101 Woe to those who enact evil statutes And to those who constantly record unjust decisions , 2 So as to deprive the needy of justice And rob the poor of My people of their rights , So that widows may be their spoil And that they may plunder the orphans . 3 Now what will you do in the day of punishment , And in the devastation which will come from afar ? To whom will you flee for help ? And where will you leave your wealth ? 4 Nothing remains but to crouch among the captives Or fall among the slain . In spite of all this , His anger does not turn away And His hand is still stretched out.

The LORD's Use of Assyria

5 Woe to Assyria , the rod of My anger And the staff in whose hands is My indignation , 6 I send it against a godless nation And commission it against the people of My fury To capture booty and to seize plunder , And to trample them down like mud in the streets . 7 Yet it does not so intend , Nor does it plan so in its heart , But rather it is its purpose to destroy And to cut off many e nations . 8 For it says , "Are not my princes all kings ? 9 "Is not Calno like Carchemish , Or Hamath like Arpad , Or Samaria like Damascus ? 10 "As my hand has reached to the kingdoms of the idols , Whose graven images were greater than those of Jerusalem and Samaria , 11 Shall I not do to Jerusalem and her images Just as I have done to Samaria and her idols ?" 12 So it will be that when the Lord has completed all His work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem , He will say, "I will punish the fruit of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria and the pomp of his haughtiness ." 13 For he has said , "By the power of my hand and by my wisdom I did this, For I have understanding ; And I removed the boundaries of the peoples And plundered their treasures , And like a mighty man I brought down their inhabitants , 14 And my hand reached to the riches of the peoples like a nest , And as one gathers abandoned eggs , I gathered all the earth ; And there was not one that flapped its wing or opened its beak or chirped ." 15 Is the axe to 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 a club wielding those who lift it, Or like a rod lifting him who is not wood . 16 Therefore the Lord , the GOD of hosts , will send a wasting disease among his stout warriors ; And under his glory a fire will be kindled like a burning flame . 17 And the light of Israel will become a fire and his Holy One a flame , And it will burn and devour his thorns and his briars in a single day . 18 And He will destroy the glory of his forest and of his fruitful garden , both soul and body , And it will be as when a sick man wastes away . 19 And the rest of the trees of his forest will be so small in number That a child could write them down .

20 Now in that day the remnant of Israel , and those of the house of Jacob who have escaped , will never again rely on the one who struck them, but will truly rely on the Lord , the Holy One of Israel . 21 A remnant will return , the remnant of Jacob , to the mighty God . 22 For though your people , O Israel , may be like the sand of the sea , Only a remnant within them will return ; A destruction is determined , overflowing with righteousness . 23 For a complete destruction , one that is decreed , the Lord GOD of hosts will execute in the midst of the whole land .

24 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD of hosts , "O My people who dwell in Zion , do not fear the Assyrian who strikes you with the rod and lifts up his staff against you, the way Egypt did. 25 "For in a very little while My indignation against you will be spent and My anger will be directed to their destruction ." 26 The Lord of hosts will arouse a scourge against him like the slaughter of Midian at the rock of Oreb ; and His staff will be over the sea and He will lift it up the way He did in Egypt . 27 So it will be in that day , that his burden will be removed from your shoulders and his yoke from your neck , and the yoke will be broken because e of fatness . 28 He has come against Aiath , He has passed through Migron ; At Michmash he deposited his baggage . 29 They have gone through the pass , saying, " Geba will be our lodging place ." Ramah is terrified , and Gibeah of Saul has fled away. 30 Cry aloud with your voice , O daughter of Gallim ! Pay attention , Laishah and wretched Anathoth ! 31 Madmenah has fled . The inhabitants of Gebim have sought refuge . 32 Yet today he will halt at Nob ; He shakes his fist at the mountain of the daughter of Zion , the hill of Jerusalem . 33 Behold , the Lord , the GOD of hosts , will lop off the boughs with a terrible crash ; Those also who are tall in stature will be cut down And those who are lofty will be abased . 34 He will cut down the thickets of the forest with an iron axe, And Lebanon will fall by the Mighty One .

The LORD's Judgment on Judah and Jerusalem

31 For behold , the Lord GOD of hosts is going to remove from Jerusalem and Judah Both supply and support , the whole supply of bread And the whole supply of water ; 2 The mighty man and the warrior , The judge and the prophet , The diviner and the elder , 3 The captain of fifty and the honorable e man, The counselor and the expert artisan , And the skillful enchanter . 4 And I will make mere lads their princes , And capricious children will rule over them, 5 And the people will be oppressed , Each one by another , and each one by his neighbor ; The youth will storm against the elder And the inferior against the honorable . 6 When a man lays hold of his brother in his father's house , saying, "You have a cloak , you shall be our ruler , And these ruins will be under your charge ," 7 He will protest on that day , saying , "I will not be your healer , For in my house there is neither bread nor cloak ; You should not appoint me ruler of the people ." 8 For Jerusalem has stumbled and Judah has fallen , Because their speech and their actions are against the Lord , To rebel against His glorious presence .

9 The expression of their faces bears witness against them, And they display their sin like Sodom ; They do not even conceal it. Woe to them! For they have brought evil on themselves. 10 Say to the righteous that it will go well with them, For they will eat the fruit of their actions . 11 Woe to the wicked ! It will go badly with him, For what e he deserves e will be done to him. 12 O My people ! Their oppressors are children , And women rule over them. O My people ! Those who guide you lead you astray And confuse the direction of your paths . 13 The Lord arises to contend , And stands to judge the people . 14 The Lord enters into judgment with the elders and princes of His people , "It is you who have devoured the vineyard ; The plunder of the poor is in your houses . 15 "What do you mean by crushing My people And grinding the face of the poor ?" Declares the Lord GOD of hosts .

Judgment on the Daughters of Zion

16 Moreover, the Lord said , "Because e the daughters of Zion are proud And walk with heads held high and seductive eyes , And go along with mincing steps And tinkle the bangles on their feet , 17 Therefore the Lord will afflict the scalp of the daughters of Zion with scabs , And the Lord will make their foreheads bare ." 18 In that day the Lord will take away the beauty of their anklets , headbands , crescent ornaments , 19 dangling earrings , bracelets , veils , 20 headdresses , ankle chains , sashes , perfume e boxes , amulets , 21 finger rings , nose rings , 22 festal robes , outer tunics , cloaks , money purses , 23 hand mirrors , undergarments , turbans and veils . 24 Now it will come about that instead of sweet perfume there will be putrefaction ; Instead of a belt , a rope ; Instead of well-set hair , a plucked-out scalp ; Instead of fine clothes , a donning of sackcloth ; And branding instead of beauty . 25 Your men will fall by the sword And your mighty ones in battle . 26 And her gates will lament and mourn , And deserted she will sit on the ground .