10 It will be very bad for people who make cruel laws that are not fair.
2 They stop poor people from receiving what they should have.
They do not let helpless people receive justice.
They rob widows of all their things.
They take things that belong to children who have no family.
3 It will be bad for you on the day when God comes to judge people. You will not escape the punishment that he will bring from far away. There will be nobody to help you. There will be no safe place to hide your valuable things. 4 You will have to join the people who are in prison. Or you will die with those that the enemy kills in war.
But the Lord is still angry. His hand is ready to hit his people again.
5 It will be very bad for Assyria! I will use its army to punish my people, because I am angry with them. Assyria will be like a stick that I use to beat my people. That is how I will show them my anger.
6 I send Assyria's army against a nation that does not serve God. I command them to attack the people with whom I am angry. I tell them to take that nation's valuable things for themselves. I tell them to walk all over them, as if they were walking on dirt in the streets.
7 But Assyria's ruler has other ideas. He does not understand that he is my weapon. He wants his army to destroy many nations, so that they have no power. 8 He boasts, ‘All my army's officers are like kings! 9 We destroyed Calno as we destroyed Carchemish. We destroyed Hamath as well as Arpad. We destroyed Samaria as well as Damascus.
10 The idols of those cities were greater than those in Jerusalem or Samaria. But we won against them all! 11 So I will destroy Jerusalem and its idols, in the same way that I did to Samaria and its idols.’
12 The Lord God will come to punish Mount Zion and Jerusalem. But when he has done that, he says, ‘Now I will punish the king of Assyria. He boasts in his mind and his eyes show how proud he is.’
13 The king of Assyria says this:
‘I have won these battles because of my own strength.
I have been very wise and clever.
I have marched into nations as if they had no borders.
I have taken their valuable things for myself.
Like a wild bull, I have removed kings from their thrones.
14 I robbed them of their riches,
like a person who takes eggs from a bird's nest.
I was able to bring all the nations under my power.
None of them could stop me.
No bird could shake its wing at me,
or open its mouth to cry at me!’
15 The Lord says this:
‘The axe has no more power than the person who uses it.
A saw is not more important than the person who cuts with it.
A stick cannot lift up the man who holds it.
No, it is the man that lifts up the stick!’
16 So the Lord, the Almighty Lord , will punish Assyria's soldiers. They are now fat and healthy, but they will become thin! It will be like a fire that burns them, with all their proud strength. 17 The holy God, who is the Light of Israel, will become like a fire. Assyria's soldiers will be like weeds and thorn bushes and the fire will destroy them in one day.
18 The Lord will completely destroy Assyria's great forests and its good fields. It will seem like a bad disease is taking away their life. 19 Only a few trees will remain in the forests. Even a child will be able to count them!
20 At that time, only a few people will remain in Israel. Only a few descendants of Jacob will still be alive. They will no longer expect to receive help from a foreign ruler who is cruel to them. Instead, they will trust the Lord , the Holy God of Israel, to help them.
21 A few of Jacob's descendants will remain, and they will return to serve the mighty God. 22 Israel's people are now very many, as many as the sand on the shore of the sea. But only a few will remain to return. The Lord has decided to destroy you, people of Israel. His punishment is fair and right. 23 The Lord Almighty will destroy the whole land. He is ready to do that, as he has promised.
24 So this is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘My people who live in Zion, do not be afraid of the Assyrian army. They will hurt you, like someone who hits you with a heavy stick. They will be cruel to you like the people in Egypt were long ago. 25 But soon I will be angry with you no longer. Instead, I will be angry with the Assyrians, and I will be ready to destroy them.’
26 Yes, the Lord Almighty will punish the Assyrians, like someone who uses a whip to beat them. That is how he destroyed the Midianites at the Rock of Oreb. [ a ] He will hold his stick over the sea. He will lift it up as he did in Egypt.
27 At that time, the Lord will remove the heavy load that is on your shoulders. He will destroy the yoke that is on your neck. You will no longer be their slaves. The Lord will bless you and make you fat.
28 Assyria's army attacks Aiath! It marches through Migron. They store their things at Michmash. 29 They go across the hills. They stay at Geba for a night. The people in Ramah are afraid! The people in Gibeah of Saul run away.
30 People in Gallim, shout for help! Listen carefully, people in Laishah. Answer them, people in Anathoth. 31 The people in Madmenah run away. Those who live in Gebim run to a safe place.
32 Today, the enemy has reached Nob and it stops there. He shakes his fist angrily at the people who live on Mount Zion in the city of Jerusalem.
33 But look! The Lord Almighty is ready to use his great power to destroy Assyria's strong army. He will cut it down, like a tall tree. He will cut off all the branches and knock all the trees down to the ground. 34 The Lord will take his axe and he will cut down the trees of that great forest. Even the best trees of Lebanon must fall down! [ b ]
10 Just look at those lawmakers who write evil laws and make life hard for the people. 2 They are not fair to the poor. They take away the rights of the poor and allow people to steal from widows and orphans.
3 Lawmakers, you will have to explain what you have done. What will you do then? Your destruction is coming from a faraway country. Where will you run for help? Your money and your riches will not help you. 4 You will have to bow down like a prisoner. You will fall down like a dead man, but that will not help you. God will still be angry and ready to punish you.
5 The Lord says, “I will use Assyria like a stick. In my anger I will use Assyria to punish Israel. 6 I will send Assyria to fight against the people who do evil. I am angry with them, and I will command Assyria to fight against them. Assyria will defeat them and take their wealth. Israel will be like dirt for Assyria to walk on in the streets.
7 “But Assyria does not understand that I will use him. He does not think of himself as my tool. He only wants to destroy other people. He only plans to destroy many nations. 8 Assyria says to himself, ‘All of my officers are like kings! 9 The city of Calno is no better than the city of Carchemish. Arpad is like Hamath, and Samaria is like Damascus. 10 I defeated those evil kingdoms and now I control them. The idols those people worship are better than the idols of Jerusalem and Samaria. 11 I defeated Samaria and her gods. I will also defeat Jerusalem and the idols her people have made.’”
12 When the Lord finishes doing what he planned to Jerusalem and Mount Zion, he will punish Assyria. The king of Assyria is very proud. His pride made him do many bad things, so God will punish him.
13 The king of Assyria said, “I am very wise. By my own wisdom and power I have done many great things. I have defeated many nations. I have taken their wealth and their people as slaves. I am a very powerful man. 14 With my own hands I have taken the riches of all these people—like someone taking eggs from a bird’s nest. A bird often leaves its nest and eggs, and there is nothing to protect the nest. There is no bird to chirp and fight with its wings and beak, so anyone can come take the eggs. And there is no one to stop me from taking all the people on earth.”
15 An ax is not better than the one who cuts with it. A saw is not better than the one who uses it. Is a stick stronger than the one who picks it up? It can’t do anything to the person who is using it to punish someone! 16 But Assyria doesn’t understand this. So the Lord God All-Powerful will send a terrible disease against him. He will lose his wealth and power like a sick man losing weight. Then Assyria’s glory will be destroyed. It will be like a fire burning until everything is gone. 17 The Light of Israel [ a ] will be like a fire. The Holy One will be like a flame. He will be like a fire that first begins to burn the weeds and thorns 18 and then spreads to burn up the tall trees and vineyards. Finally, everything will be destroyed—even the people. Assyria will be like a rotting log. 19 There will be a few trees left standing in the forest—so few that even a child could count them.
20 Then the people from Jacob’s family who are left living in Israel will stop depending on the one who beat them. They will learn to depend on the Lord , the Holy One of Israel. 21 Those who are left in Jacob’s family will again follow the Powerful God. [ b ]
22 Israel, your people are as many as the sands of the sea, but only a few of them will be left to come back to God. But before that happens, your country will be destroyed. God has announced that he will destroy the land. And then justice will come into the land like a river flowing full. 23 The Lord God All-Powerful really will destroy this land.
24 The Lord God All-Powerful says, “My people living in Zion, don’t be afraid of Assyria! Yes, he will beat you, and it will be just as the time when Egypt beat you with a stick. 25 But after a short time my anger will stop. I will be satisfied that Assyria has punished you enough.”
26 Then the Lord All-Powerful will beat Assyria with a whip, just as he defeated Midian at Raven Rock. [ c ] He will punish his enemies, as he did when he raised his stick over the sea [ d ] and led his people from Egypt.
27 He will take away the troubles Assyria brought you—troubles that are like heavy weights carried with a yoke on your neck. But that yoke will be taken off your neck. The burden will be lifted from your shoulders.
28 [ e ] The army of Assyria will enter near the “Ruins” (Aiath). The army will walk on the “Threshing Floor” (Migron). It will keep its food in the “Storehouse” (Micmash). 29 The army will cross the river at the “Crossing” (Maabarah) and sleep at Geba. Ramah will be afraid. The people at Gibeah of Saul [ f ] will run away.
30 Cry out, Bath Gallim [ g ] ! Laishah, listen! Anathoth, answer me! 31 The people of Madmenah are running away. The people of Gebim [ h ] are hiding. 32 This day the army will stop at Nob and prepare to fight against Mount Zion, the hill of Jerusalem.
33 Look, the Lord God All-Powerful will use his great power and chop down that great tree. Their highest officials will be brought down. Their most important leaders will be humbled. 34 God will cut down his enemies. Like the tall trees of Lebanon he will cut them down with an ax.
10 Woe unto them that decree unrighteous decrees, and that write grievousness which they have prescribed;
2 To turn aside the needy from judgment, and to take away the right from the poor of my people, that widows may be their prey, and that they may rob the fatherless!
3 And what will ye do in the day of visitation, and in the desolation which shall come from far? to whom will ye flee for help? and where will ye leave your glory?
4 Without me they shall bow down under the prisoners, and they shall fall under the slain. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.
5 O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the staff in their hand is mine indignation.
6 I will send him against an hypocritical nation, and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge, to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets.
7 Howbeit he meaneth not so, neither doth his heart think so; but it is in his heart to destroy and cut off nations not a few.
8 For he saith, Are not my princes altogether kings?
9 Is not Calno as Carchemish? is not Hamath as Arpad? is not Samaria as Damascus?
10 As my hand hath found the kingdoms of the idols, and whose graven images did excel them of Jerusalem and of Samaria;
11 Shall I not, as I have done unto Samaria and her idols, so do to Jerusalem and her idols?
12 Wherefore it shall come to pass, that when the Lord hath performed his whole work upon mount Zion and on Jerusalem, I will punish the fruit of the stout heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his high looks.
13 For he saith, By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom; 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 hath found as a nest the riches of the people: and as one gathereth eggs that are left, have I gathered all the earth; and there was none that moved the wing, or opened the mouth, or peeped.
15 Shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth therewith? or shall the saw magnify itself against him that shaketh it? as if the rod should shake itself against them that lift it up, or as if the staff should lift up itself, as if it were no wood.
16 Therefore shall the Lord, the Lord of hosts, send among his fat ones leanness; and under his glory he shall kindle a burning like the burning of a fire.
17 And the light of Israel shall be for a fire, and his Holy One for 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 they shall be as when a standard-bearer fainteth.
19 And the rest of the trees of his forest shall be few, that a child may write them.
20 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the remnant of Israel, and such as are escaped of the house of Jacob, shall no more again stay upon him that smote them; but shall stay upon the Lord , the Holy One of Israel, in truth.
21 The remnant shall return, even the remnant of Jacob, unto the mighty God.
22 For though thy people Israel be as the sand of the sea, yet a remnant of them shall return: the consumption decreed shall overflow with righteousness.
23 For the Lord God of hosts shall make a consumption, even determined, in the midst of all the land.
24 Therefore thus saith the Lord God of hosts, O my people that dwellest in Zion, be not afraid of the Assyrian: he shall smite thee with a rod, and shall lift up his staff against thee, after the manner of Egypt.
25 For yet a very little while, and the indignation shall cease, and mine anger in their destruction.
26 And the Lord of hosts shall stir up a scourge for him according to the slaughter of Midian at the rock of Oreb: and as his rod was upon the sea, so shall he lift it up after the manner of Egypt.
27 And it shall come to pass in that day, that his burden shall be taken away from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing.
28 He is come to Aiath, he is passed to Migron; at Michmash he hath laid up his carriages:
29 They are gone over the passage: they have taken up their lodging at Geba; Ramah is afraid; Gibeah of Saul is fled.
30 Lift up thy voice, O daughter of Gallim: cause it to be heard unto Laish, O poor Anathoth.
31 Madmenah is removed; the inhabitants of Gebim gather themselves to flee.
32 As yet shall he remain at Nob that day: he shall shake his hand against the mount of the daughter of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem.
33 Behold, the Lord, the Lord of hosts, shall lop the bough with terror: and the high ones of stature shall be hewn down, and the haughty shall be humbled.
34 And he shall cut down the thickets of the forest with iron, and Lebanon shall fall by a mighty one.
10 Woe to those who ( A ) enact unjust statutes
And to those who constantly record [ a ] harmful decisions,
2 So as ( B ) to [ b ] deprive the needy of justice
And rob the poor among My people of their rights,
So ( C ) that widows may be their spoil
And that they may plunder the [ c ] orphans.
3 Now ( D ) what will you do in the ( E ) day of punishment,
And in the devastation which will come ( F ) from afar?
( G ) To whom will you flee for help?
And where will you leave your wealth?
4 Nothing remains but to crouch [ d ] among the ( H ) captives
Or fall [ e ] among those ( I ) killed.
( J ) In spite of all this, His anger does not turn away
And His hand is still stretched out.
5 Woe to ( K ) Assyria, the ( L ) rod of My anger
And the staff in whose hands is ( M ) My indignation,
6 I send it against a ( N ) godless nation
And commission it against the ( O ) people of My fury
To capture spoils and ( P ) to seize plunder,
And to [ f ] trample them down like ( Q ) mud in the streets.
7 Yet it ( R ) does not so intend,
Nor does [ g ] it plan so in its heart,
But rather it is [ h ] its purpose to destroy
And to eliminate [ i ] many nations.
8 For it says, “Are not my officers [ j ] all kings?
9 Is not ( S ) Calno like ( T ) Carchemish,
Or ( U ) Hamath like Arpad,
Or ( V ) Samaria like ( W ) Damascus?
10 As my hand has reached to the ( X ) 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 ( Y ) her idols?”
12 So it will be that when the Lord has completed all His ( Z ) work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, He will say , “I will [ k ] punish the fruit of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria and ( AA ) the arrogant pride of his eyes.” 13 For ( AB ) he has said,
“By the power of my hand and by my wisdom I did this ,
Because I have understanding;
And I ( AC ) removed the boundaries of the peoples
And plundered their treasures,
And like a powerful man I brought down [ l ] their inhabitants,
14 And my hand reached to the riches of the peoples like a ( AD ) 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 ( AE ) axe to ( AF ) 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 ( AG ) a [ m ] club wielding those who lift it,
Or like ( AH ) a rod lifting the one who is not wood.
16 Therefore the Lord, the [ n ] God of armies, will send a ( AI ) wasting disease among his ( AJ ) stout warriors;
And under his ( AK ) glory a fire will be kindled like a burning flame.
17 And the ( AL ) Light of Israel will become a fire and [ o ] Israel’s ( AM ) Holy One a flame,
And it will ( AN ) burn and devour [ p ] his thorns and his briars in a single day.
18 And He will ( AO ) 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 ( AP ) rest of the trees of his forest will be so small in number
That a child could write them down.
20 Now on that day the ( AQ ) remnant of Israel, and those of the house of Jacob ( AR ) who have escaped, will no longer rely on the one who struck them, but will truly ( AS ) rely on the Lord , the Holy One of Israel.
21 A ( AT ) remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, to the ( AU ) mighty God.
22 For ( AV ) though your people, Israel, may be like the sand of the sea,
Only a remnant within them will return;
A ( AW ) destruction is determined, overflowing with righteousness.
23 For a complete destruction, one that is determined, ( AX ) the Lord [ q ] God of armies will execute in the midst of the whole land.
24 Therefore this is what the Lord [ r ] God of armies says: “My people, you who dwell in ( AY ) Zion, ( AZ ) do not fear the Assyrian [ s ] who ( BA ) strikes you with the rod, and lifts up his staff against you the way Egypt did . 25 For in a very ( BB ) little while ( BC ) My indignation against you will be ended and My anger will be directed toward their destruction.” 26 The Lord of armies will ( BD ) wield a whip against him like the defeat of ( BE ) Midian at the rock of Oreb; and His ( BF ) staff will be over the sea, and He will lift it up ( BG ) the way He did in Egypt. 27 So it will be on that day, that [ t ] his ( BH ) burden will be removed from your shoulders, and his yoke from your neck; and the yoke will be broken because ( BI ) of fatness.
28 He has come against Aiath,
He has passed through ( BJ ) Migron;
At ( BK ) Michmash he deposited his ( BL ) baggage.
29 They have gone through ( BM ) the pass, saying ,
“ ( BN ) Geba will be our encampment for the night.”
( BO ) Ramah is terrified, and ( BP ) Gibeah of Saul has fled.
30 Cry aloud with your voice, daughter of ( BQ ) Gallim!
Pay attention, Laishah and [ u ] wretched ( BR ) Anathoth!
31 Madmenah has fled.
The inhabitants of Gebim have sought refuge.
32 Yet today he will halt at ( BS ) Nob;
He ( BT ) shakes his fist at the mountain of the [ v ] ( BU ) daughter of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem.
33 Behold, the Lord, the [ w ] God of armies, will lop off the branches with terrifying power;
Those also who are ( BV ) tall in stature will be cut down,
And those who are lofty will be brought low.
34 He will cut down the thickets of the forest with an iron axe ,
And ( BW ) Lebanon will fall by the Mighty One.
10 Woe ( A ) to those who make unjust laws,
to those who issue oppressive decrees, ( B )
2 to deprive ( C ) the poor of their rights
and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people, ( D )
making widows their prey
and robbing the fatherless. ( E )
3 What will you do on the day of reckoning, ( F )
when disaster ( G ) comes from afar?
To whom will you run for help? ( H )
Where will you leave your riches?
4 Nothing will remain but to cringe among the captives ( I )
or fall among the slain. ( J )
Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away, ( K )
his hand is still upraised.
5 “Woe ( L ) to the Assyrian, ( M ) the rod ( N ) of my anger,
in whose hand is the club ( O ) of my wrath! ( P )
6 I send him against a godless ( Q ) nation,
I dispatch ( R ) him against a people who anger me, ( S )
to seize loot and snatch plunder, ( T )
and to trample ( U ) them down like mud in the streets.
7 But this is not what he intends, ( V )
this is not what he has in mind;
his purpose is to destroy,
to put an end to many nations.
8 ‘Are not my commanders ( W ) all kings?’ he says.
9 ‘Has not Kalno ( X ) fared like Carchemish? ( Y )
Is not Hamath ( Z ) like Arpad, ( AA )
and Samaria ( AB ) like Damascus? ( AC )
10 As my hand seized the kingdoms of the idols, ( AD )
kingdoms whose images excelled those of Jerusalem and Samaria—
11 shall I not deal with Jerusalem and her images
as I dealt with Samaria and her idols? ( AE ) ’”
12 When the Lord has finished all his work ( AF ) against Mount Zion ( AG ) and Jerusalem, he will say, “I will punish the king of Assyria ( AH ) for the willful pride ( AI ) of his heart and the haughty look ( AJ ) in his eyes. 13 For he says:
“‘By the strength of my hand ( AK ) I have done this, ( AL )
and by my wisdom, because I have understanding.
I removed the boundaries of nations,
I plundered their treasures; ( AM )
like a mighty one I subdued [ a ] their kings. ( AN )
14 As one reaches into a nest, ( AO )
so my hand reached for the wealth ( AP ) of the nations;
as people gather abandoned eggs,
so I gathered all the countries; ( AQ )
not one flapped a wing,
or opened its mouth to chirp. ( AR ) ’”
15 Does the ax raise itself above the person who swings it,
or the saw boast against the one who uses it? ( AS )
As if a rod were to wield the person who lifts it up,
or a club ( AT ) brandish the one who is not wood!
16 Therefore, the Lord, the Lord Almighty,
will send a wasting disease ( AU ) upon his sturdy warriors; ( AV )
under his pomp ( AW ) a fire ( AX ) will be kindled
like a blazing flame.
17 The Light of Israel will become a fire, ( AY )
their Holy One ( AZ ) a flame;
in a single day it will burn and consume
his thorns ( BA ) and his briers. ( BB )
18 The splendor of his forests ( BC ) and fertile fields
it will completely destroy, ( BD )
as when a sick person wastes away.
19 And the remaining trees of his forests ( BE ) will be so few ( BF )
that a child could write them down.
20 In that day ( BG ) the remnant of Israel,
the survivors ( BH ) of Jacob,
will no longer rely ( BI ) on him
who struck them down ( BJ )
but will truly rely ( BK ) on the Lord ,
the Holy One of Israel. ( BL )
21 A remnant ( BM ) will return, [ b ] ( BN ) a remnant of Jacob
will return to the Mighty God. ( BO )
22 Though your people be like the sand ( BP ) by the sea, Israel,
only a remnant will return. ( BQ )
Destruction has been decreed, ( BR )
overwhelming and righteous.
23 The Lord, the Lord Almighty, will carry out
the destruction decreed ( BS ) upon the whole land. ( BT )
24 Therefore this is what the Lord, the Lord Almighty, says:
“My people who live in Zion, ( BU )
do not be afraid ( BV ) of the Assyrians,
who beat ( BW ) you with a rod ( BX )
and lift up a club against you, as Egypt did.
25 Very soon ( BY ) my anger against you will end
and my wrath ( BZ ) will be directed to their destruction. ( CA ) ”
26 The Lord Almighty will lash ( CB ) them with a whip,
as when he struck down Midian ( CC ) at the rock of Oreb;
and he will raise his staff ( CD ) over the waters, ( CE )
as he did in Egypt.
27 In that day ( CF ) their burden ( CG ) will be lifted from your shoulders,
their yoke ( CH ) from your neck; ( CI )
the yoke ( CJ ) will be broken
because you have grown so fat. [ c ]
28 They enter Aiath;
they pass through Migron; ( CK )
they store supplies ( CL ) at Mikmash. ( CM )
29 They go over the pass, and say,
“We will camp overnight at Geba. ( CN ) ”
Ramah ( CO ) trembles;
Gibeah ( CP ) of Saul flees. ( CQ )
30 Cry out, Daughter Gallim! ( CR )
Listen, Laishah!
Poor Anathoth! ( CS )
31 Madmenah is in flight;
the people of Gebim take cover.
32 This day they will halt at Nob; ( CT )
they will shake their fist ( CU )
at the mount of Daughter Zion, ( CV )
at the hill of Jerusalem.
