Thematic Bible
Thematic Bible
Armies » Furnished with standards
You are beautiful, my darling, like Tirzah, lovely like Jerusalem, as awesome as an army with banners.
Verse Concepts
The splendor of its forest and its fruitful land the LORD will destroy both soul and body and Assyria will be as when a dying man wastes away.
Verse Concepts
How long will I see the battle standard and hear the sound of the trumpet?
Verse Concepts
Assyria » Prophecies concerning
"The LORD will bring to you, to your people, and to your ancestor's house such a time as has never been since Ephraim broke away from Judah the king of Assyria will come. "At that time, the LORD will call for flies that will come from far away from the headwaters of Egypt's rivers and for bees that are in the land of Assyria. They will all come and settle in the steep ravines, in the rocky crevices, in all the thorn bushes, and in all the pastures. read more.
At that time, the LORD will hire a barber to come from beyond the Euphrates River that is, the king of Assyria and he will shave your heads, your leg hair, and your beards, too. "At that time, a man will keep alive a heifer and two sheep, and because of the abundance of milk that they give, he will have cheese to eat, since whoever remains in the land will be eating cheese and honey. "At that time, every place where once there were a thousand vines worth a thousand shekels of silver, only briars and thorns will grow. "People will come there armed with bows and arrows, because the entire land will be nothing but briers and thorns. As for all the hills that used to be cultivated with a hoe, you won't go there, because you'll fear iron briars and thorns. Nevertheless, those hills will be reserved as a pasture where cattle will feed and where sheep will graze."
At that time, the LORD will hire a barber to come from beyond the Euphrates River that is, the king of Assyria and he will shave your heads, your leg hair, and your beards, too. "At that time, a man will keep alive a heifer and two sheep, and because of the abundance of milk that they give, he will have cheese to eat, since whoever remains in the land will be eating cheese and honey. "At that time, every place where once there were a thousand vines worth a thousand shekels of silver, only briars and thorns will grow. "People will come there armed with bows and arrows, because the entire land will be nothing but briers and thorns. As for all the hills that used to be cultivated with a hoe, you won't go there, because you'll fear iron briars and thorns. Nevertheless, those hills will be reserved as a pasture where cattle will feed and where sheep will graze."
for before the young lad knows how to call out to his father or mother, the wealth of Damascus and the plunder of Samaria will be carried off by the king of Assyria." The LORD spoke to me again: "Because this people have rejected the gently-flowing waters of Shiloah, and because they keep rejoicing in Rezin and Remaliah's son, read more.
watch out! The LORD God is about to bring the flood waters of the Euphrates River against them, mighty and strong. "It's the king of Assyria and all of his arrogance! He will rise over all of the river's channels and run over all of its banks. He will sweep on into Judah, overflowing as he passes through, like flood waters reaching up to a person's neck. His outstretched wings will flow as wide as your land, O Immanuel!" "Band together, you nations, but be shattered! Listen, all you distant countries! Strap on your armor, but be shattered. Take counsel together, but it will all be for nothing; go ahead and talk, but it will all be for nothing, for God is with us."
watch out! The LORD God is about to bring the flood waters of the Euphrates River against them, mighty and strong. "It's the king of Assyria and all of his arrogance! He will rise over all of the river's channels and run over all of its banks. He will sweep on into Judah, overflowing as he passes through, like flood waters reaching up to a person's neck. His outstretched wings will flow as wide as your land, O Immanuel!" "Band together, you nations, but be shattered! Listen, all you distant countries! Strap on your armor, but be shattered. Take counsel together, but it will all be for nothing; go ahead and talk, but it will all be for nothing, for God is with us."
"How terrible it will be for Assyria, the rod of my anger! The club is in their hands! I'm sending my fury against a godless nation, and I'll command him against the people with whom I'm angry to seize loot and snatch plunder, and to trample them down like mud in the streets. But this is not what he intends, and this is not what he thinks in his mind; but it is in his mind to destroy, and to cut down many nations. read more.
"Because this is what he is saying: "My commanders are all kings, are they not? Isn't Calno like Carchemish? Isn't Hamath like Arpad? Isn't Samaria like Damascus? As my hand has reached to the idolatrous kingdoms whose carved images were greater than those of Jerusalem and Samaria, will I not deal with Jerusalem and her idols as I have dealt with Samaria and her images?'" "For the Lord has finished all his work against Mount Zion and against Jerusalem; he will punish the speech that comes from that willful heart of Assyria's king and the haughty look in his eyes. He keeps bragging: "I've done it by the strength of my hand, and by my wisdom, because I'm so clever. I removed the boundaries of nations, and plundered their treasures; like a bull I brought down those who sat on thrones. My hand has found, as if in a nest, the wealth of the people; and as one gathers eggs that have been abandoned, so I have gathered all the inhabitants of the earth. Nothing moved a wing, opened its mouth, or chirped.' "Does the ax exalt itself over the one who swings it? Or does the saw magnify itself in opposition to the one who wields it? As if a rod were to wield those who lift it, or as if a club were to brandish the one who is not wood! Therefore, the Lord GOD of the Heavenly Armies will send a wasting disease among Assyria's sturdy warriors, and under its glory a conflagration will be kindled, like a blazing bonfire. "The light of Israel will become a fire, and its Holy One a flame, and it will burn and consume Assyria's thorns and briers in a single day. The splendor of its forest and its fruitful land the LORD will destroy both soul and body and Assyria will be as when a dying man wastes away. What survives of the trees in his forest will be so few that a child can count them." At that time, the remnant of Israel and the survivors of the house of Jacob will no longer rely on the one who struck them down, but will truly rely on the LORD, the Holy One of Israel. A remnant will return a remnant of Jacob to the Mighty God. For even if your people of Israel number as many as the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will return. Overwhelming, righteous destruction is decreed, because the Lord GOD of the Heavenly Armies will bring about destruction, as has been decreed, throughout the entire region. Therefore this is what the Lord GOD of the Heavenly Armies says: "My people, you who live in Zion, don't be afraid of the Assyrians, of the rod that beats you, who lift up their club against you as the Egyptians did. In just a little while, my fury will come to an end, and my anger then will be directed to their destruction. The LORD of the Heavenly Armies will brandish a whip against them, as when he struck Midian at the rock of Oreb; and as his staff was stretched out over the sea, so he will lift it up as he did in Egypt. At that time, his burden will depart from your shoulder and his yoke from your neck. Indeed, the yoke will be broken, because you've become obese." "The Assyrian commander has come upon Aiath and has passed through Migron; he stores his supplies at Michmash. He has crossed over by the pass; his overnight lodging is at Geba. Ramah trembles; Gibeah of Saul has fled. Cry aloud, you daughter of Gallim! Pay attention, Laish! Poor Anathoth! Marmenah is in flight; the inhabitants of Gebim take cover. This very day he will halt at Nob; he will shake his fists at the mountain that is the Daughter of Zion, at Jerusalem's hill. Behold, the Lord GOD of the Heavenly Armies will lop off its boughs with terrifying power; the tallest in height will be cut down, and the lofty will be brought low. He will cut down the thickets of the forest with an ax, and Lebanon will fall by the Majestic One."
"Because this is what he is saying: "My commanders are all kings, are they not? Isn't Calno like Carchemish? Isn't Hamath like Arpad? Isn't Samaria like Damascus? As my hand has reached to the idolatrous kingdoms whose carved images were greater than those of Jerusalem and Samaria, will I not deal with Jerusalem and her idols as I have dealt with Samaria and her images?'" "For the Lord has finished all his work against Mount Zion and against Jerusalem; he will punish the speech that comes from that willful heart of Assyria's king and the haughty look in his eyes. He keeps bragging: "I've done it by the strength of my hand, and by my wisdom, because I'm so clever. I removed the boundaries of nations, and plundered their treasures; like a bull I brought down those who sat on thrones. My hand has found, as if in a nest, the wealth of the people; and as one gathers eggs that have been abandoned, so I have gathered all the inhabitants of the earth. Nothing moved a wing, opened its mouth, or chirped.' "Does the ax exalt itself over the one who swings it? Or does the saw magnify itself in opposition to the one who wields it? As if a rod were to wield those who lift it, or as if a club were to brandish the one who is not wood! Therefore, the Lord GOD of the Heavenly Armies will send a wasting disease among Assyria's sturdy warriors, and under its glory a conflagration will be kindled, like a blazing bonfire. "The light of Israel will become a fire, and its Holy One a flame, and it will burn and consume Assyria's thorns and briers in a single day. The splendor of its forest and its fruitful land the LORD will destroy both soul and body and Assyria will be as when a dying man wastes away. What survives of the trees in his forest will be so few that a child can count them." At that time, the remnant of Israel and the survivors of the house of Jacob will no longer rely on the one who struck them down, but will truly rely on the LORD, the Holy One of Israel. A remnant will return a remnant of Jacob to the Mighty God. For even if your people of Israel number as many as the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will return. Overwhelming, righteous destruction is decreed, because the Lord GOD of the Heavenly Armies will bring about destruction, as has been decreed, throughout the entire region. Therefore this is what the Lord GOD of the Heavenly Armies says: "My people, you who live in Zion, don't be afraid of the Assyrians, of the rod that beats you, who lift up their club against you as the Egyptians did. In just a little while, my fury will come to an end, and my anger then will be directed to their destruction. The LORD of the Heavenly Armies will brandish a whip against them, as when he struck Midian at the rock of Oreb; and as his staff was stretched out over the sea, so he will lift it up as he did in Egypt. At that time, his burden will depart from your shoulder and his yoke from your neck. Indeed, the yoke will be broken, because you've become obese." "The Assyrian commander has come upon Aiath and has passed through Migron; he stores his supplies at Michmash. He has crossed over by the pass; his overnight lodging is at Geba. Ramah trembles; Gibeah of Saul has fled. Cry aloud, you daughter of Gallim! Pay attention, Laish! Poor Anathoth! Marmenah is in flight; the inhabitants of Gebim take cover. This very day he will halt at Nob; he will shake his fists at the mountain that is the Daughter of Zion, at Jerusalem's hill. Behold, the Lord GOD of the Heavenly Armies will lop off its boughs with terrifying power; the tallest in height will be cut down, and the lofty will be brought low. He will cut down the thickets of the forest with an ax, and Lebanon will fall by the Majestic One."
The LORD of the Heavenly Armies has sworn: "Surely as I have planned, that's what she will become; and just as I have determined, so will it remain to crush the Assyrian in my land, and on my mountains I will trample him down. His yoke will turn away from you, and his burden from your shoulders." "This is what I've planned for the whole earth, and this is the hand that is stretched out over all the nations. read more.
For the LORD of the Heavenly Armies has planned, and who can thwart him? His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back?" In the year that King Ahaz died this message came:
For the LORD of the Heavenly Armies has planned, and who can thwart him? His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back?" In the year that King Ahaz died this message came:
At that time, there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria. The Assyrians will come into Egypt, and the Egyptians into Assyria, and they will worship with the Assyrians. At that time, Israel will be in a triple alliance with Egypt and Assyria; they will be a blessing in the midst of the earth. The LORD of the Heavenly Armies has blessed them, saying, "Blessed be Egypt my people, Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel my inheritance."
See, the name of the LORD comes from far away, burning with his anger, and in thick rising smoke; his lips are full of fury, and his tongue is like a devouring fire. His breath is like an overflowing torrent, and it rises right up to the neck, to shake the nations in the sieve of destruction, and to place in the jaws of the nations a bit that leads them astray. You will have songs as on nights when people celebrate a holy festival, and gladness of heart, as when they set out with flutes to go to the LORD's mountain, to the Rock of Israel. read more.
And the LORD will make heard yes, he will make heard his majestic voice, and make his arm seen descending in raging anger and in a flame of consuming fire, with a cloudburst, thunderstorm and hailstones. Indeed, the Assyrians will be shattered at the LORD's voice, when he strikes them with his scepter. And every stroke of his punishing rod that the LORD brings down on them will be to the sound of tambourines and harps, as he fights against her in battle with a brandished arm. For the Fire Pit has long been prepared; truly it is for the king; it will indeed be made ready. And its pyre will be deep and wide, with abundant fire and wood. Like a stream of burning sulfur, the breath of the LORD will set it ablaze.
And the LORD will make heard yes, he will make heard his majestic voice, and make his arm seen descending in raging anger and in a flame of consuming fire, with a cloudburst, thunderstorm and hailstones. Indeed, the Assyrians will be shattered at the LORD's voice, when he strikes them with his scepter. And every stroke of his punishing rod that the LORD brings down on them will be to the sound of tambourines and harps, as he fights against her in battle with a brandished arm. For the Fire Pit has long been prepared; truly it is for the king; it will indeed be made ready. And its pyre will be deep and wide, with abundant fire and wood. Like a stream of burning sulfur, the breath of the LORD will set it ablaze.
"Then Assyria will fall by a sword that is not from human beings only a sword not wielded by mortal beings will devour them. They will flee from the sword, and their young men will be put to forced labor. Their stronghold will vanish by reason of terror, and their commanders will be filled with alarm because of the battle standard," declares the LORD, whose fire is in Zion and whose furnace is in Jerusalem.
Then Amoz's son Isaiah sent this message to Hezekiah: "This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says, to whom you prayed concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria. This is the message that the LORD has spoken in opposition to him: ""The Virgin Daughter of Zion despises and mocks you; the Daughter of Jerusalem she tosses her head behind you as you flee. Whom have you insulted and reviled? Against whom have you raised your voice and lifted your eyes in pride? Against the Holy One of Israel! read more.
By your messengers you have insulted the LORD, and you have said, "With my many chariots I have climbed the heights of mountains, the utmost heights of Lebanon. I cut down its tallest cedars, the choicest of its pines; I reached its remotest heights, the most verdant of its forests. I myself dug wells and drank foreign waters; with the soles of my feet I dried up all the streams of Egypt." ""Didn't you hear how in the distant past I decided to do it, how I planned from days of old? Now I've made it happen that fortified cities become devastated, besieged heaps. Their inhabitants are devoid of power, and are terrified and put to shame. They've become like plants in the field, like green shoots, like grass on rooftops, scorched by the east wind. ""I know when you rise up and when you sit down, your comings and goings and how you've become enraged at me. Your insolence has reached my ears, so I'll put my hook in your nose and my bit in your mouth, and I'll make you turn back on the road by which you came. "And this will be your sign, Hezekiah: Eat this year what grows on its own, and in the second year what springs from that. But in the third year sow, reap, plant vineyards, and eat their fruit. Then the ones belonging to the house of Judah who have escaped will gather, and those who are found will take root downward and bear fruit upward. For a remnant will come out of Zion, and a band of survivors from Jerusalem. The zeal of the LORD of the Heavenly Armies will accomplish this. "Therefore this what the LORD says concerning the king of Assyria: "He won't enter this city, build up a siege ramp against it, shoot an arrow here, or threaten it with a shield. By the same way that he came, he will return; he won't enter this city,' declares the LORD, "because I will defend this city and deliver it, for my own sake and for the sake of my servant David!'"
By your messengers you have insulted the LORD, and you have said, "With my many chariots I have climbed the heights of mountains, the utmost heights of Lebanon. I cut down its tallest cedars, the choicest of its pines; I reached its remotest heights, the most verdant of its forests. I myself dug wells and drank foreign waters; with the soles of my feet I dried up all the streams of Egypt." ""Didn't you hear how in the distant past I decided to do it, how I planned from days of old? Now I've made it happen that fortified cities become devastated, besieged heaps. Their inhabitants are devoid of power, and are terrified and put to shame. They've become like plants in the field, like green shoots, like grass on rooftops, scorched by the east wind. ""I know when you rise up and when you sit down, your comings and goings and how you've become enraged at me. Your insolence has reached my ears, so I'll put my hook in your nose and my bit in your mouth, and I'll make you turn back on the road by which you came. "And this will be your sign, Hezekiah: Eat this year what grows on its own, and in the second year what springs from that. But in the third year sow, reap, plant vineyards, and eat their fruit. Then the ones belonging to the house of Judah who have escaped will gather, and those who are found will take root downward and bear fruit upward. For a remnant will come out of Zion, and a band of survivors from Jerusalem. The zeal of the LORD of the Heavenly Armies will accomplish this. "Therefore this what the LORD says concerning the king of Assyria: "He won't enter this city, build up a siege ramp against it, shoot an arrow here, or threaten it with a shield. By the same way that he came, he will return; he won't enter this city,' declares the LORD, "because I will defend this city and deliver it, for my own sake and for the sake of my servant David!'"
because I'm about to summon all the families and kingdoms from the north," declares the LORD. "They'll come and each one will set up his seat at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, against all of its surrounding walls, and against all of the towns of Judah.
Verse Concepts
This message from the LORD came to Jonah a second time: "Get up and go to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim to it the message that I tell you." So Jonah got up and went to Nineveh to do what the LORD had ordered. read more.
Now Nineveh was a very large city, requiring a three-day journey to cross through it. As Jonah started into the city on the first day's journey, he proclaimed the message, "40 days more and Nineveh will be overthrown!"
Now Nineveh was a very large city, requiring a three-day journey to cross through it. As Jonah started into the city on the first day's journey, he proclaimed the message, "40 days more and Nineveh will be overthrown!"
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"And the LORD will attack the north, destroying Assyria. He will turn Nineveh into a desolate ruin, as dry as a desert wilderness. Flocks will lie down in her midst, along with animals of every kind. Desert owls and screeching owls will nest at the top of the pillars, hooting through the vacant windows, "Ruin sits at these doorsills,' for he will expose even the cedar framework. This is that carefree city that lived irresponsibly, that told herself, "Me first!' and, "There will be no one else!' How ruined she has become a habitat for wild animals! Everyone who passes by her will sneer at her and make obscene gestures!"
They will pass through the sea of affliction, and they will strike the waves in that sea. All of the depths of the Nile will evaporate, Assyria's arrogance will be brought down low, and the ruling power of Egypt will disappear.
Verse Concepts
Assyria » Predictions respecting » Destruction of
"Then Assyria will fall by a sword that is not from human beings only a sword not wielded by mortal beings will devour them. They will flee from the sword, and their young men will be put to forced labor. Their stronghold will vanish by reason of terror, and their commanders will be filled with alarm because of the battle standard," declares the LORD, whose fire is in Zion and whose furnace is in Jerusalem.
"For the Lord has finished all his work against Mount Zion and against Jerusalem; he will punish the speech that comes from that willful heart of Assyria's king and the haughty look in his eyes. He keeps bragging: "I've done it by the strength of my hand, and by my wisdom, because I'm so clever. I removed the boundaries of nations, and plundered their treasures; like a bull I brought down those who sat on thrones. My hand has found, as if in a nest, the wealth of the people; and as one gathers eggs that have been abandoned, so I have gathered all the inhabitants of the earth. Nothing moved a wing, opened its mouth, or chirped.' read more.
"Does the ax exalt itself over the one who swings it? Or does the saw magnify itself in opposition to the one who wields it? As if a rod were to wield those who lift it, or as if a club were to brandish the one who is not wood! Therefore, the Lord GOD of the Heavenly Armies will send a wasting disease among Assyria's sturdy warriors, and under its glory a conflagration will be kindled, like a blazing bonfire. "The light of Israel will become a fire, and its Holy One a flame, and it will burn and consume Assyria's thorns and briers in a single day. The splendor of its forest and its fruitful land the LORD will destroy both soul and body and Assyria will be as when a dying man wastes away. What survives of the trees in his forest will be so few that a child can count them."
"Does the ax exalt itself over the one who swings it? Or does the saw magnify itself in opposition to the one who wields it? As if a rod were to wield those who lift it, or as if a club were to brandish the one who is not wood! Therefore, the Lord GOD of the Heavenly Armies will send a wasting disease among Assyria's sturdy warriors, and under its glory a conflagration will be kindled, like a blazing bonfire. "The light of Israel will become a fire, and its Holy One a flame, and it will burn and consume Assyria's thorns and briers in a single day. The splendor of its forest and its fruitful land the LORD will destroy both soul and body and Assyria will be as when a dying man wastes away. What survives of the trees in his forest will be so few that a child can count them."
The LORD of the Heavenly Armies has sworn: "Surely as I have planned, that's what she will become; and just as I have determined, so will it remain
Verse Concepts
Indeed, the Assyrians will be shattered at the LORD's voice, when he strikes them with his scepter. And every stroke of his punishing rod that the LORD brings down on them will be to the sound of tambourines and harps, as he fights against her in battle with a brandished arm. For the Fire Pit has long been prepared; truly it is for the king; it will indeed be made ready. And its pyre will be deep and wide, with abundant fire and wood. Like a stream of burning sulfur, the breath of the LORD will set it ablaze.
Forests » Illustrative » (destroyed by fire,) of destruction of the wicked
"For wickedness has burned like a blaze that consumes briers and thorns; it sets thickets of the forest on fire, and skyward they swirl in a column of smoke.
Verse Concepts
"The light of Israel will become a fire, and its Holy One a flame, and it will burn and consume Assyria's thorns and briers in a single day. The splendor of its forest and its fruitful land the LORD will destroy both soul and body and Assyria will be as when a dying man wastes away.
Isaiah » Prophecies, reproofs, and exhortations of » Foretells the destruction of sennacherib's armies
"How terrible it will be for Assyria, the rod of my anger! The club is in their hands! I'm sending my fury against a godless nation, and I'll command him against the people with whom I'm angry to seize loot and snatch plunder, and to trample them down like mud in the streets. But this is not what he intends, and this is not what he thinks in his mind; but it is in his mind to destroy, and to cut down many nations. read more.
"Because this is what he is saying: "My commanders are all kings, are they not? Isn't Calno like Carchemish? Isn't Hamath like Arpad? Isn't Samaria like Damascus? As my hand has reached to the idolatrous kingdoms whose carved images were greater than those of Jerusalem and Samaria, will I not deal with Jerusalem and her idols as I have dealt with Samaria and her images?'" "For the Lord has finished all his work against Mount Zion and against Jerusalem; he will punish the speech that comes from that willful heart of Assyria's king and the haughty look in his eyes. He keeps bragging: "I've done it by the strength of my hand, and by my wisdom, because I'm so clever. I removed the boundaries of nations, and plundered their treasures; like a bull I brought down those who sat on thrones. My hand has found, as if in a nest, the wealth of the people; and as one gathers eggs that have been abandoned, so I have gathered all the inhabitants of the earth. Nothing moved a wing, opened its mouth, or chirped.' "Does the ax exalt itself over the one who swings it? Or does the saw magnify itself in opposition to the one who wields it? As if a rod were to wield those who lift it, or as if a club were to brandish the one who is not wood! Therefore, the Lord GOD of the Heavenly Armies will send a wasting disease among Assyria's sturdy warriors, and under its glory a conflagration will be kindled, like a blazing bonfire. "The light of Israel will become a fire, and its Holy One a flame, and it will burn and consume Assyria's thorns and briers in a single day. The splendor of its forest and its fruitful land the LORD will destroy both soul and body and Assyria will be as when a dying man wastes away. What survives of the trees in his forest will be so few that a child can count them." At that time, the remnant of Israel and the survivors of the house of Jacob will no longer rely on the one who struck them down, but will truly rely on the LORD, the Holy One of Israel. A remnant will return a remnant of Jacob to the Mighty God. For even if your people of Israel number as many as the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will return. Overwhelming, righteous destruction is decreed, because the Lord GOD of the Heavenly Armies will bring about destruction, as has been decreed, throughout the entire region. Therefore this is what the Lord GOD of the Heavenly Armies says: "My people, you who live in Zion, don't be afraid of the Assyrians, of the rod that beats you, who lift up their club against you as the Egyptians did. In just a little while, my fury will come to an end, and my anger then will be directed to their destruction. The LORD of the Heavenly Armies will brandish a whip against them, as when he struck Midian at the rock of Oreb; and as his staff was stretched out over the sea, so he will lift it up as he did in Egypt. At that time, his burden will depart from your shoulder and his yoke from your neck. Indeed, the yoke will be broken, because you've become obese." "The Assyrian commander has come upon Aiath and has passed through Migron; he stores his supplies at Michmash. He has crossed over by the pass; his overnight lodging is at Geba. Ramah trembles; Gibeah of Saul has fled. Cry aloud, you daughter of Gallim! Pay attention, Laish! Poor Anathoth! Marmenah is in flight; the inhabitants of Gebim take cover. This very day he will halt at Nob; he will shake his fists at the mountain that is the Daughter of Zion, at Jerusalem's hill. Behold, the Lord GOD of the Heavenly Armies will lop off its boughs with terrifying power; the tallest in height will be cut down, and the lofty will be brought low. He will cut down the thickets of the forest with an ax, and Lebanon will fall by the Majestic One."
"Because this is what he is saying: "My commanders are all kings, are they not? Isn't Calno like Carchemish? Isn't Hamath like Arpad? Isn't Samaria like Damascus? As my hand has reached to the idolatrous kingdoms whose carved images were greater than those of Jerusalem and Samaria, will I not deal with Jerusalem and her idols as I have dealt with Samaria and her images?'" "For the Lord has finished all his work against Mount Zion and against Jerusalem; he will punish the speech that comes from that willful heart of Assyria's king and the haughty look in his eyes. He keeps bragging: "I've done it by the strength of my hand, and by my wisdom, because I'm so clever. I removed the boundaries of nations, and plundered their treasures; like a bull I brought down those who sat on thrones. My hand has found, as if in a nest, the wealth of the people; and as one gathers eggs that have been abandoned, so I have gathered all the inhabitants of the earth. Nothing moved a wing, opened its mouth, or chirped.' "Does the ax exalt itself over the one who swings it? Or does the saw magnify itself in opposition to the one who wields it? As if a rod were to wield those who lift it, or as if a club were to brandish the one who is not wood! Therefore, the Lord GOD of the Heavenly Armies will send a wasting disease among Assyria's sturdy warriors, and under its glory a conflagration will be kindled, like a blazing bonfire. "The light of Israel will become a fire, and its Holy One a flame, and it will burn and consume Assyria's thorns and briers in a single day. The splendor of its forest and its fruitful land the LORD will destroy both soul and body and Assyria will be as when a dying man wastes away. What survives of the trees in his forest will be so few that a child can count them." At that time, the remnant of Israel and the survivors of the house of Jacob will no longer rely on the one who struck them down, but will truly rely on the LORD, the Holy One of Israel. A remnant will return a remnant of Jacob to the Mighty God. For even if your people of Israel number as many as the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will return. Overwhelming, righteous destruction is decreed, because the Lord GOD of the Heavenly Armies will bring about destruction, as has been decreed, throughout the entire region. Therefore this is what the Lord GOD of the Heavenly Armies says: "My people, you who live in Zion, don't be afraid of the Assyrians, of the rod that beats you, who lift up their club against you as the Egyptians did. In just a little while, my fury will come to an end, and my anger then will be directed to their destruction. The LORD of the Heavenly Armies will brandish a whip against them, as when he struck Midian at the rock of Oreb; and as his staff was stretched out over the sea, so he will lift it up as he did in Egypt. At that time, his burden will depart from your shoulder and his yoke from your neck. Indeed, the yoke will be broken, because you've become obese." "The Assyrian commander has come upon Aiath and has passed through Migron; he stores his supplies at Michmash. He has crossed over by the pass; his overnight lodging is at Geba. Ramah trembles; Gibeah of Saul has fled. Cry aloud, you daughter of Gallim! Pay attention, Laish! Poor Anathoth! Marmenah is in flight; the inhabitants of Gebim take cover. This very day he will halt at Nob; he will shake his fists at the mountain that is the Daughter of Zion, at Jerusalem's hill. Behold, the Lord GOD of the Heavenly Armies will lop off its boughs with terrifying power; the tallest in height will be cut down, and the lofty will be brought low. He will cut down the thickets of the forest with an ax, and Lebanon will fall by the Majestic One."