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¹ Woe to those who ^(C1)enact evil statutes
And to those who constantly record ^(F1)mischief,

² So as ^(C1)to turn the poor away from their cause
And rob the afflicted of My people of their justice,
So ^(C2)that widows may be their spoil
And that they may plunder the ^(F1)orphans.

³ Now ^(C1)what will you do in the ^(C2)day of visitation,
And in the devastation which will come ^(C3)from afar?
^(C4)To whom will you flee for help?
And where will you leave your ^(F1)glory?

⁴ 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 back
And His hand is still stretched out.

Yahweh's Anger with Assyria's Arrogance

⁵ Woe to ^(C1)Assyria, the ^(C2)rod of My anger
And the staff in whose hands is ^(C3)My indignation,

⁶ I send it against a ^(C1)godless nation
And command it against the ^(C2)people of My fury
To capture spoil and ^(C3)to seize plunder,
And to ^(F1)trample them down like ^(C4)mud in the streets.

⁷ But it ^(C1)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 ^(F1)many nations.

⁸ For it says, "Are not my princes ^(F1)all kings?

⁹ "Is not ^(C1)Calno like ^(C2)Carchemish,
Or ^(C3)Hamath like Arpad,
Or ^(C4)Samaria like ^(C5)Damascus?

¹⁰ "As my hand has reached to the ^(C1)kingdoms of the idols,
Whose graven images were greater than those of Jerusalem and Samaria,

¹¹ Shall I not ^(F1)do to Jerusalem and her images
Just as I have done to Samaria and ^(C1)her idols?"

¹² 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 pomp of his eyes which are raised high."¹³ For ^(C1)he has said,

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

¹⁴ And my hand reached for the wealth 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 or opened its beak or chirped."

¹⁵ Is the ^(C1)axe to ^(C2)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 ^(C3)a rod wielding those who lift it,
Or like ^(C3)a staff lifting him who is not wood.

¹⁶ Therefore the Lord, Yahweh of hosts, 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.

¹⁷ And the ^(C1)light of Israel will become a fire and his ^(C2)Holy One a flame,
And it will ^(C3)burn and devour his thorns and his briars in a single day.

¹⁸ And He will ^(C1)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.

¹⁹ And the ^(C1)rest of the trees of his forest will be so small in number
That a child could write them down.

A Remnant Will Return

²⁰ Now it will be in that day, that the ^(C1)remnant of Israel and those of the house of Jacob ^(C2)who have escaped, will never again rely on the one who struck them, but will truly ^(C3)rely on Yahweh, the Holy One of Israel.

²¹ A ^(C1)remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, to the ^(C2)mighty God.

²² For ^(C1)though your people, O Israel, may be like the sand of the sea,
Only a remnant within them will return;
A ^(C2)destructive end is decreed, overflowing with righteousness.

²⁴ Therefore thus says Lord Yahweh of hosts, "O My people who inhabit ^(C1)Zion, ^(C2)do not fear the Assyrian ^(F1)who ^(C3)strikes you with the rod and lifts up his staff against you, the way Egypt did.²⁵ "For in a very ^(C1)little while ^(C2)My indignation against you will end and My anger will be directed to their destruction."²⁶ And Yahweh of hosts will ^(C1)waken a scourge against him like the slaughter 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.²⁷ So it will be in 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.

²⁸ He has come against Aiath,
He has passed through ^(C1)Migron;
At ^(C2)Michmash he deposited his ^(C3)baggage.

²⁹ They have gone through ^(C1)the pass, saying,
"^(C2)Geba will be our lodging place."
^(C3)Ramah trembles, and ^(C4)Gibeah of Saul has fled away.

³⁰ Cry aloud with your voice, O daughter of ^(C1)Gallim!
Pay attention, Laishah and ^(F1)afflicted ^(C2)Anathoth!

³¹ Madmenah has fled.
The inhabitants of Gebim have sought refuge.

³² Yet today he will stand at ^(C1)Nob;
He ^(C2)shakes his fist at the mountain of the ^(F1)(C3)daughter of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem.

³³ Behold, the Lord, Yahweh of hosts, will lop off the boughs with a terrible crash;
Those also who are ^(C1)high in stature will be cut in pieces
And those who are lofty will be made low.

³⁴ He will cut down the thickets of the forest with an iron axe,
And ^(C1)Lebanon will fall ^(F1)by the Mighty One.