5. Woe unto Asshur, the rod of My anger, and the staff in their hand
is My indignation. 6. Against an impious nation will I send him and
against the people of My wrath I will commission him, to take spoil
and to seize pray, and to render it a trampling, like the mire of
streets. 7. And he not so will think, and his heart so will think;
for to destroy (is) in his heart, and to cut off nations not a few.
8. For he says, Are not my princes altogether kings? 9. Is not Calno
like Carchemish? or (is) not Hamath like Arpad? or (is) not Samaria
like Damascus? 10. As my hand hath found the idol-kingdoms, and their
images (more) than (those of) Jerusalem and Samaria, 11. shall I not,
as I have done to Samaria and her idols, so do to Jerusalem and her
gods?
12. And it shall be that the Lord will cut all His work short of
mount Zion and at Jerusalem. (Yes, even there) will I visit on the
fruit of the greatness of heart of the king of Assyria, and on the
ostentation of his loftiness of eyes. 13. For he saith, By the
strength of my hand I have done (all this), and by my wisdom, for I
am wise, and I remove the bounds of the nations, and rob their
hoards, and bring down, like a mighty man (as I am), the inhabitants.
14. My hand has found the strength of the nations, and like the
gathering of eggs forsaken, so have I gathered all the earth, and
there was none that moved a wing, or opened a mouth, or chirped.
15. Shall the axe glorify itself above the (person) hewing with it?
Or shall the saw magnify itself above the (person) handling it? (This
is indeed) like a rod's wielding those who wield it, like a staff's
lifting (that which is) no wood. 16. Therefore the Lord, the Lord of
hosts, will send upon his fat ones leanness, and under his glory
shall burn like the burning of fire. 17. And the light of Israel
shall be for a fire, and his Holy One for a flame, and it shall burn
and devour his thorns and briers in one day. 18. And the glory of his
forest and his fruitful field, from soul to body, will He consume,
and it shall be like the wasting away of a sick man. 19. And the rest
of the trees of the forest shall be few, and a child shall write them.
20. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the remnant of
Israel, and the escaped of the house of Jacob, shall no longer
continue to lean upon their smiter, but shall lean upon Jehovah, the
Holy One of Israel, in truth. 21. A remnant shall return, a remnant
of Jacob to God Almighty. 22. For though thy people, O Israel, shall
be like the sand of the sea, (only) a remnant of them shall return. A
consumption is decreed, overflowing (with) righteousness. 23. For a
consumption even (the one) determined, (is) the Lord, Jehovah of
hosts, making in the midst of all the earth.
24. Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah of hosts, Be not afraid, O
my people inhabiting Zion, of Asshur. He shall smite thee with the
rod, and shall lift up his staff upon thee in the way of Egypt.
25. For yet a very little, and wrath is at an end, and my anger
(shall go forth) to their destruction; 26. and Jehovah of hosts shall
raise up against him a scourge like the smiting of Midian at the rock
Oreb, and His rod (shall again) be over the sea, and He shall lift it
up in the way of Egypt. 27. And it shall be in that day, (that) his
burden shall depart from thy shoulder, and his yoke from thy neck,
and the yoke shall be destroyed because of oil.
28. He is come to Aiath--he is passed to Migron--to Michmash he
entrusts his baggage. 29. They have passed the pass--in Geba they
have taken up their lodging--Ramah trembles; Gibeah of Saul flees.
30. Cry aloud, daughter Gallim; hearken Laishah, (ah) poor Anathoth!
31. Madmenah, wanders; the inhabitants of Gebim flee. 32. Yet to-day
in Nob (he is) to stand; (and there) will he shake his hand against
the mountain of the house of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem.
33. Behold, the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, (is) lopping the branch with
terror, and the trees (shall be) felled, and the lofty ones brought
low. 34. And He shall cut down the thickets of the forest with iron,
and this Lebanon by a Mighty One shall fall.
THE RESTORATION AND DELIVERANCE, ETERNAL SAFETY AND
INTERNAL PEACE OF GOD'S OWN PEOPLE.--CHAPS. XI., XII.
XI.--1. And there shall come forth a twig from the stock of Jesse,
and a Branch from his roots shall grow. 2. And upon Him shall rest
the Spirit of Jehovah, a spirit of wisdom and understanding, a spirit
of counsel and strength, a spirit of knowledge and of the fear of
Jehovah. 3. And His sense of smelling (shall be exercised) in the
fear of Jehovah, and not by the sight of His eyes shall He judge, and
not by the hearing of His ears shall He decide; 4. and He shall judge
in righteousness the weak, and do justice with equity to the meek of
the earth; and shall smite the earth with the rod of His mouth, and
with the breath of His lips shall slay the wicked. 5. And
righteousness shall be the girdle of His loins, and faithfulness the
girdle of His reins.
6. And the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie
down with the kid, and the calf and young lion and fatling together,
and a little child shall lead them; 7. and the cow and the bear shall
feed, together shall their young lie down, and the lion like the ox
shall eat straw; 8. and the suckling child shall play on the hole of
the asp, and on the den of the basilisk shall the weaned child
stretch its hand. 9. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy
mountain, because the land is full of the knowledge of Jehovah, like
the waters covering the sea.
10. And in that day shall the root of Jesse which is set up be for a
signal to the nations: unto Him shall the Gentiles seek, and His rest
shall be glorious.
11. And it shall come to pass in that day, the Lord shall add His
hand a second time to redeem the remnants of His people from Assyria,
and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and
from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.
12. And He shall set up a signal to the nations, and shall gather the
outcasts of Israel, and the dispersed of Judah shall He bring
together from the four wings of the earth. 13. And the army of
Ephraim shall depart, and the enemies of Judah shall be cut off.
Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim.
14. And they shall fly upon the shoulder of the Philistines towards
the sea; together they shall spoil the sons of the East; Edom and
Moab the stretching out of their hand, and the children of Ammon
their obedience. 15. And Jehovah will destroy the tongue of the sea
of Egypt, and He will wave His hand over the river, in the violence
of His wind, and smite it into seven streams, and make (His people)
tread (it) in shoes. 16. And there shall be a highway for the remnant
of His people which shall be left, from Assyria, as there was for
Israel in the day of his coming up from the land of Egypt.
XII.--1, 2. And thou shalt say in that day, O Lord, I will praise
Thee! For Thou wast angry with me, but Thine anger is turned away,
and Thou comfortest me. Behold, God is my salvation. I will trust and
not be afraid; for my strength and song is Jah Jehovah, and He is
become my salvation. 3. And ye shall draw water with joy from the
springs of salvation. 4-6. And ye shall say in that day, Praise
Jehovah! Call upon His name! Make known among the nations His
exploits; remind them that His name is exalted. Praise Jehovah,
because He has done a sublime deed. Known is this in all the earth.
Cry out and shout, O inhabitant of Zion, for great in the midst of
thee is the Holy One of Israel.