Isaiah 10:5-19
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Arrogant Assyria Also Judged
5 Woe to Assyria, the rod of my anger—
the club in their hands is my fury!(A)
6 Against a godless nation I send him,
and against the people of my wrath I command him,
to take spoil and seize plunder,
and to tread them down like the mire of the streets.(B)
7 But this is not what he intends,
nor does he have this in mind,
but it is in his heart to destroy
and to cut off nations not a few.(C)
8 For he says:
“Are not my commanders all kings?(D)
9 Is not Calno like Carchemish?
Is not Hamath like Arpad?
Is not Samaria like Damascus?(E)
10 As my hand has reached to the kingdoms of the idols
whose images were greater than those of Jerusalem and Samaria,(F)
11 shall I not do to Jerusalem and her idols
what I have done to Samaria and her images?”
12 When the Lord has finished all his work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, he[a] will punish the arrogant boasting of the king of Assyria and his haughty pride.(G) 13 For he says:
“By the strength of my hand I have done it,
and by my wisdom, for I have understanding;
I have removed the boundaries of peoples
and have plundered their treasures;
like a bull I have brought down those who sat on thrones.(H)
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 its mouth or chirped.”(I)
15 Shall the ax vaunt itself over the one who wields it
or the saw magnify itself against the one who handles it?
As if a rod should raise the one who lifts it up,
or as if a staff should lift the one who is not wood!(J)
16 Therefore the Sovereign, the Lord of hosts,
will send wasting sickness among his stout warriors,
and under his glory a burning will be kindled
like the burning of fire.(K)
17 The light of Israel will become a fire
and his Holy One a flame,
and it will burn and devour
his thorns and briers in one day.(L)
18 The glory of his forest and his fruitful land
the Lord will destroy, both soul and body,
and it will be as when an invalid wastes away.(M)
19 The remnant of the trees of his forest will be so few
that a child can write them down.(N)
Footnotes
- 10.12 Gk: Heb I
Isaiah 10:5-19
International Standard Version
Assyria is an Instrument of Judgment
5 “How terrible it will be
for Assyria, the rod of my anger!
The club is in their hands![a]
6 I’m sending my fury[b] against a godless nation,
and I’ll command him against the people with whom I’m angry
to seize loot and snatch plunder,
and to trample them down
like mud in the streets.
7 But this is not what he intends,
and this is not what he thinks in his mind;
but it is in his mind to destroy,
and to cut down[c] many nations.
8 “Because this is what he is saying:
‘My commanders are all kings, are they not?
9 Isn’t Calno like Carchemish?
Isn’t Hamath like Arpad?
Isn’t Samaria like Damascus?
10 As my hand has reached to the idolatrous kingdoms[d]
whose carved images were greater than those of Jerusalem and Samaria,
11 will I not deal with Jerusalem and her idols
as I have dealt with Samaria and her images?’”
Assyria will be Judged
12 “For[e] the Lord has finished all his work against Mount Zion and against Jerusalem; he will punish the speech that comes from that willful[f] heart of Assyria’s king and the haughty look in his eyes. 13 He keeps bragging:[g]
‘I’ve done it by the strength of my hand,
and by my wisdom,
because I’m so clever.[h]
I removed the boundaries of peoples,
and plundered their treasures;
like a bull I brought down
those who sat on thrones.
14 My hand has found, as if in a nest,
the wealth of the people;
and as one gathers eggs that have been abandoned,
so I have gathered all the inhabitants of the[i] earth.
Nothing moved a wing,
opened its mouth,
or chirped.’
15 “Does the ax exalt itself
over the one who swings it?
Or does the saw magnify itself
in opposition to the one who wields it?
As if a rod were to wield those who lift[j] it,
or as if a club were to brandish the one who is not wood!
16 Therefore, the Lord God[k] of the Heavenly Armies will send a wasting disease
among Assyria’s[l] sturdy warriors,
and under its glory a conflagration will be kindled,
like a blazing bonfire.
17 “The light of Israel will become a fire,
and its Holy One a flame,
and it will burn
and consume Assyria’s[m] thorns and briers
in a single day.
18 The splendor of its forest and its fruitful land
the Lord will destroy—
both soul and body—
and Assyria[n] will be
as when a dying man wastes away.
19 What survives of the trees in his forest will be so few
that a child can count them.”[o]
Footnotes
- Isaiah 10:5 So 1QIsaa LXX; MT reads is their fury!
- Isaiah 10:6 So 1QIsaa LXX; MT reads sending him
- Isaiah 10:7 Lit. off
- Isaiah 10:10 So 1QIsaa; MT reads the idol
- Isaiah 10:12 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read And when
- Isaiah 10:12 Lit. the fruit of the arrogant
- Isaiah 10:13 Lit. saying; so 1QIsaa; MT reads He said
- Isaiah 10:13 Lit. I have understanding
- Isaiah 10:14 1QIsaa MT lack inhabitants of the
- Isaiah 10:15 So 1QIsaa MT; LXX reads the one who lifts
- Isaiah 10:16 So 1QIsaa MT; other LXX MT mss read Lord
- Isaiah 10:16 Lit. his
- Isaiah 10:17 Lit. its
- Isaiah 10:18 Lit. it
- Isaiah 10:19 Lit. can write them down
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