

“Woe(L) to the Assyrian,(M) the rod(N) of my anger,
    in whose hand is the club(O) of my wrath!(P)
I send him against a godless(Q) nation,
    I dispatch(R) him against a people who anger me,(S)
to seize loot and snatch plunder,(T)
    and to trample(U) them down like mud in the streets.
But this is not what he intends,(V)
    this is not what he has in mind;
his purpose is to destroy,
    to put an end to many nations.
‘Are not my commanders(W) all kings?’ he says.
    ‘Has not Kalno(X) fared like Carchemish?(Y)
Is not Hamath(Z) like Arpad,(AA)
    and Samaria(AB) like Damascus?(AC)
10 As my hand seized the kingdoms of the idols,(AD)
    kingdoms whose images excelled those of Jerusalem and Samaria—
11 shall I not deal with Jerusalem and her images
    as I dealt with Samaria and her idols?(AE)’”

12 When the Lord has finished all his work(AF) against Mount Zion(AG) and Jerusalem, he will say, “I will punish the king of Assyria(AH) for the willful pride(AI) of his heart and the haughty look(AJ) in his eyes. 13 For he says:

“‘By the strength of my hand(AK) I have done this,(AL)
    and by my wisdom, because I have understanding.
I removed the boundaries of nations,
    I plundered their treasures;(AM)
    like a mighty one I subdued[a] their kings.(AN)
14 As one reaches into a nest,(AO)
    so my hand reached for the wealth(AP) of the nations;
as people gather abandoned eggs,
    so I gathered all the countries;(AQ)
not one flapped a wing,
    or opened its mouth to chirp.(AR)’”

15 Does the ax raise itself above the person who swings it,
    or the saw boast against the one who uses it?(AS)
As if a rod were to wield the person who lifts it up,
    or a club(AT) brandish the one who is not wood!
16 Therefore, the Lord, the Lord Almighty,
    will send a wasting disease(AU) upon his sturdy warriors;(AV)
under his pomp(AW) a fire(AX) will be kindled
    like a blazing flame.
17 The Light of Israel will become a fire,(AY)
    their Holy One(AZ) a flame;
in a single day it will burn and consume
    his thorns(BA) and his briers.(BB)
18 The splendor of his forests(BC) and fertile fields
    it will completely destroy,(BD)
    as when a sick person wastes away.
19 And the remaining trees of his forests(BE) will be so few(BF)
    that a child could write them down.

The Remnant of Israel

20 In that day(BG) the remnant of Israel,
    the survivors(BH) of Jacob,
will no longer rely(BI) on him
    who struck them down(BJ)
but will truly rely(BK) on the Lord,
    the Holy One of Israel.(BL)
21 A remnant(BM) will return,[b](BN) a remnant of Jacob
    will return to the Mighty God.(BO)
22 Though your people be like the sand(BP) by the sea, Israel,
    only a remnant will return.(BQ)
Destruction has been decreed,(BR)
    overwhelming and righteous.
23 The Lord, the Lord Almighty, will carry out
    the destruction decreed(BS) upon the whole land.(BT)

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

“My people who live in Zion,(BU)
    do not be afraid(BV) of the Assyrians,
who beat(BW) you with a rod(BX)
    and lift up a club against you, as Egypt did.
25 Very soon(BY) my anger against you will end
    and my wrath(BZ) will be directed to their destruction.(CA)

26 The Lord Almighty will lash(CB) them with a whip,
    as when he struck down Midian(CC) at the rock of Oreb;
and he will raise his staff(CD) over the waters,(CE)
    as he did in Egypt.
27 In that day(CF) their burden(CG) will be lifted from your shoulders,
    their yoke(CH) from your neck;(CI)
the yoke(CJ) will be broken
    because you have grown so fat.[c]

28 They enter Aiath;
    they pass through Migron;(CK)
    they store supplies(CL) at Mikmash.(CM)
29 They go over the pass, and say,
    “We will camp overnight at Geba.(CN)
Ramah(CO) trembles;
    Gibeah(CP) of Saul flees.(CQ)
30 Cry out, Daughter Gallim!(CR)
    Listen, Laishah!
    Poor Anathoth!(CS)
31 Madmenah is in flight;
    the people of Gebim take cover.
32 This day they will halt at Nob;(CT)
    they will shake their fist(CU)
at the mount of Daughter Zion,(CV)
    at the hill of Jerusalem.

33 See, the Lord, the Lord Almighty,
    will lop off(CW) the boughs with great power.
The lofty trees will be felled,(CX)
    the tall(CY) ones will be brought low.(CZ)
34 He will cut down(DA) the forest thickets with an ax;
    Lebanon(DB) will fall before the Mighty One.(DC)

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 10:13 Or treasures; / I subdued the mighty,
  2. Isaiah 10:21 Hebrew shear-jashub (see 7:3 and note); also in verse 22
  3. Isaiah 10:27 Hebrew; Septuagint broken / from your shoulders