rsv Isaiah:10:5-19 SEEK
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Ah ,
Assyria ,
the rod of my anger ,
the staff of my fury !
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Against a godless nation I send him ,
and against the people of my wrath I command him ,
to take spoil and seize plunder ,
and to tread them down like the mire of the streets .
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But he does not so intend ,
and his mind does not so think ;
but it is in his mind to destroy ,
and to cut off nations not a few ;
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for he says : "
Are not my commanders all kings ?
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Is not Calno like Car '
chemish ?
Is not Hamath like Arpad ?
Is not Sama '
ria like Damascus ?
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As my hand has reached to the kingdoms of the idols whose graven images were greater than those of Jerusalem and Sama '
ria ,
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shall I not do to Jerusalem and her idols as I have done to Sama '
ria and her images ?"
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When the Lord has finished all his work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem he will punish the arrogant boasting of the king of Assyria and his haughty pride .
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For he says : "
By the strength of my hand I have done it ,
and by my wisdom ,
for I have understanding ;
I have removed the boundaries of peoples ,
and have plundered their treasures ;
like a bull I have brought down those who sat on thrones .
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My hand has found like a nest the wealth of the peoples ;
and as men gather 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 ."
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Shall the axe vaunt itself 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 !
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Therefore the Lord ,
the LORD of hosts ,
will send wasting sickness among his stout warriors ,
and under his glory a burning will be kindled ,
like the burning of fire .
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The light of Israel will become a fire ,
and his Holy One a flame ;
and it will burn and devour his thorns and briers in one day .
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The glory of his forest and of his fruitful land the LORD will destroy ,
both soul and body ,
and it will be as when a sick man wastes away .
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The remnant of the trees of his forest will be so few that a child can write them down .