| New King James Version | Holman Christian Standard Bible |
| 1“Woe to those who decree unrighteous decrees, Who write misfortune, Which they have prescribed | 1Woe to those enacting crooked statutes and writing oppressive laws |
| 2To rob the needy of justice, And to take what is 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. |
| 3What will you do in the day of punishment, And in the desolation which will come from afar? To whom will you flee for help? And where will you 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 among the prisoners, And they shall fall among 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. |
| 5“Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger And the staff in whose hand is My indignation. | 5Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger-- the staff in their hands is My wrath. |
| 6I will send him against an ungodly nation, And against the people of My wrath I will give him charge, To seize the spoil, 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. |
| 7Yet he does not mean so, Nor does his heart think so; But it is in his heart to destroy, And cut off not a few nations. | 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 says, ‘Are not my princes altogether kings? | 8For he says," Aren't all my commanders kings? |
| 9Is not Calno like Carchemish? Is not Hamath like Arpad? Is not Samaria like Damascus? | 9Isn't Calno like Carchemish? Isn't Hamath like Arpad? Isn't Samaria like Damascus? |
| 10As my hand has found the kingdoms of the idols, Whose carved images excelled those of Jerusalem and Samaria, | 10As my hand seized the idolatrous kingdoms, whose idols exceeded those of Jerusalem and Samaria, |
| 11As I have done to Samaria and her idols, Shall I not do also to Jerusalem and her idols?’ ” | 11and as I did to Samaria and its idols will I not also do to Jerusalem and its idols?" |
| 12Therefore it shall come to pass, when the Lord has performed all His work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, that He will say, “I will punish the fruit of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his haughty 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 says: “By the strength of my hand I have done it, 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 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. |
| 14My hand has found like a nest the riches of the people, And as one gathers eggs that are left, I have gathered all the earth; And there was no one who moved his wing, Nor opened his mouth with even a peep.” | 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 ax boast itself against him who chops with it? Or shall the saw exalt itself against him who saws with it? As if a rod could wield itself against those who lift it up, Or as if a staff could lift up, as if it were not 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 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. | 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. |
| 17So 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. | 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 it will consume the glory of his forest and of his fruitful field, Both soul and body; And they will be as when a sick man wastes away. | 18He will completely destroy the glory of its forests and orchards as a sickness consumes a person. |
| 19Then the rest of the trees of his forest Will be so few in number 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 have escaped of the house of Jacob, Will never again depend on him who defeated them, But will depend on 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 will return, the remnant of Jacob, To the Mighty God. | 21The remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, to the Mighty God. |
| 22For 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. | 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 Will make a determined end 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 says the Lord GOD of 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 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 will cease, as will My 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 will stir up a scourge for him like the slaughter of Midian at the rock of Oreb; as His rod was on the sea, so will He lift it up in 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. |
| 27It shall come to pass in that day That his burden will be taken away from your shoulder, And his yoke from your neck, And the yoke will be destroyed because of the anointing oil. | 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 has come to Aiath, He has passed Migron; At Michmash he has attended to his equipment. | 28Assyria has come to Aiath and has gone through Migron, storing his equipment at Michmash. |
| 29They have gone along the ridge, They have taken up lodging at Geba. Ramah is afraid, Gibeah of Saul has 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 your voice, O daughter of Gallim! Cause it to be heard as far as Laish— O poor Anathoth! | 30Cry aloud, daughter of Gallim! Listen, Laishah! Anathoth is miserable. |
| 31Madmenah has fled, The inhabitants of Gebim seek refuge. | 31Madmenah has fled. The inhabitants of Gebim have sought refuge. |
| 32As yet he will remain at Nob that day; He will shake his fist at 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, Will lop off the bough with terror; Those of high stature will be hewn down, And the haughty will 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. |
| 34He will cut down the thickets of the forest with iron, And Lebanon will fall by the Mighty One. | 34He is clearing the thickets of the forest with an ax, and Lebanon with its majesty will fall. |
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