Woe to those who adecree iniquitous decrees,
and the writers who bkeep writing oppression,
2 to turn aside the needy from justice
and ato rob the poor of my people of their right,
that widows may be their spoil,
and that they may make the fatherless their prey!
3 What will you do on athe day of punishment,
in the ruin that will come bfrom afar?
To whom will you flee for help,
and where will you leave your wealth?
4 Nothing remains but to crouch among the prisoners
or fall among the slain.
aFor all this his anger has not turned away,
and his hand is stretched out still.
Judgment on Arrogant Assyria
5 Woe to Assyria, athe rod of my anger;
the staff in their hands is my fury!
6 Against a agodless nation I send him,
and against the people of my wrath I command him,
to take bspoil and seize plunder,
and to ctread them down like the mire of the streets.
7 But he adoes not so intend,
and his heart does not so think;
but it is in his heart to destroy,
and to cut off nations not a few;
8 for he says:
a“Are not my commanders all kings?
9 aIs not bCalno like cCarchemish?
Is not dHamath like eArpad?
fIs not gSamaria like Damascus?
10 As my hand has reached to athe kingdoms of the idols,
whose carved images were greater than those of Jerusalem and Samaria,
11 shall I not do to Jerusalem and aher idols
bas I have done to Samaria and her images?”
12 aWhen the Lord has finished all his work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, bhe will punish the speech of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria and the boastful look in his eyes. 13 aFor he says:
“By the strength of my hand I have done it,
and by my wisdom, for I have understanding;
I remove the boundaries of peoples,
and plunder their treasures;
like a bull I bring down those who sit on thrones.
14 My hand has found like a nest
the wealth of the peoples;
and as one gathers eggs that have been forsaken,
so I have gathered all the earth;
and there was none that moved a wing
or opened the mouth or chirped.”
15 Shall athe axe boast over him who hews with it,
or the saw magnify itself against him who wields it?
As if a rod should wield him who lifts it,
or as if a staff should lift him who is not wood!
16 Therefore the Lord God of hosts
will send wasting sickness among his astout warriors,
and under his glory ba burning will be kindled,
like the burning of fire.
17 aThe light of Israel will become a fire,
and bhis Holy One a flame,
and cit will burn and devour
his thorns and briers din one day.
18 The glory of ahis forest and of his bfruitful land
the Lord will destroy, both soul and body,
and it will be as when a sick man wastes away.
19 The remnant of the trees of his forest will be so few
that a child can write them down.
The Remnant of Israel Will Return
20 aIn that day bthe remnant of Israel and the survivors of the house of Jacob will no more clean on him who struck them, but dwill lean on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. 21 A remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, ato the mighty God. 22 aFor though your people Israel be as the sand of the sea, bonly a remnant of them will return. cDestruction is decreed, overflowing with righteousness. 23 For the Lord God of hosts will make a full end, as decreed, in the midst of all the earth.
24 Therefore thus says the Lord God of hosts: “O my people, awho dwell in Zion, bbe not afraid of the Assyrians when they strike with the rod and lift up their staff against you as cthe Egyptians did. 25 For ain a very little while my fury will come to an end, and my anger will be directed to their destruction. 26 And athe Lord of hosts will wield against them a whip, as when he struck bMidian cat the rock of Oreb. And his staff will be over the sea, and he will lift it das he did in Egypt. 27 And in that day ahis burden will depart from your shoulder, and bhis yoke from your neck; and the yoke will be broken because of the fat.”
28 He has come to Aiath;
he has passed through aMigron;
at Michmash he stores bhis baggage;
29 they have crossed over athe pass;
at bGeba they lodge for the night;
cRamah trembles;
dGibeah of Saul has fled.
30 Cry aloud, O daughter of aGallim!
Give attention, O Laishah!
O poor bAnathoth!
31 Madmenah is in flight;
the inhabitants of Gebim flee for safety.
32 This very day he will halt at aNob;
he will shake his fist
at the mount of bthe daughter of Zion,
the hill of Jerusalem.
33 Behold, the Lord God of hosts
awill lop bthe boughs with terrifying power;
the great in height will be hewn down,
and the lofty will be brought low.
34 He will cut down athe thickets of the forest with an axe,
and bLebanon will fall by the Majestic One.