Isaiah 10

Woe unto them that decree unrighteous decrees, and that write grievousness which they have prescribed;

1Trouble is coming to people who make unfair laws. They write rules that hurt others.

2To turn aside the needy from judgment, and to take away the right from the poor of my people, that widows may be their prey, and that they may rob the fatherless!

2Their rules keep poor people from getting a fair hearing. Women whose husbands died are robbed. Children with no parents are robbed too.

3And what will ye do in the day of visitation, and in the desolation which shall come from far? to whom will ye flee for help? and where will ye leave your glory?

3What will you do on the day God comes to punish? Trouble will come from far away. Who will you run to for help? Where will you put your riches?

4Without me they shall bow down under the prisoners, and they shall fall under the slain. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.

4Nothing will be left for you. You will crouch with the prisoners or lie among the dead. Even then God's anger is not finished. His hand is still lifted up.

5O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the staff in their hand is mine indignation.

5God says: I am angry, and Assyria is the stick in my hand. Assyria was a strong country with a large army.

6I will send him against an hypocritical nation, and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge, to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets.

6I send Assyria against a nation that does not obey me. I am angry with those people. I told Assyria to take their things and walk on them like mud in the street.

7Howbeit he meaneth not so, neither doth his heart think so; but it is in his heart to destroy and cut off nations not a few.

7But Assyria does not think of it that way. He only wants to destroy many nations.

8For he saith, Are not my princes altogether kings?

8He says, "Every one of my army leaders is like a king."

9Is not Calno as Carchemish? is not Hamath as Arpad? is not Samaria as Damascus?

9"Is Calno any different from Carchemish? Is Hamath different from Arpad? Is Samaria different from Damascus? I beat them all."

10As my hand hath found the kingdoms of the idols, and whose graven images did excel them of Jerusalem and of Samaria;

10"My hand took kingdoms that prayed to statues. Their statues were finer than the ones in Jerusalem and Samaria."

11Shall I not, as I have done unto Samaria and her idols, so do to Jerusalem and her idols?

11"I beat Samaria and its statues. So I will beat Jerusalem and its statues too."

12Wherefore it shall come to pass, that when the Lord hath performed his whole work upon mount Zion and on Jerusalem, I will punish the fruit of the stout heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his high looks.

12But first the Lord will finish his work on Mount Zion and Jerusalem. Zion is the hill where the city sits. Then he will punish the king of Assyria for his proud heart and proud eyes.

13For he saith, By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom; for I am prudent: and I have removed the bounds of the people, and have robbed their treasures, and I have put down the inhabitants like a valiant man:

13For the king says, "I did this with my strong hand. I did it with my own smart mind. I moved the borders of countries. I took their treasures. I knocked down their rulers like a strong man."

14And my hand hath found as a nest the riches of the people: and as one gathereth eggs that are left, have I gathered all the earth; and there was none that moved the wing, or opened the mouth, or peeped.

14"Taking the riches of nations was easy, like reaching into a bird's nest. I gathered the whole earth like someone picking up eggs. Not one bird flapped a wing. Not one opened its beak or made a sound."

NoteThe old English word "peeped" means chirped, the small sound a baby bird makes.

15Shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth therewith? or shall the saw magnify itself against him that shaketh it? as if the rod should shake itself against them that lift it up, or as if the staff should lift up itself, as if it were no wood.

15An axe cannot brag over the man who swings it. A saw cannot boast over the one who uses it. A stick cannot lift the person holding it. A stick is only wood.

16Therefore shall the Lord, the Lord of hosts, send among his fat ones leanness; and under his glory he shall kindle a burning like the burning of a fire.

16So the Lord, the ruler of all armies, will make Assyria's strong men weak and sick. A fire will burn up all their fine things.

17And the light of Israel shall be for a fire, and his Holy One for a flame: and it shall burn and devour his thorns and his briers in one day;

17The Light of Israel will become a fire. Israel's Holy One will be a flame. In one day it will burn Assyria's thorns and weeds.

18And shall consume the glory of his forest, and of his fruitful field, both soul and body: and they shall be as when a standard-bearer fainteth.

18It will burn up their fine forests and rich fields, every bit. They will fade away like a very sick man.

19And the rest of the trees of his forest shall be few, that a child may write them.

19So few trees will be left in the forest. Even a small child could count them.

20And it shall come to pass in that day, that the remnant of Israel, and such as are escaped of the house of Jacob, shall no more again stay upon him that smote them; but shall stay upon the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, in truth.

20On that day only a few of Israel will be left. They will stop leaning on the country that hurt them. They will truly trust the LORD, the Holy One of Israel.

21The remnant shall return, even the remnant of Jacob, unto the mighty God.

21Those few who are left, the few from Jacob's family, will come back to the mighty God.

22For though thy people Israel be as the sand of the sea, yet a remnant of them shall return: the consumption decreed shall overflow with righteousness.

22Israel, your people are as many as the sand at the sea. But only a few will come back. God has decided to destroy, and what he does is right.

23For the Lord GOD of hosts shall make a consumption, even determined, in the midst of all the land.

23The Lord, the ruler of all armies, will carry out this destruction across the whole land.

24Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD of hosts, O my people that dwellest in Zion, be not afraid of the Assyrian: he shall smite thee with a rod, and shall lift up his staff against thee, after the manner of Egypt.

24So the Lord says: my people who live in Zion, do not be afraid of Assyria. They hit you with a stick. They raise a club over you, the way Egypt once did.

25For yet a very little while, and the indignation shall cease, and mine anger in their destruction.

25In a very little while my anger with you will stop. Then my anger will turn on them.

26And the LORD of hosts shall stir up a scourge for him according to the slaughter of Midian at the rock of Oreb: and as his rod was upon the sea, so shall he lift it up after the manner of Egypt.

26The LORD will swing a whip at Assyria. He did the same to Midian at the rock of Oreb. He will raise his stick over the sea, as he did in Egypt.

27And it shall come to pass in that day, that his burden shall be taken away from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing.

27On that day the heavy load will come off your shoulder. The wooden bar will come off your neck. That bar, used to make animals pull, will be broken to pieces.

NoteThe last words of this verse in the old English are hard to read, and people are not sure what they mean. The clear part is that the load is taken off.

28He is come to Aiath, he is passed to Migron; at Michmash he hath laid up his carriages:

28The army has come to Aiath. It has passed through Migron. It has left its supplies at Michmash.

Note"Carriages" in the old English does not mean wagons for riding. It means the loads and supplies an army carries.

29They are gone over the passage: they have taken up their lodging at Geba; Ramah is afraid; Gibeah of Saul is fled.

29They have crossed the narrow pass. They say, "We will sleep at Geba." Ramah shakes with fear. The people of Gibeah of Saul run away.

30Lift up thy voice, O daughter of Gallim: cause it to be heard unto Laish, O poor Anathoth.

30Cry out loud, town of Gallim! Listen, Laish! Poor little Anathoth!

31Madmenah is removed; the inhabitants of Gebim gather themselves to flee.

31The town of Madmenah runs away. The people of Gebim look for a place to hide.

32As yet shall he remain at Nob that day: he shall shake his hand against the mount of the daughter of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem.

32That day the army stops at Nob. They shake a fist at the hill of Jerusalem, at Mount Zion.

33Behold, the Lord, the LORD of hosts, shall lop the bough with terror: and the high ones of stature shall be hewn down, and the haughty shall be humbled.

33Look! The Lord, the ruler of all armies, will chop off the branches. It will be frightening. The tall trees will be cut down. The proud ones will be brought low.

34And he shall cut down the thickets of the forest with iron, and Lebanon shall fall by a mighty one.

34He will cut down the thick forest with iron. Lebanon and its great trees will fall before the Mighty One.