1Woe unto them that decree unrighteous decrees , and to the writers that write perverseness ; 2to turn aside the needy from justice , and to rob the poor of my people of their right , that widows may be their spoil , and that they may make the fatherless their prey ! 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 ? 4They shall only bow down under the prisoners, and shall fall under the slain . For all this his anger is not turned away , but his hand is stretched out still .
The Remnant of Israel
5Ho Assyrian, the rod of mine anger , the staff in whose hand is mine indignation ! 6I will send him against a profane 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 . 7Howbeit he meaneth not so , neither doth his heart think so ; but it is in his heart to destroy , and to cut off nations not a few . 8For he saith, Are not my princes all of them kings ? 9Is not Calno as Carchemish ? is not Hamath as Arpad? is not Samaria as Damascus ? 10As my hand hath found the kingdoms of the idols , whose graven images did excel them of Jerusalem and of Samaria ;
The Sovereignty of God
11shall I not , as I have done unto Samaria and her idols , so do to Jerusalem and her 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 . 13For he hath said, By the strength of my hand I have done it , and by my wisdom ; for I have understanding: and I have removed the bounds of the peoples , and have robbed their treasures , and like a valiant man I have brought down them that sit on thrones : 14and my hand hath found as a nest the riches of the peoples ; and as one gathereth eggs that are forsaken , have I gathered all the earth: and there was none that moved the wing , or that opened the mouth , or chirped . 15Shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth therewith? shall the saw magnify itself against him that wieldeth it ? as if a rod should wield them that lift it up , or as if a staff should lift up him that is not wood . 16Therefore will the Lord , Jehovah of hosts , send among his fat ones leanness ; and under his glory there shall be kindled a burning like the burning of fire . 17And the light of Israel will be for a fire, and his Holy One for a flame ; and it will burn and devour his thorns and his briers in one day . 18And he will consume the glory of his forest , and of his fruitful field , both soul and body : and it shall be as when a standard-bearer fainteth . 19And the remnant of the trees of his forest shall be few , so that a child may write them . 20And it shall come to pass in that day , that the remnant of Israel , and they that are escaped of the house of Jacob , shall no more again lean upon him that smote them , but shall lean upon Jehovah , the Holy One of Israel , in truth . 21A remnant shall return , even the remnant of Jacob , unto the mighty God. 22For though thy people , Israel , be as the sand of the sea , only a remnant of them shall return : a destruction is determined , overflowing with righteousness . 23For a full end , and that determined , will the Lord , Jehovah of hosts , make in the midst of all the earth. 24Therefore thus saith the Lord , Jehovah of hosts , O my people that dwellest in Zion , be not afraid of the Assyrian, though he smite thee with the rod , and lift up his staff against thee , after the manner of Egypt . 25For yet a very little while , and the indignation against thee shall be accomplished , and mine anger shall be directed to his destruction . 26And Jehovah of hosts will stir up against him a scourge , as in the slaughter of Midian at the rock of Oreb : and his rod will be over the sea , and he will lift it up after the manner of Egypt . 27And it shall come to pass in that day , that his burden shall depart from off thy shoulder , and his yoke from off thy neck , and the yoke shall be destroyed by reason of fatness . 28He is come to Aiath , he is passed through Migron ; at Michmash he layeth up his baggage ; 29they are gone over the pass ; they have taken up their lodging at Geba ; Ramah trembleth ; Gibeah of Saul is fled . 30Cry aloud with thy voice , O daughter of Gallim ! hearken , O Laishah ! O thou poor Anathoth ! 31Madmenah is a fugitive ; the inhabitants of Gebim flee for safety . 32This very day shall he halt at Nob : he shaketh his hand at the mount of the daughter of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem . 33Behold , the Lord , Jehovah of hosts , will lop the boughs with terror : and the high of stature shall be hewn down , and the lofty shall be brought low . 34And he will cut down the thickets of the forest with iron , and Lebanon shall fall by a mighty one.