Study Desk

Woe to ^(C1)Assyria, the ^(C2)rod of My anger And the staff in whose hands is ^(C3)My indignation,

I send it against a ^(C1)godless nation And commission it against the ^(C2)people of My fury To capture spoils and ^(C3)to seize plunder, And to ^(F1)trample them down like ^(C4)mud in the streets.

Yet it ^(C1)does not so intend, Nor does ^(F1)it plan so in its heart, But rather it is ^(F2)its purpose to destroy And to eliminate ^(F3)many nations.

For it says, "Are not my officers ^(F1)all kings?

-"Is not ^(C1)Calno like ^(C2)Carchemish, Or ^(C3)Hamath like Arpad, Or ^(C4)Samaria like ^(C5)Damascus?

-"As my hand has reached to the ^(C1)kingdoms of the idols, Whose carved images were greater than those of Jerusalem and Samaria,

Shall I not do the same to Jerusalem and her images Just as I have done to Samaria and ^(C1)her idols?"

So it will be that when the Lord has completed all His ^(C1)work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, He will say, "I will ^(F1)punish the fruit of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria and ^(C2)the arrogant pride of his eyes."

For ^(C1)he has said, "By the power of my hand and by my wisdom I did this, Because I have understanding; And I ^(C2)removed the boundaries of the peoples And plundered their treasures, And like a powerful man I brought down ^(F1)their inhabitants,

And my hand reached to the riches of the peoples like a ^(C1)nest, And as one gathers abandoned eggs, I gathered all the earth; And there was not one that flapped its wing, opened its beak, or chirped."

Is the ^(C1)axe to ^(C2)boast itself over the one who chops with it? Is the saw to exalt itself over the one who wields it? That would be like ^(C3)a ^(F1)club wielding those who lift it, Or like ^(C3)a rod lifting the one who is not wood.

Therefore the Lord, the ^(F1)GOD of armies, will send a ^(C1)wasting disease among his ^(C2)stout warriors; And under his ^(C3)glory a fire will be kindled like a burning flame.

And the ^(C1)Light of Israel will become a fire and ^(F1)Israel's ^(C2)Holy One a flame, And it will ^(C3)burn and devour ^(F2)his thorns and his briars in a single day.

And He will ^(C1)destroy the glory of his forest and of his fruitful garden, both soul and body, And it will be as when a sick person wastes away.

And the ^(C1)rest of the trees of his forest will be so small in number That a child could write them down.