Isaiah 10
10
1Tragedy is coming to those who pass evil decrees and who write laws to harm people. 2They pervert the legal rights of the needy, and rob justice from the poor of my people. They steal from widows and cheat orphans. 3What are you going to do on the day you're punished, when disaster falls on you from far away? Who are you going to run to so you can get help? Where are you going to leave all your wealth? 4All you'll be able to do is to bow down as prisoners, or lie among the dead! In all of this he is still angry and his hand is still raised.
5Tragedy is coming to the Assyrians, even though the rod they use represents my anger and the stick they hold in their hands represents my fury! 6I am sending the Assyrians against a nation that has given up on its God, against a people that make me angry. I order the Assyrians to loot them, to take their possessions, and to trample them down like mud in the street.
7But this isn't what is behind the thinking of the king of Assyria. This isn't the plan he has in mind. What he wants to do is to destroy and eliminate many nations. 8He says: “All my commanders are kings! 9We conquered Calno like we did Carchemish; Hamath like Arpad; Samaria like Damascus. 10I was the one who conquered these kingdoms along with the idols of their gods. These kingdoms had images of their gods that were better than those of Jerusalem and Samaria. 11Why shouldn't I do to Jerusalem and her idols just what I did to Samaria and her idols?”#10:11. Different words are used for idols/images but the meaning is basically the same.
12Once the Lord has finished all his work against Mount Zion and Jerusalem, he#10:12. “He”: literally, “I.” will punish the king of Assyria for his terrible arrogance and for the conceited look in his eyes.
13For the king of Assyria says: “I have done this in my own strength. It was through my wisdom, because I'm clever. I have wiped out the boundaries of nations and looted their treasures. Like a bull I knocked their rulers off their thrones. 14Like robbing a bird's nest, I took the wealth of the nations. Like collecting abandoned eggs, I collected the whole earth. There wasn't a fluttering wing or an open beak, not even a chirp!”
15Does an ax say it's more important than the person swinging it? Does a saw boast that it's greater than the person sawing with it? It would be as if a rod waved the person holding it, or a walking stick lifted up a person—who certainly wasn't wood!
16So the Lord, the Lord Almighty, will send a disease on the king of Assyria's strong warriors that will make them waste away; a flaming fire will be set under everything he's so proud of. 17Israel's light will become a fire, and his Holy One will become a flame. It will burn up his thorns and brambles in just one day. 18It will totally destroy its splendid forests and orchards. Assyria will waste away, staggering off like someone sick. 19The trees left in its forests will be so few that a child could count them.
20At that time those who are left in Israel and the survivors of the house of Jacob will no longer trust in those who turn on them, but they will truly trust in the Lord, the Holy One of Israel. 21A remnant will return, a remnant of Jacob will come back to the Mighty God. 22Israel, even though your people are as numerous as sand on the seashore, only a remnant will return. The Lord has rightly decided to destroy his people. 23The Lord God Almighty has rightly decided to bring destruction throughout the whole country.
24So this is what the Lord, the Lord Almighty, says, My people living in Zion, don't be afraid of the Assyrians who beat you with rods and hit you with clubs, just like the Egyptians did. 25Very shortly I will stop being angry with you. Then I will turn my anger on them and I will destroy them.
26The Lord Almighty will lash them with a whip, just as he did when he attacked the Midianites at the rock of Oreb. He will hold up his rod over the sea, just as he did in Egypt. 27At that time he will remove the burden from your shoulders and the yoke from your neck. The yoke will be broken because of the anointing with oil.#10:27. “Anointing with oil:” literally, “before the oil/fat.” The meaning of this phrase is much debated. Some suggest that this means that Israel has symbolically grown so fat that the yoke no longer fits. Jewish tradition however associates it with the anointing of King Hezekiah, and some Christian writers have pointed to Christ as the Messiah, the “anointed one.”
28The Assyrians came to Aiath, passed through Migron, and stored their supplies at Michmash. 29They cross the pass, saying, “We'll stay overnight at Geba.” The people of Ramah tremble in fear; the inhabitants of Gibeah of Saul run away. 30Shout out a warning, people of Gallim! Pay attention, those living in Laishah! You poor people of Anathoth! 31The people of Madmenah, are all running away. The inhabitants of Gebim are looking for somewhere safe. 32Today the invaders stop at Nob, shaking their fists at the mountain of the Daughter of Zion, at the hill of Jerusalem.
33Look how the Lord Almighty is going to chop off the branches with great force. The tall trees will be cut down, the proud trees will be brought crashing down.#10:33. The prophecy now turns to judgment on the Assyrian invaders, who will be “cut down like trees.” 34He will cut down the thick forest with an ax, and Lebanon#10:34. “Lebanon”: a symbolic term for Assyria, see for example Ezekiel 31:3. will fall at the hand of the Mighty One.
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Isaiah 10: FBV
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com
Isaiah 10
10
Arrogant Assyria
1Woe to those who legalize injustice and write oppressive legislation! 2You rip away the rights of the poor and prey upon widows and orphans! # 10:2 Or “You make widows your spoil and orphans your prey.” 3What will come of you on your day of visitation when disaster comes from afar? To whom will you run for help? And what will you do then with all your great wealth? # 10:3 Or “glory” or “honor,” a possible metaphor for their vast armies. 4You’ll have no option but to cringe among the captives or fall among the corpses of the slain! Yet despite all this, his anger has not subsided, and his hand is poised to strike. # 10:4 Or “his hand is still reaching out.”
5Woe to arrogant Assyria, the rod of my anger! The club I place in the king’s hand is my fury. 6I am the one who has sent him against a godless nation and ordered him to attack a people who anger me. I sent him to take the spoil and seize the plunder # 10:6 See Isa. 8:1. and to trample them down like dust in the street. 7But he has no clue what he’s doing, and he has something else in mind. He plans on annihilating many nations 8and thinks, “After all, I have made my executive commanders into kings. 9Calneh # 10:9 Calneh (or Calno) means “[selfish] ambition.” It was a city in Shinar (see Gen. 10:10). will be no different than Carchemish, # 10:9 Carchemish, which means “fortress of one who subdues,” was a capital city of northern Syria, once known as the Hittite empire. whom I destroyed. I’ll destroy Hamath as I did Arpad # 10:9 Hamath means “high walls.” It was the principal city of northern Syria. Arpad means “I will spread out.” It was a Syro-Hittite city north of Aleppo in northwestern Syria. and make Samaria like Damascus. # 10:9 Samaria means “watch [guard] mountain.” It was the mountainous region north of Jerusalem also known as the northern kingdom of Israel. Damascus is not a Hebrew word (likely Aramaic); it means “alert” or “active.” Damascus is the major city of Syria and is viewed as the oldest continuously inhabited city on earth. 10Since I was able to seize kingdoms full of idols and images more powerful and more impressive than those of Jerusalem and Samaria, 11won’t I do the same thing to Jerusalem and Samaria and their idols?” # 10:11 In his blasphemous boast, the king of Assyria equated the Lord Yahweh with all the other gods and their idols that he had conquered. His arrogance would be his downfall. Although he became the rod of God’s anger to punish Judah and Israel, that same rod was now poised to strike him down.
12But when the Lord has carried out his purpose on Mount Zion and Jerusalem, he will punish the king of Assyria because of his overbearing arrogance and unrestrained pride! # 10:12 Or “the pride of his exalted eyes.” 13He boasted, “Look what I have done by the strength of my hand and by my wisdom. See how clever I am! I have erased the borders of nations and plundered their treasures. I have been like a mighty conqueror, subduing those in strong fortresses. # 10:13 Or “brought down kings from their thrones.” Assyria represents human reasoning, with its high thoughts and deceptive fantasies that exalt themselves against God (see 2 Cor. 10:5). The intellect of man falls short and is inferior to the wisdom and knowledge of God. 14I seized their wealth as one who found an unprotected nest. As one who gathers eggs that have been left behind, so I gathered the wealth of the world. And the young birds could neither move a wing nor even open their mouths to peep!”
God Decrees Judgment on Assyria
15Is the axe greater than the one who wields it? Is the saw greater than the one who cuts with it? Can the axe strike without a hand to move it? Can a lifeless wooden cane walk all by itself? # 10:15 Although God used Assyria as his “axe” and his “saw” to bring about his purposes, that doesn’t mean they had reason to be proud. The same can be said of us. Although God may use us powerfully, we must give glory and credit to God and his grace. See Acts 12:23. 16Therefore, the sovereign Lord Yahweh, Commander of Angel Armies, will send a devastating plague among Assyria’s proud warriors. Yes, the “glory” # 10:16 “The ‘glory’ of Assyria” is a metaphor describing all their pomp and military might. of Assyria will be burned and go up in smoke! 17For the Light of Israel will become a fire in their midst, and the Holy One will become a flame! He will consume the thorns # 10:17 Moses knelt before the burning thorn bush, and God ignited a fire in his heart. Today God wants to light a holy flame in every heart that follows Christ. and thistles of the Assyrian king in one day! 18The splendor of his forest and orchard # 10:18 The phrase “forest and orchard” is a metaphor for Assyria’s armies (forest) and the king’s noblemen (orchard). will be completely destroyed, # 10:18 Or “from breath to flesh, it will be destroyed,” which is a metaphor for totality. like a dying man fading away. # 10:18 The Hebrew text of this last clause is uncertain. 19The forest will have so few trees left # 10:19 The fire of the glory of the Lord will consume the armies of Assyria. One angel destroyed 185,000 Assyrians in one night. See 2 Kings 19:35; Isa. 37:36–38. that even a little boy could count them.
Restoration Promised
20In that day, neither the remnant of Israel nor the survivors of the house of Jacob will lean anymore upon the one who abused them, # 10:20 That is, Assyria. but they will lean fully # 10:20 Or “sincerely.” on the faithfulness of the Lord Yahweh, the Holy One of Israel. 21A remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob’s tribes to the mighty God. 22Though your people Israel were as many as the sand on the seashore, only a remnant will return. Destruction has been decreed, and it will be overflowing with righteousness. 23For the Lord Yahweh, Commander of Angel Armies, will complete the destruction he has decreed upon the whole land.
24So hear what the Lord Yahweh, Commander of Angel Armies, has to say: “My Zion-people, do not be gripped with fear over the Assyrians who oppress and abuse you, # 10:24 Or “who beat you with a rod and lift up their staff against you.” as the Egyptians did long ago. 25After only a brief moment, I will end my indignation against you, and it will fall upon them to their destruction!”
26The Lord Yahweh, who commands angel armies, will wield his whip against them, as when he struck Midian at the rock of Oreb. # 10:26 The rock of Oreb (“raven”) is the place where Gideon killed two fleeing Midianite princes (see Judg. 7:25). Isaiah mentioned both the rock of Oreb and the victory at the Red Sea to illustrate how God will completely subdue his enemies. And once again he will raise his rod over the waters, as he did in Egypt.
27In that day the Lord will remove the heavy burden from your shoulders and break off the yoke of bondage from your necks because of the heavy anointing upon you! # 10:27 Or “because of oil [anointing].” Oil is a frequent symbol of the anointing of God. Although the meaning of the Hebrew text of this clause is uncertain, some scholars see the imagery of an ox who grew so fat that it shattered the yoke on his neck. Assyria’s yoke of bondage would be broken off Judah because they would grow fat and heavy with the anointing of God’s restored favor.
28The Assyrian army # 10:28 Or “he.” By implication and context, this is the king of Assyria with his armies. attacked Aiath; # 10:28 Aiath (or Ai) was a city east of Bethel and near Jericho. It means “heap of ruins.” In vv. 28–31, the Hebrew text contains no conjunctions and is in a very disjointed, short, hard-hitting style. There is much scholarly debate about when this invasion took place. Perhaps the names of the locations give us hints about the things God will “invade” inside of believers today. The “heap of ruins” could be an apt picture of our flesh life.
they passed over into Migron # 10:28 Migron means “threshing floor.” God takes the hearts of his chosen ones through the threshing floor by the Holy Spirit.
and stored their equipment at Michmash. # 10:28 Michmash is a city about ten miles (sixteen kilometers) north of Jerusalem, believed to be modern-day Mukhmas. Michmash means “hidden.” God will go after our hidden issues.
29They went through the pass
and spent the night at Geba. # 10:29 Or “Gibeah.” Gibeah means “uphill,” a picture of striving in the flesh.
Ramah # 10:29 Ramah means “high place.” It is an obvious metaphor for lofty and arrogant attitudes that are “raised up in defiance of the true knowledge of God” (2 Cor. 10:5). was alarmed and trembled.
Those in Gibeah, the city of Saul, ran for their lives.
30Cry aloud, O daughter of Gallim! # 10:30 Gallim means “heaps [of waves, stones, etc.]” or possibly “springs.” It represents the flow of life that does not originate with God but with the self.
Listen, O Laishah! # 10:30 Or “Laish.” Laish is the Hebrew word for “lion.” The lion’s den is a picture of the realm of demonic power (see Song. 4:8). Poor Anathoth! # 10:30 Or “Answer [her], O Anathoth!” Anathoth means “answers to prayers.”
31Madmenah # 10:31 Madmenah means “dung heap.” See Phil. 3:8. is retreating;
the residents of Gebim # 10:31 Gebim means “pits” or “ditches.” are hiding.
32This very day, # 10:32 Or “While it is still day.” standing at Nob, # 10:32 Nob was the city of priests, which the Talmud and Jerome’s translation state was within sight of Jerusalem. Nob means “higher place.” he will shake his fist
at the mountain of the daughter of the house of Zion—
at the hill of Jerusalem.
33Behold, the Sovereign Lord of Angel Armies
is about to cut off the branches with terrifying power.
He will cut down the exalted heights of the high,
and all the lofty will be brought low.
34He will slash the thickets of the forest as with an axe,
and Lebanon will fall before the Mighty One.
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