Isaiah 10:5-19
New American Standard Bible
5 Woe to (A)Assyria, the (B)rod of My anger
And the staff in whose hands is (C)My indignation,
6 I send it against a (D)godless nation
And commission it against the (E)people of My fury
To capture spoils and (F)to seize plunder,
And to [a]trample them down like (G)mud in the streets.
7 Yet it (H)does not so intend,
Nor does [b]it plan so in its heart,
But rather it is [c]its purpose to destroy
And to eliminate [d]many nations.
8 For it says, “Are not my officers [e]all kings?
9 Is not (I)Calno like (J)Carchemish,
Or (K)Hamath like Arpad,
Or (L)Samaria like (M)Damascus?
10 As my hand has reached to the (N)kingdoms of the idols,
Whose carved images were greater than those of Jerusalem and Samaria,
11 Shall I not do the same to Jerusalem and her images
Just as I have done to Samaria and (O)her idols?”
12 So it will be that when the Lord has completed all His (P)work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, He will say, “I will [f]punish the fruit of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria and (Q)the arrogant pride of his eyes.” 13 For (R)he has said,
“By the power of my hand and by my wisdom I did this,
Because I have understanding;
And I (S)removed the boundaries of the peoples
And plundered their treasures,
And like a powerful man I brought down [g]their inhabitants,
14 And my hand reached to the riches of the peoples like a (T)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.”
15 Is the (U)axe to (V)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 (W)a [h]club wielding those who lift it,
Or like (X)a rod lifting the one who is not wood.
16 Therefore the Lord, the [i]God of armies, will send a (Y)wasting disease among his (Z)stout warriors;
And under his (AA)glory a fire will be kindled like a burning flame.
17 And the (AB)Light of Israel will become a fire and [j]Israel’s (AC)Holy One a flame,
And it will (AD)burn and devour [k]his thorns and his briars in a single day.
18 And He will (AE)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.
19 And the (AF)rest of the trees of his forest will be so small in number
That a child could write them down.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 10:6 Lit make them a trampled place
- Isaiah 10:7 Lit its heart so plan
- Isaiah 10:7 Lit in its heart
- Isaiah 10:7 Lit not a few
- Isaiah 10:8 Lit altogether
- Isaiah 10:12 Lit visit
- Isaiah 10:13 Or those who sit on thrones
- Isaiah 10:15 Lit staff
- Isaiah 10:16 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
- Isaiah 10:17 Lit his
- Isaiah 10:17 I.e., the Assyrian king’s forces
Isaiah 10:5-19
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Assyria, the Instrument of Wrath
5 Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger—
the staff in their hands is My wrath.
6 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.
7 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.
8 For he says,
“Aren’t all my commanders kings?
9 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.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 10:9 Cities conquered by Assyria
- Isaiah 10:12 LXX reads Jerusalem, He
- Isaiah 10:13 Or I brought down their kings
- Isaiah 10:15 Some Hb mss, Syr, Vg read wave he who lifts
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