1  Woe to those who ^ydecree iniquitous decrees,

and the writers who ^zkeep writing oppression,

2  to turn aside the needy from justice

and ^ato rob the poor of my people of their right,

that widows may be their spoil,

and that they may make the fatherless their prey!

3  What will you do on ^bthe day of punishment,

in the ruin that will come ^cfrom afar?

To whom will you flee for help,

and where will you leave your wealth?

4  Nothing remains but to crouch among the prisoners

or fall among the slain.

^dFor all this his anger has not turned away,

and his hand is stretched out still.

5  Woe to Assyria, ^ethe rod of my anger;

the staff in their hands is my fury!

6  Against a ^fgodless nation I send him,

and against the people of my wrath I command him,

to take ^gspoil and seize plunder,

and to ^htread them down like the mire of the streets.

7  But he ⁱdoes not so intend,

and his heart does not so think;

but it is in his heart to destroy,

and to cut off nations not a few;

8  for he says:

^j“Are not my commanders all kings?

9  ^kIs not ^lCalno like ^mCarchemish?

Is not ⁿHamath like ^oArpad?

^pIs not ^qSamaria like Damascus?

10  As my hand has reached to ^rthe kingdoms of the idols,

whose carved images were greater than those of Jerusalem and Samaria,

11  shall I not do to Jerusalem and ^sher idols

^tas I have done to Samaria and her images?”

“By the strength of my hand I have done it,

and by my wisdom, for I have understanding;

I remove the boundaries of peoples,

and plunder their treasures;

like a bull I bring down those who sit on thrones.

14  My hand has found like a nest

the wealth of the peoples;

and as one gathers eggs that have been forsaken,

so I have gathered all the earth;

and there was none that moved a wing

or opened the mouth or chirped.”

15  Shall ^xthe axe boast over him who hews with it,

or the saw magnify itself against him who wields it?

As if a rod should wield him who lifts it,

or as if a staff should lift him who is not wood!

16  Therefore the Lord God of hosts

will send wasting sickness among his ^ystout warriors,

and under his glory ^za burning will be kindled,

like the burning of fire.

17  ^aThe light of Israel will become a fire,

and ^bhis Holy One a flame,

and ^cit will burn and devour

his thorns and briers ^din one day.

18  The glory of ^ehis forest and of his ^ffruitful land

the Lord will destroy, both soul and body,

and it will be as when a sick man wastes away.

19  The remnant of the trees of his forest will be so few

that a child can write them down.

28  He has come to Aiath;

he has passed through ^yMigron;

at Michmash he stores ^zhis baggage;

29  they have crossed over ^athe pass;

at ^bGeba they lodge for the night;

^cRamah trembles;

^dGibeah of Saul has fled.

30  Cry aloud, O daughter of ^eGallim!

Give attention, O Laishah!

O poor ^fAnathoth!

31  Madmenah is in flight;

the inhabitants of Gebim flee for safety.

32  This very day he will halt at ^gNob;

he will shake his fist

at the mount of ^hthe daughter of Zion,

the hill of Jerusalem.

33  Behold, the Lord God of hosts

ⁱwill lop ^jthe boughs with terrifying power;

the great in height will be hewn down,

and the lofty will be brought low.

34  He will cut down ^jthe thickets of the forest with an axe,

and ^kLebanon will fall by the Majestic One.

“How the oppressor has ceased,

^vthe insolent fury² ceased!

5  The Lord has broken the ^wstaff of the wicked,

the ^wscepter of rulers,

6  ^xthat struck the peoples in wrath

with unceasing blows,

that ruled the nations in anger

with unrelenting persecution.

7  The whole earth is at rest and quiet;

^ythey break forth into singing.

8  ^zaThe cypresses rejoice at you,

^bthe cedars of Lebanon, saying,

‘Since you were laid low,

no woodcutter comes up against us.’

9  Sheol beneath is stirred up

to meet you when you come;

it rouses the shades to greet you,

all who were leaders of the earth;

it raises from their thrones

all who were kings of the nations.

10  ^cAll of them will answer

and say to you:

‘You too have become as weak as we!

You have become like us!’

11  Your pomp is brought down to Sheol,

the sound of your harps;

maggots are laid as a bed beneath you,

and worms are your covers.

12  “How ^dyou are fallen from heaven,

O Day Star, ^eson of Dawn!

How you are cut down to the ground,

you who laid the nations low!

13  You said in your heart,

^f‘I will ascend to heaven;

above the stars of God

^gI will set my throne on high;

I will sit on the mount of assembly

in the far reaches of the north;³

14  I will ascend above the heights of the clouds;

I will make myself like the Most High.’

15  ^hBut you are brought down to Sheol,

to the far reaches of the pit.

16  Those who see you will stare at you

and ponder over you:

‘Is this ⁱthe man who made the earth tremble,

who shook kingdoms,

17  who made the world like a desert

and overthrew its cities,

^jwho did not let his prisoners go home?’

18  All the kings of the nations lie in glory,

each in his own tomb;⁴

19  but you are cast out, away from your grave,

like a loathed branch,

^kclothed with the slain, those pierced by the sword,

who go down to the stones of the pit,

like a dead body trampled underfoot.

20  You will not be joined with them in burial,

because you have destroyed your land,

you have slain your people.

“May ^lthe offspring of evildoers

nevermore be named!

21  Prepare slaughter for his sons

^mbecause of the guilt of their fathers,

lest they rise and possess the earth,

and fill the face of the world with cities.”

24  The Lord of hosts has sworn:

^q“As I have planned,

so shall it be,

and as I have purposed,

so shall it stand,

25  that ^rI will break the Assyrian in my land,

and on my mountains trample him underfoot;

and ^shis yoke shall depart from them,

and ^shis burden from their shoulder.”

26  This is the purpose that is purposed

concerning the whole earth,

and this is ^tthe hand that is stretched out

over all the nations.

27  ^uFor the Lord of hosts has purposed,

and who will annul it?

^tHis hand is stretched out,

and who will turn it back?

29  Rejoice not, ^xO Philistia, all of you,

that ^ythe rod that struck you is broken,

for from the serpent’s root will come forth an adder,

and its fruit will be a ^zflying fiery serpent.

30  And the firstborn of ^athe poor will graze,

and ^athe needy lie down in safety;

but I will kill your root with famine,

and your remnant it will slay.

31  ^bWail, O ^cgate; cry out, O city;

melt in fear, ^xO Philistia, all of you!

^dFor smoke comes out of the north,

and there is no straggler in his ranks.

32  What will one answer the messengers of the nation?

^e“The Lord has founded Zion,

and in her the afflicted of his people find refuge.”