1Woe to those who enact evil statutes

And to those who constantly record [†]mischief,

2So as to turn the poor away from their cause

And rob the afflicted of My people of their justice,

So that widows may be their spoil

And that they may plunder the [†]orphans.

3Now what will you do in the day of visitation,

And in the devastation which will come from afar?

To whom will you flee for help?

And where will you leave your [†]glory?

4Nothing remains but to crouch [†]among the captives

Or fall [†]among those killed.

In spite of all this, His anger does not turn back

And His hand is still stretched out.

Yahweh’s Anger with Assyria’s Arrogance

5Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger

And the staff in whose hands is My indignation,

6I send it against a godless nation

And command it against the people of My fury

To capture spoil and to seize plunder,

And to [†]trample them down like mud in the streets.

7But it does not intend to act in this way,

And it does not think in its heart in this way,

Rather, what is in its heart is to destroy

And to cut off [†]many nations.

8For it says, “Are not my princes [†]all kings?

9Is not Calno like Carchemish,

Or Hamath like Arpad,

Or Samaria like Damascus?

10As my hand has reached to the kingdoms of the idols,

Whose graven images were greater than those of Jerusalem and Samaria,

11Shall I not [†]do to Jerusalem and her images

Just as I have done to Samaria and her idols?”

12So it will be that when the Lord has completed all His work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, He will say, “I will [†]punish the fruit of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria and the pomp of his eyes which are raised high.” 13For he has said,

“By the power of my hand and by my wisdom I did this,

For I have understanding;

And I removed the boundaries of the peoples

And plundered their treasures,

And like a mighty man I brought down [†]their inhabitants,

14And my hand reached for the wealth of the peoples like a nest,

And as one gathers abandoned eggs, I gathered all the earth;

And there was not one that flapped its wing or opened its beak or chirped.”

15Is the axe to boast itself over the one who chops with it?

Is the saw to magnify itself over the one who wields it?

That would be like a rod wielding those who lift it,

Or like a staff lifting him who is not wood.

16Therefore the Lord, Yahweh of hosts, will send a wasting disease among his stout warriors;

And under his glory a fire will be kindled like a burning flame.

17And the light of Israel will become a fire and his Holy One a flame,

And it will burn and devour his thorns and his briars in a single day.

18And He will bring to an end the glory of his forest and of his fruitful orchard, both soul and body,

And it will be as when a sick man wastes away.

19And the rest of the trees of his forest will be so small in number

That a child could write them down.

A Remnant Will Return

20Now it will be in that day, that the remnant of Israel and those of the house of Jacob who have escaped, will never again rely on the one who struck them, but will truly rely on Yahweh, the Holy One of Israel.

21A remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, to the mighty God.

22For though your people, O Israel, may be like the sand of the sea,

Only a remnant within them will return;

A destructive end is decreed, overflowing with righteousness.

23For a complete destruction, one that is decreed, Lord Yahweh of hosts will do in the midst of the whole land.

24Therefore thus says Lord Yahweh of hosts, “O My people who inhabit Zion, do not fear the Assyrian [†]who strikes you with the rod and lifts up his staff against you, the way Egypt did. 25For in a very little while My indignation against you will end and My anger will be directed to their destruction.” 26And Yahweh of hosts will waken a scourge against him like the slaughter of Midian at the rock of Oreb; and His staff will be over the sea and He will lift it up the way He did in Egypt. 27So it will be in that day, that [†]his burden will be removed from your shoulders and his yoke from your neck, and the yoke will be broken because of fatness.

28He has come against Aiath,

He has passed through Migron;

At Michmash he deposited his baggage.

29They have gone through the pass, saying,

“Geba will be our lodging place.”

Ramah trembles, and Gibeah of Saul has fled away.

30Cry aloud with your voice, O daughter of Gallim!

Pay attention, Laishah and [†]afflicted Anathoth!

31Madmenah has fled.

The inhabitants of Gebim have sought refuge.

32Yet today he will stand at Nob;

He shakes his fist at the mountain of the [†]daughter of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem.

33Behold, the Lord, Yahweh of hosts, will lop off the boughs with a terrible crash;

Those also who are high in stature will be cut in pieces

And those who are lofty will be made low.

34He will cut down the thickets of the forest with an iron axe,

And Lebanon will fall [†]by the Mighty One.