Isaiah 10-12

New American Standard Bible

Assyria Is God’s Instrument

10 Woe to those who ^(A)enact unjust statutes
And to those who constantly record ^[a]harmful decisions,
²So 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.
³Now ^(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?
⁴Nothing 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.

⁵Woe to ^(K)Assyria, the ^(L)rod of My anger
And the staff in whose hands is ^(M)My indignation,
⁶I 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.
⁷Yet 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.
⁸For it says, “Are not my officers ^[j]all kings?
⁹Is not ^(S)Calno like ^(T)Carchemish,
Or ^(U)Hamath like Arpad,
Or ^(V)Samaria like ^(W)Damascus?
¹⁰As my hand has reached to the ^(X)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 ^(Y)her idols?”

¹²So 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.” ¹³For ^(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,
¹⁴And 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.”

¹⁵Is 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.
¹⁶Therefore 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.
¹⁷And 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.
¹⁸And 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.
¹⁹And 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

²⁰Now 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.

²¹A ^(AT)remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, to the ^(AU)mighty God.
²²For ^(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.

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

²⁴Therefore 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. ²⁵For in a very ^(BB)little while ^(BC)My indignation against you will be ended and My anger will be directed toward their destruction.” ²⁶The 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. ²⁷So 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.

²⁸He has come against Aiath,
He has passed through ^(BJ)Migron;
At ^(BK)Michmash he deposited his ^(BL)baggage.
²⁹They 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.
³⁰Cry aloud with your voice, daughter of ^(BQ)Gallim!
Pay attention, Laishah and ^[u]wretched ^(BR)Anathoth!
³¹Madmenah has fled.
The inhabitants of Gebim have sought refuge.
³²Yet 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.

³³Behold, 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.
³⁴He will cut down the thickets of the forest with an iron axe,
And ^(BW)Lebanon will fall by the Mighty One.

Righteous Reign of the Branch

11 Then a ^(BX)shoot will spring from the ^(BY)stem of Jesse,
And a ^(BZ)Branch from ^(CA)his roots will bear fruit.
²The ^(CB)Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him,
The spirit of ^(CC)wisdom and understanding,
The spirit of counsel and ^(CD)strength,
The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.
³And He will delight in the fear of the Lord,
And He will not judge by what His eyes ^(CE)see,
Nor make decisions by what His ears hear;
⁴But with ^(CF)righteousness He will judge the ^(CG)poor,
And decide with fairness for the ^(CH)humble of the earth;
And He will strike the earth with the ^(CI)rod of His mouth,
And with the ^(CJ)breath of His lips He will slay the wicked.
⁵Also ^(CK)righteousness will be the belt around His hips,
And ^(CL)faithfulness the belt around His waist.

⁶And the ^(CM)wolf will dwell with the lamb,
And the leopard will lie down with the young goat,
And the calf and the young lion ^[x]and the fattened steer will be together;
And a little boy will lead them.
⁷Also the cow and the bear will graze,
Their young will lie down together,
And the ^(CN)lion will eat straw like the ox.
⁸The nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra,
And the weaned child will put his hand on the viper’s den.
⁹They will ^(CO)not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain,
For the ^(CP)earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord
As the waters cover the sea.

¹⁰Then on that day
The ^(CQ)nations will resort to the ^(CR)root of Jesse,
Who will stand as a ^(CS)signal flag for the peoples;
And His ^(CT)resting place will be ^[y]glorious.

The Restored Remnant

¹¹Then it will happen on that day that the Lord
Will again recover with His hand the second time
The ^(CU)remnant of His people who will remain,
From ^(CV)Assyria, ^(CW)Egypt, Pathros, Cush, ^(CX)Elam, Shinar, Hamath,
And from the ^[z]^(CY)islands of the sea.
¹²And He will lift up a ^(CZ)flag for the nations
And ^(DA)assemble the banished ones of Israel,
And will gather the dispersed of Judah
From the four corners of the earth.
¹³Then the ^(DB)jealousy of Ephraim will depart,
And those who harass Judah will be eliminated;
Ephraim will not be jealous of Judah,
And Judah will not harass Ephraim.
¹⁴They will ^(DC)swoop down on the slopes of the Philistines on the ^(DD)west;
Together they will ^(DE)plunder the ^[aa]people of the east;
^[ab]They will possess ^(DF)Edom and ^(DG)Moab,
And the sons of Ammon will be ^[ac]subject to them.
¹⁵And the Lord will ^[ad]^(DH)utterly destroy
The tongue of the ^[ae]Sea of Egypt;
And He will ^(DI)wave His hand over the ^(DJ)Euphrates River
With His scorching wind;
And He will strike it into seven streams
And make people walk over in dry sandals.
¹⁶And there will be a ^(DK)highway from Assyria
For the ^(DL)remnant of His people who will be left,
Just as there was for Israel
On ^(DM)the day that they came up out of the land of Egypt.

Thanksgiving Expressed

12 Then you will say on that day,
“^(DN)I will give thanks to You, Lord;
For although ^(DO)You were angry with me,
Your anger is turned away,
And You comfort me.
²Behold, ^(DP)God is my salvation,
I will ^(DQ)trust and not be afraid;
For ^(DR)the Lord God is my strength and song,
And He has become my salvation.”
³Therefore you will joyously ^(DS)draw water
From the ^(DT)springs of salvation.
⁴And on that day you will ^(DU)say,
“^(DV)Give thanks to the Lord, call on His name.
^(DW)Make known His deeds among the peoples;
^[af]Make them remember that His name is exalted.”
⁵^(DX)Praise the Lord in song, for He has done ^[ag]glorious things;
Let this be known throughout the earth.
⁶^(DY)Rejoice and shout for joy, you inhabitant of Zion,
For ^(DZ)great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.