Judgment on Arrogant Assyria

Woe to Assyria, (A)the rod of my anger;
    the staff in their hands is my fury!
Against a (B)godless nation I send him,
    and against the people of my wrath I command him,
to take (C)spoil and seize plunder,
    and to (D)tread them down like the mire of the streets.
But he (E)does not so intend,
    and his heart does not so think;
but it is in his heart to destroy,
    and to cut off nations not a few;
for he says:
(F)“Are not my commanders all kings?
(G)Is not (H)Calno like (I)Carchemish?
    Is not (J)Hamath like (K)Arpad?
    (L)Is not (M)Samaria like Damascus?
10 As my hand has reached to (N)the kingdoms of the idols,
    whose carved images were greater than those of Jerusalem and Samaria,
11 shall I not do to Jerusalem and (O)her idols
    (P)as I have done to Samaria and her images?”

12 (Q)When the Lord has finished all his work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, (R)he[a] will punish the speech[b] of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria and the boastful look in his eyes. 13 (S)For he says:

“By the strength of my hand I have done it,
    and by my wisdom, for I have understanding;
I remove the boundaries of peoples,
    and plunder their treasures;
    like a bull I bring down those who sit on thrones.
14 My hand has found like a nest
    the wealth of the peoples;
and as one gathers 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 (T)the axe boast 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 God of hosts
    will send wasting sickness among his (U)stout warriors,
and under his glory (V)a burning will be kindled,
    like the burning of fire.
17 (W)The light of Israel will become a fire,
    and (X)his Holy One a flame,
and (Y)it will burn and devour
    his thorns and briers (Z)in one day.
18 The glory of (AA)his forest and of his (AB)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.

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 10:12 Hebrew I
  2. Isaiah 10:12 Hebrew fruit

Assyria, the Instrument of Wrath

Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger—
the staff in their hands is My wrath.
I will send him against a godless nation;
I will command him to go
against a people destined for My rage,
to take spoils, to plunder,
and to trample them down like clay(A) in the streets.
But this is not what he intends;
this is not what he plans.
It is his intent to destroy
and to cut off many nations.
For he says,
“Aren’t all my commanders kings?
Isn’t Calno like Carchemish?
Isn’t Hamath like Arpad?
Isn’t Samaria(B) like Damascus?[a]
10 As my hand seized the idolatrous kingdoms,
whose idols exceeded those of Jerusalem and Samaria,
11 and as I did to Samaria and its idols
will I not also do to Jerusalem and its idols?”

Judgment on Assyria

12 But when the Lord finishes all His work against Mount Zion and Jerusalem, He will say, “I[b] will punish the king of Assyria for his arrogant acts and the proud look in his eyes.” 13 For he said:

I have done this by my own strength
and wisdom, for I am clever.
I abolished the borders of nations
and plundered their treasures;
like a mighty warrior, I subjugated the inhabitants.[c]
14 My hand has reached out, as if into a nest,
to seize the wealth of the nations.
Like one gathering abandoned eggs,
I gathered the whole earth.
No wing fluttered;
no beak opened or chirped.

15 Does an ax exalt itself
above the one who chops with it?
Does a saw magnify itself
above the one who saws with it?
It would be like a staff waving the one who lifts[d] it!
It would be like a rod lifting a man who isn’t wood!
16 Therefore the Lord God of Hosts
will inflict an emaciating disease
on the well-fed of Assyria,
and He will kindle a burning fire
under its glory.
17 Israel’s Light will become a fire,
and its Holy One, a flame.
In one day it will burn up Assyria’s thorns and thistles.
18 He will completely destroy
the glory of its forests and orchards
as a sickness consumes a person.
19 The remaining trees of its forest
will be so few in number
that a child could count them.

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 10:9 Cities conquered by Assyria
  2. Isaiah 10:12 LXX reads Jerusalem, He
  3. Isaiah 10:13 Or I brought down their kings
  4. Isaiah 10:15 Some Hb mss, Syr, Vg read wave he who lifts