Isaiah 10:5-19

New King James Version

Arrogant Assyria Also Judged

⁵“Woe to Assyria, ^(A)the rod of My anger
And the staff in whose hand is My indignation.
⁶I will send him against ^(B)an ungodly nation,
And against the people of My wrath
I will ^(C)give him charge,
To seize the spoil, to take the prey,
And to tread them down like the mire of the streets.
⁷^(D)Yet he does not mean so,
Nor does his heart think so;
But it is in his heart to destroy,
And cut off not a few nations.
⁸^(E)For he says,
‘Are not my princes altogether kings?
⁹Is not ^(F)Calno ^(G)like Carchemish?
Is not Hamath like Arpad?
Is not Samaria ^(H)like Damascus?
¹⁰As my hand has found the kingdoms of the idols,
Whose carved images excelled those of Jerusalem and Samaria,
¹¹As I have done to Samaria and her idols,
Shall I not do also to Jerusalem and her idols?’ ”

¹²Therefore it shall come to pass, when the Lord has ^[a]performed all His work ^(I)on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, that He will say, ^(J)“I will punish the fruit of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his haughty looks.”

¹³^(K)For he says:

“By the strength of my hand I have done it,
And by my wisdom, for I am prudent;
Also I have removed the boundaries of the people,
And have robbed their treasuries;
So I have put down the inhabitants like a ^[b]valiant man.
¹⁴^(L)My hand has found like 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 his wing,
Nor opened his mouth with even a peep.”

¹⁵Shall ^(M)the ax boast itself against him who chops with it?
Or shall the saw exalt itself against him who saws with it?
As if a rod could wield itself against those who lift it up,
Or as if a staff could lift up, as if it were not wood!
¹⁶Therefore the Lord, the ^[c]Lord of hosts,
Will send leanness among his fat ones;
And under his glory
He will kindle a burning
Like the burning of a fire.
¹⁷So the Light of Israel will be for a fire,
And his Holy One for a flame;
^(N)It will burn and devour
His thorns and his briers in one day.
¹⁸And it will consume the glory of his forest and of ^(O)his fruitful field,
Both soul and body;
And they will be as when a sick man wastes away.
¹⁹Then the rest of the trees of his forest
Will be so few in number
That a child may write them.