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Woe to those who ^(C1)enact unjust statutes And to those who constantly record ^(F1)harmful decisions,

So as ^(C1)to ^(F1)deprive the needy of justice And rob the poor among My people of their rights, So ^(C2)that widows may be their spoil And that they may plunder the ^(F2)orphans.

Now ^(C1)what will you do in the ^(C2)day of punishment, And in the devastation which will come ^(C3)from afar? ^(C4)To whom will you flee for help? And where will you leave your wealth?

Nothing remains but to crouch ^(F1)among the ^(C1)captives Or fall ^(F1)among those ^(C2)killed. ^(C3)In spite of all this, His anger does not turn away And His hand is still stretched out.

Woe to ^(C1)Assyria, the ^(C2)rod of My anger And the staff in whose hands is ^(C3)My indignation,

I send it against a ^(C1)godless nation And commission it against the ^(C2)people of My fury To capture spoils and ^(C3)to seize plunder, And to ^(F1)trample them down like ^(C4)mud in the streets.

Yet it ^(C1)does not so intend, Nor does ^(F1)it plan so in its heart, But rather it is ^(F2)its purpose to destroy And to eliminate ^(F3)many nations.

For it says, "Are not my officers ^(F1)all kings?

-"Is not ^(C1)Calno like ^(C2)Carchemish, Or ^(C3)Hamath like Arpad, Or ^(C4)Samaria like ^(C5)Damascus?

-"As my hand has reached to the ^(C1)kingdoms of the idols, Whose carved images were greater than those of Jerusalem and Samaria,

Shall I not do the same to Jerusalem and her images Just as I have done to Samaria and ^(C1)her idols?"

So it will be that when the Lord has completed all His ^(C1)work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, He will say, "I will ^(F1)punish the fruit of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria and ^(C2)the arrogant pride of his eyes."

For ^(C1)he has said, "By the power of my hand and by my wisdom I did this, Because I have understanding; And I ^(C2)removed the boundaries of the peoples And plundered their treasures, And like a powerful man I brought down ^(F1)their inhabitants,

And my hand reached to the riches of the peoples like a ^(C1)nest, And as one gathers abandoned eggs, I gathered all the earth; And there was not one that flapped its wing, opened its beak, or chirped."

Is the ^(C1)axe to ^(C2)boast itself over the one who chops with it? Is the saw to exalt itself over the one who wields it? That would be like ^(C3)a ^(F1)club wielding those who lift it, Or like ^(C3)a rod lifting the one who is not wood.

Therefore the Lord, the ^(F1)GOD of armies, will send a ^(C1)wasting disease among his ^(C2)stout warriors; And under his ^(C3)glory a fire will be kindled like a burning flame.

And the ^(C1)Light of Israel will become a fire and ^(F1)Israel's ^(C2)Holy One a flame, And it will ^(C3)burn and devour ^(F2)his thorns and his briars in a single day.

And He will ^(C1)destroy the glory of his forest and of his fruitful garden, both soul and body, And it will be as when a sick person wastes away.

And the ^(C1)rest of the trees of his forest will be so small in number That a child could write them down.

Now on that day the ^(C1)remnant of Israel, and those of the house of Jacob ^(C2)who have escaped, will no longer rely on the one who struck them, but will truly ^(C3)rely on the LORD, the Holy One of Israel.

A ^(C1)remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, to the ^(C2)mighty God.

For ^(C1)though your people, Israel, may be like the sand of the sea, Only a remnant within them will return; A ^(C2)destruction is determined, overflowing with righteousness.

For a complete destruction, one that is determined, ^(C1)the Lord ^(F1)GOD of armies will execute in the midst of the whole land.

Therefore this is what the Lord ^(F1)GOD of armies says: "My people, you who dwell in ^(C1)Zion, ^(C2)do not fear the Assyrian ^(F2)who ^(C3)strikes you with the rod, and lifts up his staff against you the way Egypt did.

"For in a very ^(C1)little while ^(C2)My indignation against you will be ended and My anger will be directed toward their destruction."

The LORD of armies will ^(C1)wield a whip against him like the defeat of ^(C2)Midian at the rock of Oreb; and His ^(C3)staff will be over the sea, and He will lift it up ^(C4)the way He did in Egypt.

So it will be on that day, that ^(F1)his ^(C1)burden will be removed from your shoulders, and his yoke from your neck; and the yoke will be broken because ^(C2)of fatness.

He has come against Aiath, He has passed through ^(C1)Migron; At ^(C2)Michmash he deposited his ^(C3)baggage.

They have gone through ^(C1)the pass, saying, "^(C2)Geba will be our encampment for the night." ^(C3)Ramah is terrified, and ^(C4)Gibeah of Saul has fled.

Cry aloud with your voice, daughter of ^(C1)Gallim! Pay attention, Laishah and ^(F1)wretched ^(C2)Anathoth!

Madmenah has fled. The inhabitants of Gebim have sought refuge.

Yet today he will halt at ^(C1)Nob; He ^(C2)shakes his fist at the mountain of the ^(F1)(C3)daughter of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem.

Behold, the Lord, the ^(F1)GOD of armies, will lop off the branches with terrifying power; Those also who are ^(C1)tall in stature will be cut down, And those who are lofty will be brought low.

He will cut down the thickets of the forest with an iron axe, And ^(C1)Lebanon will fall by the Mighty One.