| King James Bible | Holman Christian Standard Bible |
| 1Woe unto them that decree unrighteous decrees, and that write grievousness which they have prescribed; | 1Woe to those enacting crooked statutes and writing oppressive laws |
| 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! | 2to keep the poor from getting a fair trial and to deprive the afflicted among my people of justice, so that widows can be their spoil and they can plunder the fatherless. |
| 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 of punishment when devastation comes from far away? Who will you run to for help? Where will you leave your wealth? |
| 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. | 4There will be nothing to do except crouch among the prisoners or fall among the slain. In all this, His anger is not removed, and His hand is still raised to strike. |
| 5O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the staff in their hand is mine indignation. | 5Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger-- the staff in their hands is My wrath. |
| 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 will send him against a godless nation; I will command him to go against a people destined for My rage, to take spoils, to plunder, and to trample them down like clay in the streets. |
| 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 this is not what he intends; this is not what he plans. It is his intent to destroy and to cut off many nations. |
| 8For he saith, Are not my princes altogether kings? | 8For he says," Aren't all my commanders kings? |
| 9Is not Calno as Carchemish? is not Hamath as Arpad? is not Samaria as Damascus? | 9Isn't Calno like Carchemish? Isn't Hamath like Arpad? Isn't Samaria like Damascus? |
| 10As my hand hath found the kingdoms of the idols, and whose graven images did excel them of Jerusalem and of Samaria; | 10As my hand seized the idolatrous kingdoms, whose idols exceeded those of Jerusalem and Samaria, |
| 11Shall I not, as I have done unto Samaria and her idols, so do to Jerusalem and her idols? | 11and as I did to Samaria and its idols will I not also do to Jerusalem and its idols?" |
| 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 when the Lord finishes all His work against Mount Zion and Jerusalem, He will say, "I will punish the king of Assyria for his arrogant acts and the proud look in his 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 he said: I have done this by my own strength and wisdom, for I am clever. I abolished the borders of nations and plundered their treasures; like a mighty warrior, I subjugated the inhabitants. |
| 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. | 14My hand has reached out, as if into a nest, to seize the wealth of the nations. Like one gathering abandoned eggs, I gathered the whole earth. No wing fluttered; no beak opened or chirped. |
| 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. | 15Does an ax exalt itself above the one who chops with it? Does a saw magnify itself above the one who saws with it? It would be like a staff waving the one who lifts it! It would be like a rod lifting a man who isn't 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. | 16Therefore the Lord GOD of Hosts will inflict an emaciating disease on the well-fed of Assyria, and He will kindle a burning fire under its glory. |
| 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; | 17Israel's Light will become a fire, and its Holy One, a flame. In one day it will burn up Assyria's thorns and thistles. |
| 18And shall consume the glory of his forest, and of his fruitful field, both soul and body: and they shall be as when a standardbearer fainteth. | 18He will completely destroy the glory of its forests and orchards as a sickness consumes a person. |
| 19And the rest of the trees of his forest shall be few, that a child may write them. | 19The remaining trees of its forest will be so few in number that a 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 the remnant of Israel and the survivors of the house of Jacob will no longer depend on the one who struck them, but they will faithfully depend on the LORD, the Holy One of Israel. |
| 21The remnant shall return, even the remnant of Jacob, unto the mighty God. | 21The remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, 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, even if your people were as numerous as the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will return. Destruction has been decreed; justice overflows. |
| 23For the Lord GOD of hosts shall make a consumption, even determined, in the midst of all the land. | 23For throughout the land the Lord GOD of Hosts is carrying out a destruction that was decreed. |
| 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. | 24Therefore, the Lord GOD of Hosts says this: "My people who dwell in Zion, do not fear Assyria, though he strikes you with a rod and raises his staff over you as the Egyptians did. |
| 25For yet a very little while, and the indignation shall cease, and mine anger in their destruction. | 25In just a little while My wrath will be spent and My anger will turn to their destruction." |
| 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. | 26And the LORD of Hosts will brandish a whip against him as He did when He struck Midian at the rock of Oreb; and He will raise His staff 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 his burden will fall from your shoulders, and his yoke from your neck. The yoke will be broken because of fatness. |
| 28He is come to Aiath, he is passed to Migron; at Michmash he hath laid up his carriages: | 28Assyria has come to Aiath and has gone through Migron, storing his equipment at Michmash. |
| 29They are gone over the passage: they have taken up their lodging at Geba; Ramah is afraid; Gibeah of Saul is fled. | 29They crossed over at the ford, saying," We will spend the night at Geba." The people of Ramah are trembling; those at Gibeah of Saul have fled. |
| 30Lift up thy voice, O daughter of Gallim: cause it to be heard unto Laish, O poor Anathoth. | 30Cry aloud, daughter of Gallim! Listen, Laishah! Anathoth is miserable. |
| 31Madmenah is removed; the inhabitants of Gebim gather themselves to flee. | 31Madmenah has fled. The inhabitants of Gebim have sought refuge. |
| 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. | 32Today he will stand at Nob, shaking his fist at the mountain of Daughter Zion, the hill of Jerusalem. |
| 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 GOD of Hosts will chop off the branches with terrifying power, and the tall trees will be cut down, the high trees felled. |
| 34And he shall cut down the thickets of the forest with iron, and Lebanon shall fall by a mighty one. | 34He is clearing the thickets of the forest with an ax, and Lebanon with its majesty will fall. |
|
