10 Woe(A) to those who make unjust laws,
    to those who issue oppressive decrees,(B)
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)
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?
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.

God’s Judgment on Assyria

“Woe(L) to the Assyrian,(M) the rod(N) of my anger,
    in whose hand is the club(O) of my wrath!(P)
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.
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.
‘Are not my commanders(W) all kings?’ he says.
    ‘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.

The Remnant of Israel

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.

33 See, the Lord, the Lord Almighty,
    will lop off(CW) the boughs with great power.
The lofty trees will be felled,(CX)
    the tall(CY) ones will be brought low.(CZ)
34 He will cut down(DA) the forest thickets with an ax;
    Lebanon(DB) will fall before the Mighty One.(DC)

The Branch From Jesse

11 A shoot(DD) will come up from the stump(DE) of Jesse;(DF)
    from his roots a Branch(DG) will bear fruit.(DH)
The Spirit(DI) of the Lord will rest on him—
    the Spirit of wisdom(DJ) and of understanding,
    the Spirit of counsel and of might,(DK)
    the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord
and he will delight in the fear(DL) of the Lord.

He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes,(DM)
    or decide by what he hears with his ears;(DN)
but with righteousness(DO) he will judge the needy,(DP)
    with justice(DQ) he will give decisions for the poor(DR) of the earth.
He will strike(DS) the earth with the rod of his mouth;(DT)
    with the breath(DU) of his lips he will slay the wicked.(DV)
Righteousness will be his belt(DW)
    and faithfulness(DX) the sash around his waist.(DY)

The wolf will live with the lamb,(DZ)
    the leopard will lie down with the goat,
the calf and the lion and the yearling[d] together;
    and a little child will lead them.
The cow will feed with the bear,
    their young will lie down together,
    and the lion will eat straw like the ox.(EA)
The infant(EB) will play near the cobra’s den,
    and the young child will put its hand into the viper’s(EC) nest.
They will neither harm nor destroy(ED)
    on all my holy mountain,(EE)
for the earth(EF) will be filled with the knowledge(EG) of the Lord
    as the waters cover the sea.

10 In that day(EH) the Root of Jesse(EI) will stand as a banner(EJ) for the peoples; the nations(EK) will rally to him,(EL) and his resting place(EM) will be glorious.(EN) 11 In that day(EO) the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to reclaim the surviving remnant(EP) of his people from Assyria,(EQ) from Lower Egypt, from Upper Egypt,(ER) from Cush,[e](ES) from Elam,(ET) from Babylonia,[f] from Hamath(EU) and from the islands(EV) of the Mediterranean.(EW)

12 He will raise a banner(EX) for the nations
    and gather(EY) the exiles of Israel;(EZ)
he will assemble the scattered people(FA) of Judah
    from the four quarters of the earth.(FB)
13 Ephraim’s jealousy will vanish,
    and Judah’s enemies[g] will be destroyed;
Ephraim will not be jealous of Judah,
    nor Judah hostile toward Ephraim.(FC)
14 They will swoop down on the slopes of Philistia(FD) to the west;
    together they will plunder the people to the east.(FE)
They will subdue Edom(FF) and Moab,(FG)
    and the Ammonites(FH) will be subject to them.(FI)
15 The Lord will dry up(FJ)
    the gulf of the Egyptian sea;
with a scorching wind(FK) he will sweep his hand(FL)
    over the Euphrates River.(FM)
He will break it up into seven streams
    so that anyone can cross over in sandals.(FN)
16 There will be a highway(FO) for the remnant(FP) of his people
    that is left from Assyria,(FQ)
as there was for Israel
    when they came up from Egypt.(FR)

Songs of Praise

12 In that day(FS) you will say:

“I will praise(FT) you, Lord.
    Although you were angry with me,
your anger has turned away(FU)
    and you have comforted(FV) me.
Surely God is my salvation;(FW)
    I will trust(FX) and not be afraid.
The Lord, the Lord himself,(FY) is my strength(FZ) and my defense[h];
    he has become my salvation.(GA)
With joy you will draw water(GB)
    from the wells(GC) of salvation.

In that day(GD) you will say:

“Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name;(GE)
    make known among the nations(GF) what he has done,
    and proclaim that his name is exalted.(GG)
Sing(GH) to the Lord, for he has done glorious things;(GI)
    let this be known to all the world.
Shout aloud and sing for joy,(GJ) people of Zion,
    for great(GK) is the Holy One of Israel(GL) among you.(GM)

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 10:13 Or treasures; / I subdued the mighty,
  2. Isaiah 10:21 Hebrew shear-jashub (see 7:3 and note); also in verse 22
  3. Isaiah 10:27 Hebrew; Septuagint broken / from your shoulders
  4. Isaiah 11:6 Hebrew; Septuagint lion will feed
  5. Isaiah 11:11 That is, the upper Nile region
  6. Isaiah 11:11 Hebrew Shinar
  7. Isaiah 11:13 Or hostility
  8. Isaiah 12:2 Or song

Ahaz King of Judah(A)

28 Ahaz(B) was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years. Unlike David his father, he did not do what was right in the eyes of the Lord. He followed the ways of the kings of Israel and also made idols(C) for worshiping the Baals. He burned sacrifices in the Valley of Ben Hinnom(D) and sacrificed his children(E) in the fire, engaging in the detestable(F) practices of the nations the Lord had driven out before the Israelites. He offered sacrifices and burned incense at the high places, on the hilltops and under every spreading tree.

Therefore the Lord his God delivered him into the hands of the king of Aram.(G) The Arameans defeated him and took many of his people as prisoners and brought them to Damascus.

He was also given into the hands of the king of Israel, who inflicted heavy casualties on him. In one day Pekah(H) son of Remaliah killed a hundred and twenty thousand soldiers in Judah(I)—because Judah had forsaken the Lord, the God of their ancestors. Zikri, an Ephraimite warrior, killed Maaseiah the king’s son, Azrikam the officer in charge of the palace, and Elkanah, second to the king. The men of Israel took captive from their fellow Israelites who were from Judah(J) two hundred thousand wives, sons and daughters. They also took a great deal of plunder, which they carried back to Samaria.(K)

But a prophet of the Lord named Oded was there, and he went out to meet the army when it returned to Samaria. He said to them, “Because the Lord, the God of your ancestors, was angry(L) with Judah, he gave them into your hand. But you have slaughtered them in a rage that reaches to heaven.(M) 10 And now you intend to make the men and women of Judah and Jerusalem your slaves.(N) But aren’t you also guilty of sins against the Lord your God? 11 Now listen to me! Send back your fellow Israelites you have taken as prisoners, for the Lord’s fierce anger rests on you.(O)

12 Then some of the leaders in Ephraim—Azariah son of Jehohanan, Berekiah son of Meshillemoth, Jehizkiah son of Shallum, and Amasa son of Hadlai—confronted those who were arriving from the war. 13 “You must not bring those prisoners here,” they said, “or we will be guilty before the Lord. Do you intend to add to our sin and guilt? For our guilt is already great, and his fierce anger rests on Israel.”

14 So the soldiers gave up the prisoners and plunder in the presence of the officials and all the assembly. 15 The men designated by name took the prisoners, and from the plunder they clothed all who were naked. They provided them with clothes and sandals, food and drink,(P) and healing balm. All those who were weak they put on donkeys. So they took them back to their fellow Israelites at Jericho, the City of Palms,(Q) and returned to Samaria.(R)

16 At that time King Ahaz sent to the kings[a] of Assyria(S) for help. 17 The Edomites(T) had again come and attacked Judah and carried away prisoners,(U) 18 while the Philistines(V) had raided towns in the foothills and in the Negev of Judah. They captured and occupied Beth Shemesh, Aijalon(W) and Gederoth,(X) as well as Soko,(Y) Timnah(Z) and Gimzo, with their surrounding villages. 19 The Lord had humbled Judah because of Ahaz king of Israel,[b] for he had promoted wickedness in Judah and had been most unfaithful(AA) to the Lord. 20 Tiglath-Pileser[c](AB) king of Assyria(AC) came to him, but he gave him trouble(AD) instead of help.(AE) 21 Ahaz(AF) took some of the things from the temple of the Lord and from the royal palace and from the officials and presented them to the king of Assyria, but that did not help him.(AG)

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 28:16 Most Hebrew manuscripts; one Hebrew manuscript, Septuagint and Vulgate (see also 2 Kings 16:7) king
  2. 2 Chronicles 28:19 That is, Judah, as frequently in 2 Chronicles
  3. 2 Chronicles 28:20 Hebrew Tilgath-Pilneser, a variant of Tiglath-Pileser

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