Online Bible

Assyria Is God’s Instrument

Woe to those who ^aenact unjust statutesAnd to those who constantly record ¹harmful decisions,2 So as ^ato ¹deprive the needy of justiceAnd rob the poor among My people of their rights,So ^bthat widows may be their spoilAnd that they may plunder the ²orphans.3 Now ^awhat will you do in the ^bday of punishment,And in the devastation which will come ^cfrom afar?^dTo whom will you flee for help?And where will you leave your wealth?4 Nothing remains but to crouch ¹among the ^acaptivesOr fall ²among those ^bkilled.^cIn spite of all this, His anger does not turn awayAnd His hand is still stretched out.

5 Woe to ^aAssyria, the ^brod of My angerAnd the staff in whose hands is ^cMy indignation,6 I send it against a ^agodless nationAnd commission it against the ^bpeople of My furyTo capture spoils and ^cto seize plunder,And to ¹trample them down like ^dmud in the streets.7 Yet it ^adoes not so intend,Nor does ¹it plan so in its heart,But rather it is ²its purpose to destroyAnd to eliminate ³many nations.8 For it says, “Are not my officers ¹all kings?9 “Is not ^aCalno like ^bCarchemish,Or ^cHamath like Arpad,Or ^dSamaria like ^eDamascus?10 “As my hand has reached to the ^akingdoms 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 imagesJust as I have done to Samaria and ^aher idols?”

12 So it will be that when the Lord has completed all His ^awork on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, He will say, “I will ¹punish the fruit of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria and ^bthe arrogant pride of his eyes.” 13 For ^ahe has said,“By the power of my hand and by my wisdom I did this,Because I have understanding;And I ^bremoved the boundaries of the peoplesAnd plundered their treasures,And like a powerful man I brought down ¹their inhabitants,

14 And my hand reached to the riches of the peoples like a ^anest,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 ^aaxe to ^bboast itself over the one who chops with it?Is the saw to exalt itself over the one who wields it?That would be like ^ca ¹club wielding those who lift it,Or like ^da rod lifting the one who is not wood.16 Therefore the Lord, the ¹GOD of armies, will send a ^awasting disease among his ^bstout warriors;And under his ^cglory a fire will be kindled like a burning flame.17 And the ^aLight of Israel will become a fire and ¹Israel’s ^bHoly One a flame,And it will ^cburn and devour ²his thorns and his briars in a single day.18 And He will ^adestroy 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 ^arest of the trees of his forest will be so small in numberThat a child could write them down.

A Remnant Will Return

20 Now on that day the ^aremnant of Israel, and those of the house of Jacob ^bwho have escaped, will no longer rely on the one who struck them, but will truly ^crely on the LORD, the Holy One of Israel.

21 A ^aremnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, to the ^bmighty God.22 For ^athough your people, Israel, may be like the sand of the sea,Only a remnant within them will return;A ^bdestruction is determined, overflowing with righteousness.

23 For a complete destruction, one that is determined, ^athe Lord ¹GOD of armies will execute in the midst of the whole land.

24 Therefore this is what the Lord ¹GOD of armies says: “My people, you who dwell in ^aZion, ^bdo not fear the Assyrian ²who ^cstrikes you with the rod, and lifts up his staff against you the way Egypt did. 25 For in a very ^alittle while ^bMy indignation against you will be ended and My anger will be directed toward their destruction.” 26 The LORD of armies will ^awield a whip against him like the defeat of ^bMidian at the rock of Oreb; and His ^cstaff will be over the sea, and He will lift it up ^dthe way He did in Egypt. 27 So it will be on that day, that ¹his ^aburden will be removed from your shoulders, and his yoke from your neck; and the yoke will be broken because ^bof fatness.

28 He has come against Aiath,He has passed through ^aMigron;At ^bMichmash he deposited his ^cbaggage.29 They have gone through ^athe pass, saying,“^bGeba will be our encampment for the night.”^cRamah is terrified, and ^dGibeah of Saul has fled.30 Cry aloud with your voice, daughter of ^aGallim!Pay attention, Laishah and ¹wretched ^bAnathoth!31 Madmenah has fled.The inhabitants of Gebim have sought refuge.32 Yet today he will halt at ^aNob;He ^bshakes his fist at the mountain of the ¹^cdaughter of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem.

33 Behold, the Lord, the ¹GOD of armies, will lop off the branches with terrifying power;Those also who are ^atall 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 ^aLebanon will fall by the Mighty One.

Assyria Is God’s Instrument

Woe to those who ^aenact evil statutesAnd to those who constantly record ¹unjust decisions,2 So as ^ato ¹deprive the needy of justiceAnd rob the poor of My people of their rights,So ^bthat widows may be their spoilAnd that they may plunder the ²orphans.3 Now ^awhat will you do in the ^bday of punishment,And in the devastation which will come ^cfrom afar?^dTo whom will you flee for help?And where will you leave your ¹wealth?4 Nothing remains but to crouch ¹among the ^acaptivesOr fall ²among the ^bslain.^cIn spite of all this, His anger does not turn awayAnd His hand is still stretched out.

5 Woe to ^aAssyria, the ^brod of My angerAnd the staff in whose hands is ^cMy indignation,6 I send it against a ^agodless nationAnd commission it against the ^bpeople of My furyTo capture booty and ^cto seize plunder,And to ¹trample them down like ^dmud in the streets.7 Yet it ^adoes not so intend,Nor does ¹it plan so in its heart,But rather it is ²its purpose to destroyAnd to cut off ³many nations.8 For it says, “Are not my princes ¹all kings?9 “Is not ^aCalno like ^bCarchemish,Or ^cHamath like Arpad,Or ^dSamaria like ^eDamascus?10 “As my hand has reached to the ^akingdoms of the idols,Whose graven images were greater than those of Jerusalem and Samaria,11 Shall I not ¹do to Jerusalem and her imagesJust as I have done to Samaria and ^aher idols?”

12 So it will be that when the Lord has completed all His ^awork on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, He will say, “I will ¹punish the fruit of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria and ^bthe pomp of ²his haughtiness.” 13 For ^ahe has said,“By the power of my hand and by my wisdom I did this,For I have understanding;And I ^bremoved the boundaries of the peoplesAnd plundered their treasures,And like a mighty man I brought down ¹their inhabitants,

14 And my hand reached to the riches of the peoples like a ^anest,And as one gathers abandoned eggs, I gathered all the earth;And there was not one that flapped its wing or opened its beak or chirped.”

15 Is the ^aaxe to ^bboast itself over the one who chops with it?Is the saw to exalt itself over the one who wields it?That would be like ^ca ¹club wielding those who lift it,Or like ^da rod lifting him who is not wood.16 Therefore the Lord, the ¹GOD of hosts, will send a ^awasting disease among his ^bstout warriors;And under his ^cglory a fire will be kindled like a burning flame.17 And the ^alight of Israel will become a fire and his ^bHoly One a flame,And it will ^cburn and devour his thorns and his briars in a single day.18 And He will ^adestroy the glory of his forest and of his fruitful garden, both soul and body,And it will be as when a sick man wastes away.19 And the ^arest of the trees of his forest will be so small in numberThat a child could write them down.

A Remnant Will Return

20 Now in that day the ^aremnant of Israel, and those of the house of Jacob ^bwho have escaped, will never again rely on the one who struck them, but will truly ^crely on the LORD, the Holy One of Israel.

21 A ^aremnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, to the ^bmighty God.22 For ^athough your people, O Israel, may be like the sand of the sea,Only a remnant within them will return;A ^bdestruction is determined, overflowing with righteousness.

23 For a complete destruction, one that is decreed, ^athe Lord ¹GOD of hosts will execute in the midst of the whole land.

24 Therefore thus says the Lord ¹GOD of hosts, “O My people who dwell in ^aZion, ^bdo not fear the Assyrian ²who ^cstrikes you with the rod and lifts up his staff against you, the way Egypt did. 25 For in a very ^alittle while ^bMy indignation against you will be spent and My anger will be directed to their destruction.” 26 The LORD of hosts will ^aarouse a scourge against him like the slaughter of ^bMidian at the rock of Oreb; and His ^cstaff will be over the sea and He will lift it up ^dthe way He did in Egypt. 27 So it will be in that day, that ¹his ^aburden will be removed from your shoulders and his yoke from your neck, and the yoke will be broken because ^bof fatness.

28 He has come against Aiath,He has passed through ^aMigron;At ^bMichmash he deposited his ^cbaggage.29 They have gone through ^athe pass, saying,“^bGeba will be our lodging place.”^cRamah is terrified, and ^dGibeah of Saul has fled away.30 Cry aloud with your voice, O daughter of ^aGallim!Pay attention, Laishah and ¹wretched ^bAnathoth!31 Madmenah has fled.The inhabitants of Gebim have sought refuge.32 Yet today he will halt at ^aNob;He ^bshakes his fist at the mountain of the ¹^cdaughter of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem.

33 Behold, the Lord, the ¹GOD of hosts, will lop off the boughs with a terrible crash;Those also who are ^atall in stature will be cut downAnd those who are lofty will be abased.34 He will cut down the thickets of the forest with an iron axe,And ^aLebanon will fall ¹by the Mighty One.