Isa 10 | NASB2020 | STEP | Woe to those who enact unjust statutes And to those who constantly record harmful decisions ,

Isaiah 10

Assyria Is God’s Instrument

1 Woe to those who ^aenact unjust statutes
And to those who constantly record ^{▼▼Lit harm}harmful decisions,
2 So as ^cto ^{▼▼Lit turn the needy aside from}deprive the needy of justice
And rob the poor among My people of their rights,
So ^ethat widows may be their spoil
And that they may plunder the ^{▼▼Or fatherless}orphans.
3 Now ^gwhat will you do in the ^hday of punishment,
And in the devastation which will come ⁱfrom afar?
^jTo whom will you flee for help?
And where will you leave your wealth?
4 Nothing remains but to crouch ^{▼▼Lit under}among the ^lcaptives
Or fall ^{▼▼Lit under}among those ⁿkilled.
^oIn spite of all this, His anger does not turn away
And His hand is still stretched out.

5 Woe to ^pAssyria, the ^qrod of My anger
And the staff in whose hands is ^rMy indignation,
6 I send it against a ^sgodless nation
And commission it against the ^tpeople of My fury
To capture spoils and ^uto seize plunder,
And to ^{▼▼Lit make them a trampled place}trample them down like ^wmud in the streets.
7 Yet it ^xdoes not so intend,
Nor does ^{▼▼Lit its heart so plan}it plan so in its heart,
But rather it is ^{▼▼Lit in its heart}its purpose to destroy
And to eliminate ^{▼▼Lit not a few}many nations.
8 For it says, “Are not my officers ^{▼▼Lit altogether}all kings?
9 “Is not ^acCalno like ^adCarchemish,
Or ^aeHamath like Arpad,
Or ^afSamaria like ^agDamascus?
10 “As my hand has reached to the ^ahkingdoms 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 ^aiher idols?”
12 So it will be that when the Lord has completed all His ^ajwork on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, He will say, “I will ^{▼▼Lit visit}punish the fruit of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria and ^althe arrogant pride of his eyes.” 13 For ^amhe has said,

“By the power of my hand and by my wisdom I did this,
Because I have understanding;
And I ^anremoved the boundaries of the peoples
And plundered their treasures,
And like a powerful man I brought down ^{▼▼Or those who sit on thrones}their inhabitants,
14 And my hand reached to the riches of the peoples like a ^apnest,
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 ^aqaxe to ^arboast itself over the one who chops with it?
Is the saw to exalt itself over the one who wields it?
That would be like ^asa ^{▼▼Lit staff}club wielding those who lift it,
Or like ^aua rod lifting the one who is not wood.
16 Therefore the Lord, the ^{▼▼Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord}God of armies, will send a ^awwasting disease among his ^axstout warriors;
And under his ^ayglory a fire will be kindled like a burning flame.
17 And the ^azLight of Israel will become a fire and ^{▼▼Lit his}Israel’s ^bbHoly One a flame,
And it will ^bcburn and devour ^{▼▼I.e., the Assyrian king’s forces}his thorns and his briars in a single day.
18 And He will ^bedestroy 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 ^bfrest of the trees of his forest will be so small in number
That a child could write them down.

A Remnant Will Return

20 Now on that day the ^bgremnant of Israel, and those of the house of Jacob ^bhwho have escaped, will no longer rely on the one who struck them, but will truly ^birely on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel.

21 A ^bjremnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, to the ^bkmighty God.
22 For ^blthough your people, Israel, may be like the sand of the sea,
Only a remnant within them will return;
A ^bmdestruction is determined, overflowing with righteousness.
23 For a complete destruction, one that is determined, ^bnthe Lord ^{▼▼Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord}God of armies will execute in the midst of the whole land.

24 Therefore this is what the Lord ^{▼▼Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord}God of armies says: “My people, you who dwell in ^bqZion, ^brdo not fear the Assyrian ^{▼▼Lit he}who ^btstrikes you with the rod, and lifts up his staff against you the way Egypt did. 25 For in a very ^bulittle while ^bvMy indignation against you will be ended and My anger will be directed toward their destruction.” 26 The Lord of armies will ^bwwield a whip against him like the defeat of ^bxMidian at the rock of Oreb; and His ^bystaff will be over the sea, and He will lift it up ^bzthe way He did in Egypt. 27 So it will be on that day, that ^{▼▼I.e., the Assyrian}his ^cbburden will be removed from your shoulders, and his yoke from your neck; and the yoke will be broken because ^ccof fatness.

28 He has come against Aiath,
He has passed through ^cdMigron;
At ^ceMichmash he deposited his ^cfbaggage.
29 They have gone through ^cgthe pass, saying,
“ ^chGeba will be our encampment for the night.”
^ciRamah is terrified, and ^cjGibeah of Saul has fled.
30 Cry aloud with your voice, daughter of ^ckGallim!
Pay attention, Laishah and ^{▼▼An ancient version reads Answer her, O Anathoth}wretched ^cmAnathoth!
31 Madmenah has fled.
The inhabitants of Gebim have sought refuge.
32 Yet today he will halt at ^cnNob;
He ^coshakes his fist at the mountain of the ^{▼▼Another reading is house of
,} ^cqdaughter of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem.

33 Behold, the Lord, the ^{▼▼Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord}God of armies, will lop off the branches with terrifying power;
Those also who are ^cstall 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 ^ctLebanon will fall by the Mighty One.