Isaiah 10:5-19
Modern English Version
Judgment on Assyria
5 Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger
and the staff in whose hand is My indignation.
6 I will send him against an ungodly nation,
and against the people of My wrath I will give him a command,
to seize the plunder, to take the prey,
and to tread them down like the mire of the streets.
7 However he does not so intend,
nor does he plan so in his heart;
but his purpose is to destroy
and to cut off many nations.
8 For he says, “Are not my princes altogether kings?
9 Is not Kalno as Carchemish?
Is not Hamath as Arpad?
Is not Samaria as Damascus?
10 As my hand has found the kingdoms of the idols
whose graven images were greater than those of Jerusalem and Samaria,
11 shall I not, as I have done to Samaria and her idols,
so do to Jerusalem and her idols?”
12 When the Lord has performed all His work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, He will say, “I will punish the fruit of the stout heart of the king of Assyria and the glory of his high looks.” 13 For he says:
“By the strength of my hand and by my wisdom,
I have done it, 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.
14 And my hand has found as a nest
the riches of the people,
and as one gathers eggs that are left,
I have gathered all the earth
and there was no one who moved the wing
or opened the mouth or peeped.”
15 Shall the axe boast itself against him who hews with it?
Or shall the saw magnify itself against him who wields it?
That is as if the rod wields itself against those who lift it up,
or as if the staff should lift itself up as if it were not wood.
16 Therefore the Lord, God of Hosts,
shall send leanness among his stout ones,
and under his glory he shall kindle a burning
like the burning of a fire.
17 The light of Israel shall be a fire,
and his Holy One a flame,
and it shall burn and devour
his thorns and his briers in one day,
18 and shall consume the glory of his forest,
and of his fruitful field, both soul and body;
and it shall be as when a sick man faints.
19 The rest of the trees of his forest shall be so few
that a child may write them down.
Isaiah 10:5-19
Lexham English Bible
Judgment on Assyria’s Arrogance
5 Ah! Assyria, the rod of my anger,
and a staff is in their hand: my wrath!
6 I send him against a godless nation,
and I command him against the people of my wrath,
to capture spoil
and to carry off plunder,
and to make them[a] a trampling place,
like the clay of the streets.
7 But he does not think this,[b]
and his heart does not plan this.
For it is in his heart to destroy
and to cut off not a few nations.
8 For he says, “Are not my commanders altogether kings?
9 Is not Calno like Carchemish?
Is not Hamath like Arpad?
Is not Samaria like Damascus?
10 As my hand has reached to the kingdoms of the idols[c]
—and their images were greater than those of[d] Jerusalem and Samaria—
11 shall I not do to Jerusalem and its idols
what I have done to Samaria and her idols?”
12 And this shall happen: when the Lord has finished all his work against Mount Zion[e] and Jerusalem, “I will punish the arrogance[f] of the king of Assyria and his haughtiness.”[g]
13 For he says,
“I have done it by the strength of my hand
and by my wisdom, for I have understanding,
and I have removed the boundaries of peoples,
and I have plundered their stores,
and like a bull I have brought down the inhabitants.[h]
14 And my hand has found, like a nest, the wealth of the peoples,
and like the gathering of forsaken eggs, I myself have gathered all the earth.
And there was no fluttering wing or open mouth or chirp.”
15 Does the ax boast against the one who cuts with it,
or the saw magnify itself against the one who moves it to and fro?
As if a rod should move the one who lifts it![i]
As if a staff should lift up that which is not wood![j]
16 Therefore the Lord, Yahweh of hosts, will send leanness among his sturdy warriors,
and a burning like the burning of fire will burn under his glory.
17 And the light of Israel will become like a fire,
and his holy one like a flame,
and it will burn and devour his thorns[k] and briers[l] in one day.
18 And he will destroy the glory of his forest and orchard completely,[m]
and it will be like the wasting away of one who is sick.
19 And the rest of the trees[n] of his forest will be a small number,
and a boy can write them down.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 10:6 Hebrew “him”
- Isaiah 10:7 Or “so”
- Isaiah 10:10 Hebrew “idol”
- Isaiah 10:10 Literally “from”
- Isaiah 10:12 Literally “the mountain of Zion”
- Isaiah 10:12 Literally “fruit of the greatness of the heart”
- Isaiah 10:12 Literally “the pride of the height of his eyes”
- Isaiah 10:13 Or, “those sitting,” that is, rulers sitting on thrones
- Isaiah 10:15 Literally “As a rod waving even the one who lifts it up”
- Isaiah 10:15 Literally “As a staff lifting up not wood”
- Isaiah 10:17 Hebrew “thorn”
- Isaiah 10:17 Hebrew “brier”
- Isaiah 10:18 Literally “from soul and to body”
- Isaiah 10:19 Hebrew “tree”
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.
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