Isaiah 9:4

9:4 For their oppressive yoke

and the club that strikes their shoulders,

the cudgel the oppressor uses on them, ¹ 

you have shattered, as in the day of Midian’s defeat. ² 

Isaiah 10:5

The Lord Turns on Arrogant Assyria

10:5 Assyria, the club I use to vent my anger, is as good as dead, ³ 

a cudgel with which I angrily punish. ⁴ 

Isaiah 10:15

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? ⁵ 

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

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

Isaiah 10:24

10:24 So ⁶  here is what the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies, says: “My people who live in Zion, do not be afraid of Assyria, even though they beat you with a club and lift their cudgel against you as Egypt did. ⁷ 

Psalms 17:13-14

17:13 Rise up, Lord!

Confront him! ⁸  Knock him down! ⁹ 

Use your sword to rescue me from the wicked man! ¹⁰ 

17:14 Lord, use your power to deliver me from these murderers, ¹¹ 

from the murderers of this world! ¹² 

They enjoy prosperity; ¹³ 

you overwhelm them with the riches they desire. ¹⁴ 

They have many children,

and leave their wealth to their offspring. ¹⁵ 

Psalms 125:5

125:5 As for those who are bent on traveling a sinful path, ¹⁶ 

may the Lord remove them, ¹⁷  along with those who behave wickedly! ¹⁸ 

May Israel experience peace! ¹⁹ 

Micah 5:5-6

5:5 He will give us peace. ²⁰ 

Should the Assyrians try to invade our land

and attempt to set foot in our fortresses, ²¹ 

we will send ²²  against them seven ²³  shepherd-rulers, ²⁴ 

make that eight commanders. ²⁵ 

5:6 They will rule ²⁶  the land of Assyria with the sword,

the land of Nimrod ²⁷  with a drawn sword. ²⁸ 

Our king ²⁹  will rescue us from the Assyrians

should they attempt to invade our land

and try to set foot in our territory.

[9:4]  ¹ tn Heb “for the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, the scepter of the oppressor against him.” The singular pronouns are collective, referring to the people. The oppressed nation is compared to an ox weighed down by a heavy yoke and an animal that is prodded and beaten.

[9:4]  ² sn This alludes to Gideon’s victory over Midian (Judg 7-8), when the Lord delivered Israel from an oppressive foreign invader.

[10:5]  ³ tn Heb “Woe [to] Assyria, the club of my anger.” On הוֹי (hoy, “woe, ah”) see the note on the first phrase of 1:4.

[10:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “a cudgel is he, in their hand is my anger.” It seems likely that the final mem (ם) on בְיָדָם (bÿyadam) is not a pronominal suffix (“in their hand”), but an enclitic mem. If so, one can translate literally, “a cudgel is he in the hand of my anger.”

[10:15]  ⁵ tn Heb “the one who pushes it back and forth”; KJV “him that shaketh it”; ASV “him that wieldeth it.”

[10:24]  ⁶ tn Heb “therefore.” The message that follows is one of encouragement, for it focuses on the eventual destruction of the Assyrians. Consequently “therefore” relates back to vv. 5-21, not to vv. 22-23, which must be viewed as a brief parenthesis in an otherwise positive speech.

[10:24]  ⁷ tn Heb “in the way [or “manner”] of Egypt.”

[17:13]  ⁸ tn Heb “Be in front of his face.”

[17:13]  ⁹ tn Or “bring him to his knees.”

[17:13]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “rescue my life from the wicked [one] [by] your sword.”

[17:14]  ¹¹ tc Heb “from men [by] your hand, Lord.” The translation assumes an emendation (both here and in the following line) of מִמְתִים (mimtim, “from men”) to מִמְמִתִים (mimmitim, “from those who kill”). For other uses of the plural form of the Hiphil participle of מוּת (mut, “die”), see 2 Kgs 17:26 (used with lions as subject), Job 33:22 (apparently referring to the agents of death), and Jer 26:15 (used of those seeking Jeremiah’s life).

[17:14]  ¹² tn Heb “from men, from [the] world.” On the emendation of “men” to “murderers,” see the preceding note on the word “murderers.”

[17:14]  ¹³ tn Heb “their portion, in life.”

[17:14]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and [with] your treasures you fill their belly.”

[17:14]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “they are satisfied [with] sons and leave their abundance to their children.”

[125:5]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and the ones making their paths twisted.” A sinful lifestyle is compared to a twisting, winding road.

[125:5]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “lead them away.” The prefixed verbal form is understood as a jussive of prayer here (note the prayers directly before and after this). Another option is to translate, “the Lord will remove them” (cf. NIV, NRSV).

[125:5]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “the workers of wickedness.”

[125:5]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “peace [be] upon Israel.” The statement is understood as a prayer (see Ps 122:8 for a similar prayer for peace).

[5:5]  ²⁰ tn Heb “and this one will be peace”; ASV “and this man shall be our peace” (cf. Eph 2:14).

[5:5]  ²¹ tc Some prefer to read “in our land,” emending the text to בְּאַדְמָתֵנוּ (bÿ’admatenu).

[5:5]  ²² tn Heb “raise up.”

[5:5]  ²³ sn The numbers seven and eight here symbolize completeness and emphasize that Israel will have more than enough military leadership and strength to withstand the Assyrian advance.

[5:5]  ²⁴ tn Heb “shepherds.”

[5:5]  ²⁵ tn Heb “and eight leaders of men.”

[5:6]  ²⁶ tn Or perhaps “break”; or “defeat.”

[5:6]  ²⁷ sn According to Gen 10:8-12, Nimrod, who was famous as a warrior and hunter, founded Assyria.

[5:6]  ²⁸ tc The MT reads “in her gates,” but the text should be emended to בַּפְּתִיחָה (baptikhah, “with a drawn sword”).

[5:6]  ²⁹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the coming king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.