Woe falls first on those who decree unrighteous decrees and rob the widow and fatherless, then on Assyria itself: "the rod of mine anger," sent against a profane nation but intending in its heart to destroy. The Assyrian king boasts through his list of conquered cities that Jerusalem will fare as Samaria did, so Jehovah asks whether the axe boasts against him who hews with it, and promises a wasting leanness that burns Assyria's forest until a child can count the remaining trees. A remnant of Jacob ("a remnant shall return," the phrase behind Shear-jashub's name), will lean on Jehovah rather than its smiter. Zion is told not to fear; the burden departs as at Midian and the Red Sea. The chapter closes with Assyria's march itinerary from Aiath through Michmash and Nob, where Jehovah lops the boughs and fells the lofty.

Drawn from Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory, Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary, John Wesley, Notes on the Old Testament and John Calvin, Commentaries.

Context

Prophecy · Isaiah — Isaiah overview

A. 1–4 Woe to Those Who Frame Unrighteous Decrees
B. 5–19 Assyria, the Rod of My Anger, Boasts Against the Hand
C. 20–27 A Remnant Shall Return and Lean on the Holy One
D. 28–34 The Marching Route, and the Forest Felled by Iron

Top cross-references8 chapters ▾

Isaiah 377 verses
- Isaiah 37:6who replied, “Tell your master that this is what the LORD says: ‘Do not be afraid of the words you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed Me.
- Isaiah 37:10“Give this message to Hezekiah king of Judah: ‘Do not let your God, in whom you trust, deceive you by saying that Jerusalem will not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria.
- Isaiah 37:22this is the word that the LORD has spoken against him: ‘The Virgin Daughter of Zion despises you and mocks you; the Daughter of Jerusalem shakes her head behind you.
- Isaiah 37:24Through your servants you have taunted the Lord, and you have said: “With my many chariots I have ascended to the heights of the mountains, to the remote peaks of Lebanon. I have cut down its tallest cedars, the finest of its cypresses. I have reached its farthest heights, the densest of its forests.
- Isaiah 37:26Have you not heard? Long ago I ordained it; in days of old I planned it. Now I have brought it to pass, that you should crush fortified cities into piles of rubble.
- Isaiah 37:31And the surviving remnant of the house of Judah will again take root below and bear fruit above.
- Read Isaiah 37: 1 more there →
2 Kings 195 verses
- 2 Kings 19:10“Give this message to Hezekiah king of Judah: ‘Do not let your God, in whom you trust, deceive you by saying that Jerusalem will not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria.
- 2 Kings 19:12Did the gods of the nations destroyed by my fathers rescue those nations—the gods of Gozan, Haran, and Rezeph, and of the people of Eden in Telassar?
- 2 Kings 19:17Truly, O LORD, the kings of Assyria have laid waste these nations and their lands.
- 2 Kings 19:23Through your servants you have taunted the Lord, and you have said: “With my many chariots I have ascended to the heights of the mountains, to the remote peaks of Lebanon. I have cut down its tallest cedars, the finest of its cypresses. I have reached its farthest outposts, the densest of its forests.
- 2 Kings 19:35And that very night the angel of the LORD went out and struck down 185,000 men in the camp of the Assyrians. When the people got up the next morning, there were all the dead bodies!
- Read 2 Kings 19 →
Isaiah 103 verses
- Isaiah 10:5Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger; the staff in their hands is My wrath.
- Isaiah 10:15Does an axe raise itself above the one who swings it? Does a saw boast over him who saws with it? It would be like a rod waving the one who lifts it, or a staff lifting him who is not wood!
- Isaiah 10:33Behold, the Lord GOD of Hosts will lop off the branches with terrifying power. The tall trees will be cut down, the lofty ones will be felled.
- Read Isaiah 10 →
Isaiah 93 verses
- Isaiah 9:4For as in the day of Midian You have shattered the yoke of their burden, the bar across their shoulders, and the rod of their oppressor.
- Isaiah 9:6For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government will be upon His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
- Isaiah 9:17Therefore the Lord takes no pleasure in their young men; He has no compassion on their fatherless and widows. For every one of them is godless and wicked, and every mouth speaks folly. Despite all this, His anger is not turned away; His hand is still upraised.
- Read Isaiah 9 →

4 more chapters this one speaks with

1 Samuel 133 verses
- 1 Samuel 13:2He chose for himself three thousand men of Israel: Two thousand were with Saul at Michmash and in the hill country of Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin. And the rest of the troops he sent away, each to his own home.
- 1 Samuel 13:5Now the Philistines assembled to fight against Israel with three thousand chariots, six thousand horsemen, and troops as numerous as the sand on the seashore. They went up and camped at Michmash, east of Beth-aven.
- 1 Samuel 13:23And a garrison of the Philistines had gone out to the pass at Michmash.
- Read 1 Samuel 13 →
Isaiah 52 verses
- Isaiah 5:23who acquit the guilty for a bribe and deprive the innocent of justice.
- Isaiah 5:25Therefore the anger of the LORD burns against His people; His hand is raised against them to strike them down. The mountains quake, and the corpses lay like refuse in the streets. Despite all this, His anger is not turned away; His hand is still upraised.
- Read Isaiah 5 →
Job 312 verses
- Job 31:14what will I do when God rises to judge? How will I answer when called to account?
- Job 31:25if I have rejoiced in my great wealth because my hand had gained so much,
- Read Job 31 →
2 Kings 182 verses
- 2 Kings 18:24For how can you repel a single officer among the least of my master’s servants when you depend on Egypt for chariots and horsemen?
- 2 Kings 18:33Has the god of any nation ever delivered his land from the hand of the king of Assyria?
- Read 2 Kings 18 →

Cross-references from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge and OpenBible.info.