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Assyria Is God's Instrument

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

² So as ^(C1)to ^(F1)deprive the needy of justice
And rob the poor of My people of their rights,
So ^(C2)that widows may be their spoil
And that they may plunder the ^(F2)orphans.

³ 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 ^(F1)wealth?

⁴ Nothing remains but to crouch ^(F1)among the ^(C1)captives
Or fall ^(F1)among the ^(C2)slain.
^(C3)In spite of all this, His anger does not turn away
And His hand is still stretched out.

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 commission it against the ^(C2)people of My fury
To capture booty and ^(C3)to seize plunder,
And to ^(F1)trample them down like ^(C4)mud in the streets.

⁷ 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 cut off ^(F3)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 ^(F2)his haughtiness."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 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 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 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 him who is not wood.

¹⁶ Therefore the Lord, the ^(F1)GOD 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)destroy the glory of his forest and of his fruitful garden, 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 in that day 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 the LORD, 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)destruction is determined, overflowing with righteousness.

²⁴ Therefore thus says the Lord ^(F1)GOD of hosts, "O My people 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.²⁵ "For in a very ^(C1)little while ^(C2)My indignation against you will be spent and My anger will be directed to their destruction."²⁶ The LORD of hosts will ^(C1)arouse 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 is terrified, and ^(C4)Gibeah of Saul has fled away.

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

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

³² 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.

³³ Behold, the Lord, the ^(F1)GOD of hosts, will lop off the boughs with a terrible crash;
Those also who are ^(C1)tall in stature will be cut down
And those who are lofty will be abased.

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