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.

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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

Judgment on Unjust Lawmakers

10 “How terrible it will be for the one[a] who enacts unjust decrees,
    for those who write oppressive laws
    that they have prescribed
to deprive the needy of justice
    and to rob the poor of my people of their rights,[b]
so that widows may become their spoil
    and so that they may plunder orphans![c]
What will you do on the day of Judgment,[d]
    in the calamity that will come from far away?
To whom will you run for help,
    and where will you leave your wealth,
so you won’t have to crouch among those in chains[e]
    or fall among the slain?

“Yet[f] for all this, his anger has not turned away,
    and his hand is still stretched out, ready to strike.”[g]

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 10:1 So 1QIsaa; MT reads the ones
  2. Isaiah 10:2 Lit. right
  3. Isaiah 10:2 Or plunder the fatherless
  4. Isaiah 10:3 Lit. reckoning
  5. Isaiah 10:4 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read beneath prisoners
  6. Isaiah 10:4 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX lack Yet
  7. Isaiah 10:4 DSS MT lack ready to strike