Online Bible

Assyria Is God’s Instrument

Woe (judgment is coming) to those judges who ^aissue evil statutes,And to those magistrates who constantly record unjust and oppressive decisions,2 ^aSo as to deprive the needy of justiceAnd rob the poor of My people of rightful claims,^bSo that widows may be their spoilAnd that they may plunder the fatherless.3 Now ^awhat will you do in the ^bday of God’s punishment,And in the storm of devastation which will come ^cfrom far away?^dTo whom will you flee for help?And where will you leave your wealth for safekeeping?4 Nothing remains but to crouch among the ^acaptivesOr fall dead among the ^bslain on the battlefield.^cIn spite of all this, God’s anger does not turn away,But His hand is still stretched out in judgment.

5 Woe to ^aAssyria, the ^brod of My anger against Israel,The staff in whose hand is ^cMy indignation and fury against Israel’s disobedience!6 I send Assyria against a ^agodless nationAnd commission it against the ^bpeople of My wrathTo take the spoil and ^cto seize the plunder,And to trample them down like ^dmud in the streets.7 Yet it ^ais not Assyria’s intention to do My will,Nor does it plan so in its heart,But instead it is its purpose to destroyAnd to cut off many nations.8 For Assyria says, “Are not my princes all kings?9 “Is not ^aCalno conquered like ^bCarchemish on the Euphrates?Is not ^cHamath subdued like Arpad her neighbor?Is not ^dSamaria in Israel like ^eDamascus in Aram?10 “As my hand has reached to the ^akingdoms of the idols,Whose carved images were greater and more feared than those of Jerusalem and Samaria,11 Shall I not do to Jerusalem and her imagesJust as I have done to Samaria and ^aher idols?” declares Assyria.

12 So when the Lord has completed all His ^awork of judgment on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, He will say, “I will punish the fruit the thoughts, the declarations, and the actions of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria and ^bthe haughtiness of his pride.” 13 For the Assyrian king ^ahas said,“I have done this by the power of my own hand and by my wisdom,For I have understanding and skill.I have ^bremoved the boundaries of the peoplesAnd have plundered their treasures;Like a bull I have brought down those who sat on thrones.

14 “My hand has found the wealth of the people like a ^anest,And as one gathers eggs that are abandoned, so I have gathered all the earth;And there was not one that flapped its wing, or that opened its beak and chirped.”

15 Is the ^aaxe able to ^blift itself over the one who chops with it?Is the saw able to magnify itself over the one who wields it?That would be like ^ca club moving those who lift it,Or like a ^dstaff raising him who is not made of wood like itself!16 Therefore the Lord, the GOD of hosts, will send a ^awasting disease among the ^bstout warriors of Assyria;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 ¹^cburn and devour Assyria’s thorns and briars in a single day. 2+@Kin 19:35-37; Is 31:8, 9; 37:3618 The Lord will ^aconsume the glory of Assyria’s forest and of its fruitful garden, both soul and body,And it will be as when a sick man wastes away.19 And the ^aremaining trees of Assyria’s forest will be so few 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 who have ^bescaped, will never again rely on the one who struck them, but will truly ^crely on the LORD, the Holy One of Israel.

21 A ¹^aremnant will return, a remnant of Jacob, to the ^bmighty God.22 For ^athough your people, O Israel, may be as the sand of the sea,Only a remnant within them will return;The ^bdestruction is determined it is decided and destined for completion, overflowing with justice (righteous punishment) . Rom 9:27, 28

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

24 Therefore, the Lord GOD of hosts says this, “O My people who dwell in ^aZion, ^bdo not be afraid of the Assyrian who ^cstrikes you with a rod and lifts up his staff against you, as the king of Egypt did. Ex 5 25 For yet a very ^alittle while and ^bMy indignation against you will be fulfilled and My anger will be directed toward the destruction of the Assyrian.” 26 The LORD of hosts will ^abrandish a whip against them like the slaughter of ^bMidian at the rock of Oreb; and His ^cstaff will be over the Red Sea and He will lift it up ^dthe way He did in the flight from Egypt. Ex 14:26-31; Judg 7:24, 25 27 So it will be in that day, that the ^aburden of the Assyrian will be removed from your shoulders and his yoke from your neck. The yoke will be broken because ^bof the fat. Deut 32:15

28 The Assyrian has come against Aiath in Judah,He has passed through ^aMigron with his army;At ^bMichmash he stored his ^cequipment.29 They have gone through ^athe pass, saying,“^bGeba will be our lodging place for the night.”^cRamah trembles, and ^dGibeah the city of Saul has fled.30 Cry aloud with your voice in consternation, O Daughter of ^aGallim!Pay attention, Laishah! Answer her, ^bAnathoth!31 Madmenah has fled;The inhabitants of Gebim have fled with their belongings to safety.32 Yet today the Assyrian will halt at ^aNob the city of priests;^bHe shakes his fist at the mountain of the ^cDaughter of Zion, at the hill of Jerusalem.

33 Listen carefully, the Lord, the GOD of hosts, will lop off the beautiful boughs with terrifying force;The ^atall in stature will be cut downAnd the lofty will be abased and humiliated.34 He will cut down the thickets of the forest with an iron axe,And ^aLebanon (the Assyrian) will fall by the Mighty One. Gen 49:24; Is 9:6