Isaiah 10:5

THE MESSAGE

"Doom to Assyria, weapon of my anger. My wrath is a cudgel in his hands! I send him against a godless nation, against the people I'm angry with. I command him to strip them clean, rob them blind, and then push their faces in the mud and leave them. But Assyria has another agenda; he has something else in mind. He's out to destroy utterly, to stamp out as many nations as he can. Assyria says, ‘Aren't my commanders all kings? Can't they do whatever they like? Didn't I destroy Calno as well as Carchemish? Hamath as well as Arpad? Level Samaria as I did Damascus? I've eliminated kingdoms full of gods far more impressive than anything in Jerusalem and Samaria. So what's to keep me from destroying Jerusalem in the same way I destroyed Samaria and all her god-idols?'"

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Woe to Assyria, the rod of my anger—the staff in their hands is my wrath.

Hebrew Names Version
Ho Ashshur, the rod of my anger, the staff in whose hand is my indignation!

King James Version
O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the staff in their hand is mine indignation.

English Standard Version
Woe to Assyria, the rod of my anger; the staff in their hands is my fury!

New American Standard Bible
Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger And the staff in whose hands is My indignation,

New Century Version
God says, "How terrible it will be for the king of Assyria. I use him like a rod to show my anger; in anger I use Assyria like a club.

Amplified Bible
Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger [against Israel], The staff in whose hand is My indignation and fury [against Israel's disobedience]!

World English Bible
Ho Assyrian, the rod of my anger, the staff in whose hand is my indignation!

Geneva Bible (1587)
O Asshur, the rodde of my wrath: and the staffe in their hands is mine indignation.

Legacy Standard Bible
Woe to Assyria, the rod of My angerAnd the staff in whose hands is My indignation,

Berean Standard Bible
Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger; the staff in their hands is My wrath.

Contemporary English Version
The Lord says: I am furious! And I will use the king of Assyria as a club

Complete Jewish Bible
"Oh Ashur, the rod expressing my anger! The club in their hands is my fury!

Darby Translation
Ah! the Assyrian! the rod of mine anger! and the staff in their hand is mine indignation.

Easy-to-Read Version
The Lord says, "I will use Assyria like a stick. In my anger I will use Assyria to punish Israel.

George Lamsa Translation
Ho, Assyrian! the rod of my anger, and the staff in their hand is my indignation.

Good News Translation
The Lord said, "Assyria! I use Assyria like a club to punish those with whom I am angry.

Lexham English Bible
Ah! Assyria, the rod of my anger, and a staff is in their hand: my wrath!

Literal Translation
Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger! And My fury is the staff in their hand.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Wo be also vnto Assur, which is a staff of my wrath, in whose honde is the rod of my punyshment.

American Standard Version
Ho Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, the staff in whose hand is mine indignation!

Bible in Basic English
Ho! Assyrian, the rod of my wrath, the instrument of my punishment!

JPS Old Testament (1917)
O Asshur, the rod of Mine anger, in whose hand as a staff is Mine indignation!

King James Version (1611)
O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the staffe in their hand is mine indignation.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
O Assur whiche art the staffe of my wrath, in whose hand is the rod of mine indignation.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
Woe to the Assyrians; the rod of my wrath, and anger are in their hands.

English Revised Version
Ho Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, the staff in whose hand is mine indignation!

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Wo to Assur, he is the yerde and staf of my strong veniaunce; myn indignacioun is in the hond of them.

Update Bible Version
Ho Assyrian, the rod of my anger, the staff in whose hand is my indignation!

Webster's Bible Translation
O Assyrian, the rod of my anger, and the staff in their hand is my indignation.

New English Translation
Assyria, the club I use to vent my anger, is as good as dead, a cudgel with which I angrily punish.

New King James Version
"Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger And the staff in whose hand is My indignation.

New Living Translation
"What sorrow awaits Assyria, the rod of my anger. I use it as a club to express my anger.

New Life Bible
It is bad for Assyria. I use Assyria like a stick to punish Israel.

New Revised Standard
Ah, Assyria, the rod of my anger— the club in their hands is my fury!

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Alas! for Assyria, the rod of mine anger, - Yea, the very staff in their hand, is, my displeasure:

Douay-Rheims Bible
Woe to the Assyrian, he is the rod and the staff of my anger, and my indignation is in their hands.

Revised Standard Version
Ah, Assyria, the rod of my anger, the staff of my fury!

Young's Literal Translation
Wo [to] Asshur, a rod of Mine anger, And a staff in their hand [is] Mine indignation.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger And the staff in whose hands is My indignation,

Contextual Overview

⁵"Doom to Assyria, weapon of my anger. My wrath is a cudgel in his hands! I send him against a godless nation, against the people I'm angry with. I command him to strip them clean, rob them blind, and then push their faces in the mud and leave them. But Assyria has another agenda; he has something else in mind. He's out to destroy utterly, to stamp out as many nations as he can. Assyria says, ‘Aren't my commanders all kings? Can't they do whatever they like? Didn't I destroy Calno as well as Carchemish? Hamath as well as Arpad? Level Samaria as I did Damascus? I've eliminated kingdoms full of gods far more impressive than anything in Jerusalem and Samaria. So what's to keep me from destroying Jerusalem in the same way I destroyed Samaria and all her god-idols?'" ¹²When the Master has finished dealing with Mount Zion and Jerusalem, he'll say, "Now it's Assyria's turn. I'll punish the bragging arrogance of the king of Assyria, his high and mighty posturing, the way he goes around saying, "‘I've done all this by myself. I know more than anyone. I've wiped out the boundaries of whole countries. I've walked in and taken anything I wanted. I charged in like a bull and toppled their kings from their thrones. I reached out my hand and took all that they treasured as easily as a boy taking a bird's eggs from a nest. Like a farmer gathering eggs from the henhouse, I gathered the world in my basket, And no one so much as fluttered a wing or squawked or even chirped.'" Does an ax take over from the one who swings it? Does a saw act more important than the sawyer? As if a shovel did its shoveling by using a ditch digger! As if a hammer used the carpenter to pound nails! Therefore the Master, God -of-the-Angel-Armies, will send a debilitating disease on his robust Assyrian fighters. Under the canopy of God's bright glory a fierce fire will break out. Israel's Light will burst into a conflagration. The Holy will explode into a firestorm, And in one day burn to cinders every last Assyrian thornbush. God will destroy the splendid trees and lush gardens. The Assyrian body and soul will waste away to nothing like a disease-ridden invalid. A child could count what's left of the trees on the fingers of his two hands. And on that Day also, what's left of Israel, the ragtag survivors of Jacob, will no longer be fascinated by abusive, battering Assyria. They'll lean on God , The Holy—yes, truly. The ragtag remnant—what's left of Jacob—will come back to the Strong God. Your people Israel were once like the sand on the seashore, but only a scattered few will return. Destruction is ordered, brimming over with righteousness. For the Master, God -of-the-Angel-Armies, will finish here what he started all over the globe. Therefore the Master, God -of-the-Angel-Armies, says: "My dear, dear people who live in Zion, don't be terrorized by the Assyrians when they beat you with clubs and threaten you with rods like the Egyptians once did. In just a short time my anger against you will be spent and I'll turn my destroying anger on them. I, God -of-the-Angel-Armies, will go after them with a cat-o'-nine-tails and finish them off decisively—as Gideon downed Midian at the rock Oreb, as Moses turned the tables on Egypt. On that day, Assyria will be pulled off your back, and the yoke of slavery lifted from your neck." Assyria's on the move: up from Rimmon, on to Aiath, through Migron, with a bivouac at Micmash. They've crossed the pass, set camp at Geba for the night. Ramah trembles with fright. Gibeah of Saul has run off. Cry for help, daughter of Gallim! Listen to her, Laishah! Do something, Anathoth! Madmenah takes to the hills. The people of Gebim flee in panic. The enemy's soon at Nob—nearly there! In sight of the city he shakes his fist At the mount of dear daughter Zion, the hill of Jerusalem. But now watch this: The Master, God -of-the-Angel-Armies, swings his ax and lops the branches, Chops down the giant trees, lays flat the towering forest-on-the-march. His ax will make toothpicks of that forest, that Lebanon-like army reduced to kindling. ¹⁴You Who Legislate Evil Doom to you who legislate evil, who make laws that make victims— Laws that make misery for the poor, that rob my destitute people of dignity, Exploiting defenseless widows, taking advantage of homeless children. What will you have to say on Judgment Day, when Doomsday arrives out of the blue? Who will you get to help you? What good will your money do you? A sorry sight you'll be then, huddled with the prisoners, or just some corpses stacked in the street. Even after all this, God is still angry, his fist still raised, ready to hit them again. "Doom to Assyria, weapon of my anger. My wrath is a cudgel in his hands! I send him against a godless nation, against the people I'm angry with. I command him to strip them clean, rob them blind, and then push their faces in the mud and leave them. But Assyria has another agenda; he has something else in mind. He's out to destroy utterly, to stamp out as many nations as he can. Assyria says, ‘Aren't my commanders all kings? Can't they do whatever they like? Didn't I destroy Calno as well as Carchemish? Hamath as well as Arpad? Level Samaria as I did Damascus? I've eliminated kingdoms full of gods far more impressive than anything in Jerusalem and Samaria. So what's to keep me from destroying Jerusalem in the same way I destroyed Samaria and all her god-idols?'" When the Master has finished dealing with Mount Zion and Jerusalem, he'll say, "Now it's Assyria's turn. I'll punish the bragging arrogance of the king of Assyria, his high and mighty posturing, the way he goes around saying, "‘I've done all this by myself. I know more than anyone. I've wiped out the boundaries of whole countries. I've walked in and taken anything I wanted. I charged in like a bull and toppled their kings from their thrones. I reached out my hand and took all that they treasured as easily as a boy taking a bird's eggs from a nest. Like a farmer gathering eggs from the henhouse, I gathered the world in my basket, And no one so much as fluttered a wing or squawked or even chirped.'" ¹⁵Does an ax take over from the one who swings it? Does a saw act more important than the sawyer? As if a shovel did its shoveling by using a ditch digger! As if a hammer used the carpenter to pound nails! Therefore the Master, God -of-the-Angel-Armies, will send a debilitating disease on his robust Assyrian fighters. Under the canopy of God's bright glory a fierce fire will break out. Israel's Light will burst into a conflagration. The Holy will explode into a firestorm, And in one day burn to cinders every last Assyrian thornbush. God will destroy the splendid trees and lush gardens. The Assyrian body and soul will waste away to nothing like a disease-ridden invalid. A child could count what's left of the trees on the fingers of his two hands.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

O Assyrian: or, Woe to the Assyrian, Heb. O Asshur, Genesis 10:11

the rod: Isaiah 10:15, Isaiah 8:4, Isaiah 14:5, Isaiah 14:6, Psalms 17:14, Psalms 125:3, Jeremiah 51:20-24

and: or, though

Reciprocal: 2 Samuel 16:11 - the Lord 1 Kings 11:14 - the Lord 2 Kings 5:1 - by him 2 Kings 13:3 - and he delivered 2 Kings 15:37 - to send 2 Kings 17:3 - king of Assyria 2 Kings 18:11 - the king 2 Kings 18:13 - come up 2 Kings 18:25 - Amos I now 2 Kings 19:25 - Hast thou not 2 Kings 24:3 - Surely 1 Chronicles 5:26 - stirred up 2 Chronicles 21:16 - the Lord 2 Chronicles 24:24 - So 2 Chronicles 28:9 - because the Lord God 2 Chronicles 32:1 - king of Assyria Nehemiah 9:32 - since the time Job 19:12 - His Psalms 17:13 - thy Psalms 94:10 - he correct Proverbs 22:8 - the rod of his anger shall fail Ecclesiastes 5:8 - matter Isaiah 7:17 - bring upon Isaiah 9:4 - the staff Isaiah 10:12 - when the Lord Isaiah 10:24 - smite thee Isaiah 13:4 - the Lord Isaiah 27:8 - his rough Isaiah 28:19 - the time Isaiah 29:2 - I will Isaiah 30:31 - which smote Isaiah 33:1 - thee that Isaiah 36:10 - General Isaiah 37:4 - for the Isaiah 37:26 - how I Isaiah 42:24 - General Isaiah 45:7 - I make Peace Isaiah 54:16 - I have Jeremiah 5:10 - ye up Jeremiah 25:9 - I Jeremiah 29:4 - whom Jeremiah 34:22 - I will command Jeremiah 47:6 - thou sword Jeremiah 48:17 - How Jeremiah 50:17 - first Ezekiel 7:10 - the rod Ezekiel 21:3 - will draw Ezekiel 23:22 - I will raise Ezekiel 30:24 - and put Amos 3:11 - General Amos 6:11 - the Lord Amos 6:14 - I will Micah 1:15 - will Micah 5:6 - the Assyrian Micah 6:9 - hear Nahum 2:2 - hath Habakkuk 1:12 - thou hast ordained Zephaniah 2:12 - my Zechariah 1:15 - and Matthew 22:7 - his Romans 9:17 - I raised Revelation 6:4 - and there Revelation 17:13 - shall

Cross-References

Genesis 10:1
This is the family tree of the sons of Noah: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. After the flood, they themselves had sons.

Genesis 10:20
These are the descendants of Ham by family, language, country, and nation.

Isaiah 41:5
"Far-flung ocean islands see it and panic. The ends of the earth are shaken. Fearfully they huddle together. They try to help each other out, making up stories in the dark. The godmakers in the workshops go into overtime production, crafting new models of no-gods, Urging one another on—‘Good job!' ‘Great design!'— pounding in nails at the base so that the things won't tip over.

Isaiah 42:10
Sing to God a brand-new song, sing his praises all over the world! Let the sea and its fish give a round of applause, with all the far-flung islands joining in. Let the desert and its camps raise a tune, calling the Kedar nomads to join in. Let the villagers in Sela round up a choir and perform from the tops of the mountains. Make God 's glory resound; echo his praises from coast to coast. God steps out like he means business. You can see he's primed for action. He shouts, announcing his arrival; he takes charge and his enemies fall into line: "I've been quiet long enough. I've held back, biting my tongue. But now I'm letting loose, letting go, like a woman who's having a baby— Stripping the hills bare, withering the wildflowers, Drying up the rivers, turning lakes into mudflats. But I'll take the hand of those who don't know the way, who can't see where they're going. I'll be a personal guide to them, directing them through unknown country. I'll be right there to show them what roads to take, make sure they don't fall into the ditch. These are the things I'll be doing for them— sticking with them, not leaving them for a minute."

Isaiah 49:1
Listen, far-flung islands, pay attention, faraway people: God put me to work from the day I was born. The moment I entered the world he named me. He gave me speech that would cut and penetrate. He kept his hand on me to protect me. He made me his straight arrow and hid me in his quiver. He said to me, "You're my dear servant, Israel, through whom I'll shine."

Isaiah 59:18
We Long for Light but Sink into Darkness Look! Listen! God 's arm is not amputated—he can still save. God 's ears are not stopped up—he can still hear. There's nothing wrong with God; the wrong is in you. Your wrongheaded lives caused the split between you and God. Your sins got between you so that he doesn't hear. Your hands are drenched in blood, your fingers dripping with guilt, Your lips smeared with lies, your tongue swollen from muttering obscenities. No one speaks up for the right, no one deals fairly. They trust in illusion, they tell lies, they get pregnant with mischief and have sin-babies. They hatch snake eggs and weave spider webs. Eat an egg and die; break an egg and get a snake! The spider webs are no good for shirts or shawls. No one can wear these weavings! They weave wickedness, they hatch violence. They compete in the race to do evil and run to be the first to murder. They plan and plot evil, think and breathe evil, and leave a trail of wrecked lives behind them. They know nothing about peace and less than nothing about justice. They make tortuously twisted roads. No peace for the wretch who walks down those roads! Which means that we're a far cry from fair dealing, and we're not even close to right living. We long for light but sink into darkness, long for brightness but stumble through the night. Like the blind, we inch along a wall, groping eyeless in the dark. We shuffle our way in broad daylight, like the dead, but somehow walking. We're no better off than bears, groaning, and no worse off than doves, moaning. We look for justice—not a sign of it; for salvation—not so much as a hint. Our wrongdoings pile up before you, God, our sins stand up and accuse us. Our wrongdoings stare us down; we know in detail what we've done: Mocking and denying God , not following our God, Spreading false rumors, inciting sedition, pregnant with lies, muttering malice. Justice is beaten back, Righteousness is banished to the sidelines, Truth staggers down the street, Honesty is nowhere to be found, Good is missing in action. Anyone renouncing evil is beaten and robbed. God looked and saw evil looming on the horizon— so much evil and no sign of Justice. He couldn't believe what he saw: not a soul around to correct this awful situation. So he did it himself, took on the work of Salvation, fueled by his own Righteousness. He dressed in Righteousness, put it on like a suit of armor, with Salvation on his head like a helmet, Put on Judgment like an overcoat, and threw a cloak of Passion across his shoulders. He'll make everyone pay for what they've done: fury for his foes, just deserts for his enemies. Even the far-off islands will get paid off in full. In the west they'll fear the name of God , in the east they'll fear the glory of God , For he'll arrive like a river in flood stage, whipped to a torrent by the wind of God . "I'll arrive in Zion as Redeemer, to those in Jacob who leave their sins." God 's Decree. "As for me," God says, "this is my covenant with them: My Spirit that I've placed upon you and the words that I've given you to speak, they're not going to leave your mouths nor the mouths of your children nor the mouths of your grandchildren. You will keep repeating these words and won't ever stop." God 's orders.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger,..... Either as calling him to come against the land of Israel to spoil it, so Kimchi; or as grieving that he was obliged to make use of him in such a manner against his people; or as threatening him with ruin. So the Targum, Septuagint, and all the Oriental versions render it, "woe to the Assyrian"; wherefore this, and what follows, serve to comfort the people of God; that though they should be carried captive by the Assyrians, yet they should be utterly destroyed, and a remnant of the Jews should be saved. The Assyrian monarch is called the "rod of God's anger", because he was made use of by him as an instrument to chastise and correct Israel for their sins:

and the staff in their hand is mine indignation; that is, the staff which was in the hand of the king of Assyria, and his army, with which they smote the people of Israel, was no other than the wrath and indignation of God against that people, and the execution of it, which he committed to them as instruments. Kimchi interprets "their hand" of the land of Israel, into which this staff was sent, the Assyrian, to smite and chastise them. The Targum is,

"woe to the Assyrian, the government of my fury; and an angel sent from before me against them for a curse.''

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

O Assyrian - The word הוי hôy, is commonly used to denounce wrath, or to indicate approaching calamity; as an interjection of threatening; Isaiah 1:4. ‘Wo sinful nation;’ Isaiah 10:8, Isaiah 10:11, Isaiah 10:18, Isaiah 10:20-21; Jeremiah 48:1; Ezekiel 13:2. The Vulgate so understands it here: Vae Assur; and the Septuagint, Οὐαι Ἀσσυρίοις Ouai Assuriois - ‘Woe to the Assyrians.’ So the Chaldee and the Syriac. It is not then a simple address to the Assyrian; but a form denouncing wrath on the invader. Yet it was not so much designed to intimidate and appal the Assyrian himself as to comfort the Jews with the assurance that calamity should overtake him. The ‘Assyrian’ referred to here was the king of Assyria - Sennacherib, who was leading an army to invade the land of Judea.

The rod of mine anger - That is, the rod, or instrument, by which I will inflict punishment on a guilty nation. The Hebrew would bear the interpretation that the Assyrian was, an object against which God was angry; but the former is evidently the sense of the passage, as denoting that the Assyrian was the agent by which he would express his anger against a guilty people. Woe might be denounced against him for his wicked intention, at the same time that God might design to make use of his plans to punish the sins of his own people. The word “anger” here, refers to the indignation of God against the sins of the Jewish people.

And the staff - The word “staff” here, is synonymous with rod, as an instrument of chastisement or punishment; Isaiah 9:4; compare Isaiah 10:24; Nahum 1:13; Ezekiel 7:10.

In their hand - There has been considerable variety in the interpretation of this passage. Lowth and Noyes read it, ‘The staff in whose hand is the instrument of my indignation.’ This interpretation Lowth adopts, by omitting the word הוא hû' on the authority of the Alexandrine copy of the Septuagint, and five manuscripts, two of them ancient. Jerome reads it, ‘Wo to the Assyrian! He is the staff and the rod of my fury; in their hand is my indignation.’ So Forerius, Ludovicus, de Dieu, Cocceius, and others. Vitringa reads it, ‘And in the hands of those who are my rod is my indignation.’ Schmidius and Rosenmuller, ‘And the rod which is in their hands, is the rod of mine indignation.’ There is no necessity for any change in the text. The Hebrew, literally, is, ‘Wo to the Assyrian! Rod of my anger! And he is the staff. In their hands is my indignation.’ The sense is sufficiently clear, that the Assyrian was appointed to inflict punishmerit on a rebellious people, as the instrument of God. The Chaldee renders it, ‘Wo to the Assyrian! The dominion (power, ruler) of my fury, and the angel sent from my face, against them, for a malediction. Septuagint, ‘And wrath in their hands.’

In their hand - In the hand of the Assyrians, where the word ‘Assyrian’ is taken as referring to the king of Assyria, as the representative of the nation.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Isaiah 10:5. O Assyrian - "Ho to the Assyrian"] Here begins a new and distinct prophecy, continued to the end of the twelfth chapter: and it appears from Isaiah 10:9-11 of this chapter, that this prophecy was delivered after the taking of Samaria by Shalmaneser; which was in the sixth year of the reign of Hezekiah: and as the former part of it foretells the invasion of Sennacherib, and the destruction of his army, which makes the whole subject of this chapter it must have been delivered before the fourteenth of the same reign.

The staff in their hand - "The staff in whose hand"] The word הוא hu, the staff itself, in this place seems to embarrass the sentence. I omit it on the authority of the Alexandrine copy of the Septuagint: nine MSS., (two ancient,) and one of my own, ancient, for ומטה הוא umatteh hu, read מטהו mattehu, his staff. Archbishop Secker was not satisfied with the present reading. He proposes another method of clearing up the sense, by reading ביום beyom, in the day, instead of בידם beyadam, in their hand: "And he is a staff in the day of mine indignation."