Isaiah 10:7-16

10:7 But he does not agree with this,

his mind does not reason this way, ¹ 

for his goal is to destroy,

and to eliminate many nations. ² 

10:8 Indeed, ³  he says:

“Are not my officials all kings?

10:9 Is not Calneh like Carchemish?

Hamath like Arpad?

Samaria like Damascus? ⁴ 

10:10 I overpowered kingdoms ruled by idols, ⁵ 

whose carved images were more impressive than Jerusalem’s ⁶  or Samaria’s.

10:11 As I have done to Samaria and its idols,

so I will do to Jerusalem and its idols.” ⁷ 

10:12 But when ⁸  the sovereign master ⁹  finishes judging ¹⁰  Mount Zion and Jerusalem, then I ¹¹  will punish the king of Assyria for what he has proudly planned and for the arrogant attitude he displays. ¹²  10:13 For he says:

“By my strong hand I have accomplished this,

by my strategy that I devised.

I invaded the territory of nations, ¹³ 

and looted their storehouses.

Like a mighty conqueror, ¹⁴  I brought down rulers. ¹⁵ 

10:14 My hand discovered the wealth of the nations, as if it were in a nest,

as one gathers up abandoned eggs,

I gathered up the whole earth.

There was no wing flapping,

or open mouth chirping.” ¹⁶ 

10:15 Does an ax exalt itself over the one who wields it,

or a saw magnify itself over the one who cuts with it? ¹⁷ 

As if a scepter should brandish the one who raises it,

or a staff should lift up what is not made of wood!

10:16 For this reason ¹⁸  the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies, will make his healthy ones emaciated. ¹⁹  His majestic glory will go up in smoke. ²⁰ 

Isaiah 10:2

10:2 to keep the poor from getting fair treatment,

and to deprive ²¹  the oppressed among my people of justice,

so they can steal what widows own,

and loot what belongs to orphans. ²² 

Isaiah 32:1

Justice and Wisdom Will Prevail

32:1 Look, a king will promote fairness; ²³ 

officials will promote justice. ²⁴ 

[10:7]  ¹ tn Heb “but he, not so does he intend, and his heart, not so does it think.”

[10:7]  ² tn Heb “for to destroy [is] in his heart, and to cut off nations, not a few.”

[10:8]  ³ tn Or “For” (KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV).

[10:9]  ⁴ sn Calneh … Carchemish … Hamath … Arpad … Samaria … Damascus. The city states listed here were conquered by the Assyrians between 740-717 b.c. The point of the rhetorical questions is that no one can stand before Assyria’s might. On the geographical, rather than chronological arrangement of the cities, see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:264, n. 4.

[10:10]  ⁵ tn Heb “Just as my hand found the kingdoms of the idol[s].” The comparison is expanded in v. 11a (note “as”) and completed in v. 11b (note “so”).

[10:10]  ⁶ map For the location of Jerusalem see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[10:11]  ⁷ tn The statement is constructed as a rhetorical question in the Hebrew text: “Is it not [true that] just as I have done to Samaria and its idols, so I will do to Jerusalem and its idols?”

[10:12]  ⁸ tn The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.

[10:12]  ⁹ tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here and in vv. 16, 23, 24, 33 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[10:12]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “his work on/against.” Cf. NAB, NASB, NRSV “on”; NIV “against.”

[10:12]  ¹¹ tn The Lord is speaking here, as in vv. 5-6a.

[10:12]  ¹² tn Heb “I will visit [judgment] on the fruit of the greatness of the heart of the king of Assyria, and on the glory of the height of his eyes.” The proud Assyrian king is likened to a large, beautiful fruit tree.

[10:13]  ¹³ tn Heb “removed the borders of nations”; cf. NAB, NIV, NRSV “boundaries.”

[10:13]  ¹⁴ tc The consonantal text (Kethib) has כְּאַבִּיר (kÿ’abir, “like a strong one”); the marginal reading (Qere) is כַּבִיר (kavir, “mighty one”).

[10:13]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and I brought down, like a strong one, ones sitting [or “living”].” The participle יוֹשְׁבִים (yoshÿvim, “ones sitting”) could refer to the inhabitants of the nations, but the translation assumes that it refers to those who sit on thrones, i.e., rulers. See BDB 442 s.v. יָשַׁב and HALOT 444 s.v. ישׁב.

[10:14]  ¹⁶ sn The Assyrians’ conquests were relatively unopposed, like robbing a bird’s nest of its eggs when the mother bird is absent.

[10:15]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “the one who pushes it back and forth”; KJV “him that shaketh it”; ASV “him that wieldeth it.”

[10:16]  ¹⁸ sn The irrational arrogance of the Assyrians (v. 15) will prompt the judgment about to be described.

[10:16]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “will send leanness against his healthy ones”; NASB, NIV “will send a wasting disease.”

[10:16]  ²⁰ tc Heb “and in the place of his glory burning will burn, like the burning of fire.” The highly repetitive text (יֵקַד יְקֹד כִּיקוֹד אֵשׁ, yeqad yiqod kiqod ’esh) may be dittographic; if the second consonantal sequence יקד is omitted, the text would read “and in the place of his glory, it will burn like the burning of fire.”

[10:2]  ²¹ tn Or “rob” (ASV, NASB, NCV, NRSV); KJV “take away the right from the poor.”

[10:2]  ²² tn Heb “so that widows are their plunder, and they can loot orphans.”

[32:1]  ²³ tn Heb “will reign according to fairness.”

[32:1]  ²⁴ tn Heb “will rule according to justice.”