| New King James Version | Berean Study Bible |
| 1“Woe to those who decree unrighteous decrees, Who write misfortune, Which they have prescribed | 1Woe to those who enact unjust statutes and issue oppressive decrees, |
| 2To rob the needy of justice, And to take what is right from the poor of My people, That widows may be their prey, And that they may rob the fatherless. | 2to deprive the poor of fair treatment and withhold justice from the oppressed of My people, to make widows their prey and orphans their plunder. |
| 3What will you do in the day of punishment, And in the desolation which will come from afar? To whom will you flee for help? And where will you leave your glory? | 3What will you do on the day of reckoning when devastation comes from afar? To whom will you flee for help? Where will you leave your wealth? |
| 4Without Me they shall bow down among the prisoners, And they shall fall among the slain.” For all this His anger is not turned away, But His hand is stretched out still. | 4Nothing will remain but to crouch among the captives or fall among the slain. Despite all this, His anger is not turned away; His hand is still upraised. |
| 5“Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger And the staff in whose hand is My indignation. | 5Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger; the staff in their hands is My wrath. |
| 6I will send him against an ungodly nation, And against the people of My wrath I will give him charge, To seize the spoil, to take the prey, And to tread them down like the mire of the streets. | 6I will send him against a godless nation; I will dispatch him against a people destined for My rage, to take spoils and seize plunder, and to trample them down like clay in the streets. |
| 7Yet he does not mean so, Nor does his heart think so; But it is in his heart to destroy, And cut off not a few nations. | 7But this is not his intention; this is not his plan. For it is in his heart to destroy and cut off many nations. |
| 8For he says, ‘Are not my princes altogether kings? | 8“Are not all my commanders kings?” he says. |
| 9Is not Calno like Carchemish? Is not Hamath like Arpad? Is not Samaria like Damascus? | 9“Is not Calno like Carchemish? Is not Hamath like Arpad? Is not Samaria like Damascus? |
| 10As my hand has found the kingdoms of the idols, Whose carved images excelled those of Jerusalem and Samaria, | 10As my hand seized the idolatrous kingdoms whose images surpassed those of Jerusalem and Samaria, |
| 11As I have done to Samaria and her idols, Shall I not do also to Jerusalem and her idols?’ ” | 11and as I have done to Samaria and its idols, will I not also do to Jerusalem and her idols?” |
| 12Therefore it shall come to pass, when the Lord has performed all His work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, that He will say, “I will punish the fruit of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his haughty looks.” | 12So when the Lord has completed all His work against Mount Zion and Jerusalem, He will say, “I will punish the king of Assyria for the fruit of his arrogant heart and the proud look in his eyes. |
| 13For he says: “By the strength of my hand I have done it, And by my wisdom, for I am prudent; Also I have removed the boundaries of the people, And have robbed their treasuries; So I have put down the inhabitants like a valiant man. | 13For he says: ‘By the strength of my hand I have done this, and by my wisdom, for I am clever. I have removed the boundaries of nations and plundered their treasures; like a mighty one I subdued their rulers. |
| 14My hand has found like a nest the riches of the people, And as one gathers eggs that are left, I have gathered all the earth; And there was no one who moved his wing, Nor opened his mouth with even a peep.” | 14My hand reached as into a nest to seize the wealth of the nations. Like one gathering abandoned eggs, I gathered all the earth. No wing fluttered, no beak opened or chirped.’ ” |
| 15Shall the ax boast itself against him who chops with it? Or shall the saw exalt itself against him who saws with it? As if a rod could wield itself against those who lift it up, Or as if a staff could lift up, as if it were not wood! | 15Does an axe raise itself above the one who swings it? Does a saw boast over him who saws with it? It would be like a rod waving the one who lifts it, or a staff lifting him who is not wood! |
| 16Therefore the Lord, the Lord of hosts, Will send leanness among his fat ones; And under his glory He will kindle a burning Like the burning of a fire. | 16Therefore the Lord GOD of Hosts will send a wasting disease among Assyria’s stout warriors, and under his pomp will be kindled a fire like a burning flame. |
| 17So the Light of Israel will be for a fire, And his Holy One for a flame; It will burn and devour His thorns and his briers in one day. | 17And the Light of Israel will become a fire, and its Holy One a flame. In a single day it will burn and devour Assyria’s thorns and thistles. |
| 18And it will consume the glory of his forest and of his fruitful field, Both soul and body; And they will be as when a sick man wastes away. | 18The splendor of its forests and orchards, both soul and body, it will completely destroy, as a sickness consumes a man. |
| 19Then the rest of the trees of his forest Will be so few in number That a child may write them. | 19The remaining trees of its forests will be so few that a child could count them. |
| 20And it shall come to pass in that day That the remnant of Israel, And such as have escaped of the house of Jacob, Will never again depend on him who defeated them, But will depend on the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. | 20On that day the remnant of Israel and the survivors of the house of Jacob will no longer depend on him who struck them, but they will truly rely on the LORD, the Holy One of Israel. |
| 21The remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, To the Mighty God. | 21A remnant will return—a remnant of Jacob—to the Mighty God. |
| 22For though your people, O Israel, be as the sand of the sea, A remnant of them will return; The destruction decreed shall overflow with righteousness. | 22Though your people, O Israel, be like the sand of the sea, only a remnant will return. Destruction has been decreed, overflowing with righteousness. |
| 23For the Lord GOD of hosts Will make a determined end In the midst of all the land. | 23For the Lord GOD of Hosts will carry out the destruction decreed upon the whole land. |
| 24Therefore thus says the Lord GOD of hosts: “O My people, who dwell in Zion, do not be afraid of the Assyrian. He shall strike you with a rod and lift up his staff against you, in the manner of Egypt. | 24Therefore this is what the Lord GOD of Hosts says: “O My people who dwell in Zion, do not fear Assyria, who strikes you with a rod and lifts his staff against you as the Egyptians did. |
| 25For yet a very little while and the indignation will cease, as will My anger in their destruction.” | 25For in just a little while My fury against you will subside, and My anger will turn to their destruction.” |
| 26And the LORD of hosts will stir up a scourge for him like the slaughter of Midian at the rock of Oreb; as His rod was on the sea, so will He lift it up in the manner of Egypt. | 26And the LORD of Hosts will brandish a whip against them, as when He struck Midian at the rock of Oreb. He will raise His staff over the sea, as He did in Egypt. |
| 27It shall come to pass in that day That his burden will be taken away from your shoulder, And his yoke from your neck, And the yoke will be destroyed because of the anointing oil. | 27On that day the burden will be lifted from your shoulders, and the yoke from your neck. The yoke will be broken because your neck will be too large. |
| 28He has come to Aiath, He has passed Migron; At Michmash he has attended to his equipment. | 28Assyria has entered Aiath and passed through Migron, storing their supplies at Michmash. |
| 29They have gone along the ridge, They have taken up lodging at Geba. Ramah is afraid, Gibeah of Saul has fled. | 29They have crossed at the ford: “We will spend the night at Geba.” Ramah trembles; Gibeah of Saul flees. |
| 30Lift up your voice, O daughter of Gallim! Cause it to be heard as far as Laish— O poor Anathoth! | 30Cry aloud, O Daughter of Gallim! Listen, O Laishah! O wretched Anathoth! |
| 31Madmenah has fled, The inhabitants of Gebim seek refuge. | 31Madmenah flees; the people of Gebim take refuge. |
| 32As yet he will remain at Nob that day; He will shake his fist at the mount of the daughter of Zion, The hill of Jerusalem. | 32Yet today they will halt at Nob, shaking a fist at the mount of Daughter Zion, at the hill of Jerusalem. |
| 33Behold, the Lord, The LORD of hosts, Will lop off the bough with terror; Those of high stature will be hewn down, And the haughty will be humbled. | 33Behold, the Lord GOD of Hosts will lop off the branches with terrifying power. The tall trees will be cut down, the lofty ones will be felled. |
| 34He will cut down the thickets of the forest with iron, And Lebanon will fall by the Mighty One. | 34He will clear the forest thickets with an axe, and Lebanon will fall before the Mighty One. |
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