Isaiah 10:1-15 ▼

1 Wo be vnto them that make vnrighteous lawes, and that causeth their actuaries to wryte greeuousnesse,

2 Where thorowe the poore are put from their right, and my seelie people robbed of iudgement, that wydowes may be their pray, and that they may rob the fatherlesse.

3 What wyll ye do in the tyme of visitation, and when destruction shall come from farre? to whom wyll ye runne for helpe? and where wyll you leaue your glory?

4 That when I withdrawe my hand, ye come not among the prysoners, nor lye among the dead? After all this doth not the wrath of the Lorde ceasse, but yet is his hande stretched out styll.

5 O Assur whiche art the staffe of my wrath, in whose hand is the rod of mine indignation.

6 I wyll sende hym among those hypocritishe people: among the people that haue deserued my disfauour wyll I sende hym, that he vtterly rob them, spoyle them, and treade them downe lyke the myre in the streete.

7 Howbeit, his meaning is not so, neither thinketh his heart on this fashion: But he imagineth howe he may roote out and destroy muche people.

8 For he saith, Are not my princes all kynges?

9 Is not Chalno as easie to winne, as Charchamis? Is it harder to conquer Hamath, then Arphad? or is it lighter to ouercome Damascus, then Samaria?

10 As who say I were able to winne the kyngdomes of the idolaters and their gods, but not Hierusalem and Samaria.

11 Shall I not do vnto Hierusalem and her images, as I dyd vnto Samaria and her idols?

12 Wherefore it shall come to passe, that assoone as the Lorde hath perfourmed his whole worke vpon the hill of Sion and Hierusalem, then wyll I visite the fruite of the stoute heart of the kyng of Assyria with his proude lookes.

13 For he standeth thus in his owne conceipt, This do I thorowe the power of myne owne hande, & thorowe my wysdome: for I am wyse, I am he that remoue the landes of the people, I rob their treasure, and haue pulled downe the inhabitauntes like a valiaunt man.

14 My hand hath found out the strength of the people as it were a nest: and like as egges that were layde here and there, are gathered together, so do I gather all countreys, and there was none so bolde as to moue the winge, that dare open his mouth, or once whisper.

15 Shall the axe boast it selfe against him that heweth therwith? or shal the sawe make any bragging against hym that ruleth it? That were euen lyke as if the rod did exalt it selfe against him that beareth it, or as though the staffe should magnifie it selfe as who say it were no wood.