1 “Woe to those whodecree unrighteous decrees,
Who write misfortune,
Whichthey have prescribed
2 To rob the needy of justice,
And to take what is right from the poor of My people,
That widows may be their prey,
Andthatthey may rob the fatherless.
3 What will you do inthe day of punishment,
# And in the desolationwhichwill come fromafar?
To whom will you flee for help?
And where will you leave your glory?
4 Without Me they shall bow down among theprisoners,
And they shall fall among the slain.”
# For all this His anger is not turned away,
But His handisstretched out still.
Arrogant Assyria Also Judged
5 “Woe to Assyria,the rod of My anger
And the staff in whose hand is My indignation.
6 I will send him againstan ungodly nation,
And against the people of My wrath
# I willgive him charge,
To seize the spoil, to take the prey,
And to tread them down like the mire of the streets.
7 Yet he does not mean so,
Nor does his heart think so;
Butitisin his heart to destroy,
And cut off not a few nations.
8 For he says,
‘Arenot my princes altogether kings?
9 IsnotCalnolike Carchemish?
Isnot Hamath like Arpad?
# Isnot Samarialike Damascus?
10 As my hand has found the kingdoms of the idols,
Whose carved images excelled those of Jerusalem and Samaria,
11 As I have done to Samaria and her idols,
Shall I not do also to Jerusalem and her idols?’ ”
12 Therefore it shall come to pass, when the Lord has performed all His workon Mount Zion and on Jerusalem,thatHewillsay,“I will punish the fruit of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his haughty looks.”
13 For he says:
“By the strength of my hand I have doneit,
And by my wisdom, for I am prudent;
Also I have removed the boundaries of the people,
And have robbed their treasuries;
So I have put down the inhabitants like a valiantman.
14 My hand has found like a nest the riches of the people,
And as one gathers eggsthatareleft,
I have gathered all the earth;
And there was no one who movedhiswing,
Nor openedhismouth with even a peep.”
15 Shallthe ax boast itself against him who chops with it?
Orshall the saw exalt itself against him who saws with it?
As if a rod could wielditselfagainst those who lift it up,
Oras if a staff could lift up,asifitwerenot wood!
16 Therefore the Lord, the Lord of hosts,
Will send leanness among his fat ones;
And under his glory
He will kindle a burning
Like the burning of a fire.
17 So the Light of Israel will be for a fire,
And his Holy One for a flame;
# It will burn and devour
His thorns and his briers in one day.
18 And it will consume the glory of his forest and ofhis fruitful field,
Both soul and body;
And they will be as when a sick man wastes away.
19 Then the rest of the trees of his forest
Will be so few in number
That a child may write them.
The Returning Remnant of Israel
20 And it shall come to pass in that day
Thatthe remnant of Israel,
And such as have escaped of the house of Jacob,
# Will never again depend on him who defeated them,
But will depend on theLord, the Holy One of Israel, in truth.
21 The remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob,
# To theMighty God.
22 For though your people, O Israel, be as the sand of the sea,
# A remnant of them will return;
The destruction decreed shall overflow with righteousness.
23 For the LordGodof hosts
Will make a determined end
In the midst of all the land.
24 Therefore thus says the LordGodof hosts: “O My people, who dwell in Zion,do not be afraid of the Assyrian. He shall strike you with a rod and lift up his staff against you, in the manner ofEgypt.
25 For yet a very little whileand the indignation will cease, as will My anger in their destruction.”
26 And theLordof hosts will stir upa scourge for him like the slaughter ofMidian at the rock of Oreb;asHis rod was on the sea, so will He lift it up in the manner of Egypt.
27 It shall come to pass in that day
Thathis burden will be taken away from your shoulder,
And his yoke from your neck,
# And the yoke will be destroyed because ofthe anointing oil.
28 He has come to Aiath,
He has passed Migron;
At Michmash he has attended to his equipment.
29 They have gone alongthe ridge,
They have taken up lodging at Geba.
Ramah is afraid,
# Gibeah of Saul has fled.
30 Lift up your voice,
# O daughterof Gallim!
# Cause it to be heard as far asLaish—
O poor Anathoth!
31 Madmenah has fled,
The inhabitants of Gebim seek refuge.
32 As yet he will remainat Nob that day;
# He willshake his fist at the mount ofthe daughter of Zion,
The hill of Jerusalem.
33 Behold, the Lord,
TheLordof hosts,
Will lop off the bough with terror;
# Those of high staturewillbehewn down,
And the haughty will be humbled.
34 He will cut down the thickets of the forest with iron,
And Lebanon will fall by the Mighty One.