| King James Bible | New International Version |
| 1Woe unto them that decree unrighteous decrees, and that write grievousness which they have prescribed; | 1Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees, |
| 2To turn aside the needy from judgment, and to take away the 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 their rights and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people, making widows their prey and robbing the fatherless. |
| 3And what will ye do in the day of visitation, and in the desolation which shall come from far? to whom will ye flee for help? and where will ye leave your glory? | 3What will you do on the day of reckoning, when disaster comes from afar? To whom will you run for help? Where will you leave your riches? |
| 4Without me they shall bow down under the prisoners, and they shall fall under the slain. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still. | 4Nothing will remain but to cringe among the captives or fall among the slain. Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away, his hand is still upraised. |
| 5O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the staff in their hand is mine indignation. | 5"Woe to the Assyrian, the rod of my anger, in whose hand is the club of my wrath! |
| 6I will send him against an hypocritical nation, and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge, to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets. | 6I send him against a godless nation, I dispatch him against a people who anger me, to seize loot and snatch plunder, and to trample them down like mud in the streets. |
| 7Howbeit he meaneth not so, neither doth his heart think so; but it is in his heart to destroy and cut off nations not a few. | 7But this is not what he intends, this is not what he has in mind; his purpose is to destroy, to put an end to many nations. |
| 8For he saith, Are not my princes altogether kings? | 8Are not my commanders all kings?' he says. |
| 9Is not Calno as Carchemish? is not Hamath as Arpad? is not Samaria as Damascus? | 9Has not Kalno fared like Carchemish? Is not Hamath like Arpad, and Samaria like Damascus? |
| 10As my hand hath found the kingdoms of the idols, and whose graven images did excel them of Jerusalem and of Samaria; | 10As my hand seized the kingdoms of the idols, kingdoms whose images excelled those of Jerusalem and Samaria-- |
| 11Shall I not, as I have done unto Samaria and her idols, so do to Jerusalem and her idols? | 11shall I not deal with Jerusalem and her images as I dealt with Samaria and her idols?'" |
| 12Wherefore it shall come to pass, that when the Lord hath performed his whole work upon mount Zion and on Jerusalem, I will punish the fruit of the stout heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his high looks. | 12When the Lord has finished all his work against Mount Zion and Jerusalem, he will say, "I will punish the king of Assyria for the willful pride of his heart and the haughty look in his eyes. |
| 13For he saith, By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom; for I am prudent: and I have removed the bounds of the people, and have robbed their treasures, and 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, because I have understanding. I removed the boundaries of nations, I plundered their treasures; like a mighty one I subdued their kings. |
| 14And my hand hath found as a nest the riches of the people: and as one gathereth eggs that are left, have I gathered all the earth; and there was none that moved the wing, or opened the mouth, or peeped. | 14As one reaches into a nest, so my hand reached for the wealth of the nations; as people gather abandoned eggs, so I gathered all the countries; not one flapped a wing, or opened its mouth to chirp.'" |
| 15Shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth therewith? or shall the saw magnify itself against him that shaketh it? as if the rod should shake itself against them that lift it up, or as if the staff should lift up itself, as if it were no wood. | 15Does the ax raise itself above the person who swings it, or the saw boast against the one who uses it? As if a rod were to wield the person who lifts it up, or a club brandish the one who is not wood! |
| 16Therefore shall the Lord, the Lord of hosts, send among his fat ones leanness; and under his glory he shall kindle a burning like the burning of a fire. | 16Therefore, the Lord, the LORD Almighty, will send a wasting disease upon his sturdy warriors; under his pomp a fire will be kindled like a blazing flame. |
| 17And the light of Israel shall be for a fire, and his Holy One for a flame: and it shall burn and devour his thorns and his briers in one day; | 17The Light of Israel will become a fire, their Holy One a flame; in a single day it will burn and consume his thorns and his briers. |
| 18And shall consume the glory of his forest, and of his fruitful field, both soul and body: and they shall be as when a standardbearer fainteth. | 18The splendor of his forests and fertile fields it will completely destroy, as when a sick person wastes away. |
| 19And the rest of the trees of his forest shall be few, that a child may write them. | 19And the remaining trees of his forests will be so few that a child could write them down. |
| 20And it shall come to pass in that day, that the remnant of Israel, and such as are escaped of the house of Jacob, shall no more again stay upon him that smote them; but shall stay upon the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. | 20In that day the remnant of Israel, the survivors of Jacob, will no longer rely on him who struck them down but will truly rely on the LORD, the Holy One of Israel. |
| 21The remnant shall return, even the remnant of Jacob, unto the mighty God. | 21A remnant will return, a remnant of Jacob will return to the Mighty God. |
| 22For though thy people Israel be as the sand of the sea, yet a remnant of them shall return: the consumption decreed shall overflow with righteousness. | 22Though your people be like the sand by the sea, Israel, only a remnant will return. Destruction has been decreed, overwhelming and righteous. |
| 23For the Lord GOD of hosts shall make a consumption, even determined, in the midst of all the land. | 23The Lord, the LORD Almighty, will carry out the destruction decreed upon the whole land. |
| 24Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD of hosts, O my people that dwellest in Zion, be not afraid of the Assyrian: he shall smite thee with a rod, and shall lift up his staff against thee, after the manner of Egypt. | 24Therefore this is what the Lord, the LORD Almighty, says: "My people who live in Zion, do not be afraid of the Assyrians, who beat you with a rod and lift up a club against you, as Egypt did. |
| 25For yet a very little while, and the indignation shall cease, and mine anger in their destruction. | 25Very soon my anger against you will end and my wrath will be directed to their destruction." |
| 26And the LORD of hosts shall stir up a scourge for him according to the slaughter of Midian at the rock of Oreb: and as his rod was upon the sea, so shall he lift it up after the manner of Egypt. | 26The LORD Almighty will lash them with a whip, as when he struck down Midian at the rock of Oreb; and he will raise his staff over the waters, as he did in Egypt. |
| 27And it shall come to pass in that day, that his burden shall be taken away from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing. | 27In that day their burden will be lifted from your shoulders, their yoke from your neck; the yoke will be broken because you have grown so fat. |
| 28He is come to Aiath, he is passed to Migron; at Michmash he hath laid up his carriages: | 28They enter Aiath; they pass through Migron; they store supplies at Mikmash. |
| 29They are gone over the passage: they have taken up their lodging at Geba; Ramah is afraid; Gibeah of Saul is fled. | 29They go over the pass, and say, "We will camp overnight at Geba." Ramah trembles; Gibeah of Saul flees. |
| 30Lift up thy voice, O daughter of Gallim: cause it to be heard unto Laish, O poor Anathoth. | 30Cry out, Daughter Gallim! Listen, Laishah! Poor Anathoth! |
| 31Madmenah is removed; the inhabitants of Gebim gather themselves to flee. | 31Madmenah is in flight; the people of Gebim take cover. |
| 32As yet shall he remain at Nob that day: he shall shake his hand against the mount of the daughter of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem. | 32This day they will halt at Nob; they will shake their fist at the mount of Daughter Zion, at the hill of Jerusalem. |
| 33Behold, the Lord, the LORD of hosts, shall lop the bough with terror: and the high ones of stature shall be hewn down, and the haughty shall be humbled. | 33See, the Lord, the LORD Almighty, will lop off the boughs with great power. The lofty trees will be felled, the tall ones will be brought low. |
| 34And he shall cut down the thickets of the forest with iron, and Lebanon shall fall by a mighty one. | 34He will cut down the forest thickets with an ax; Lebanon will fall before the Mighty One. |
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