Keraia
Isaiah 10

Isaiah 10:15

Judgment on Assyria · Isaiah 10:5–19
Read Isaiah 10

Translations

Modern
Does 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!
Traditional
Shall 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.
Literal
Will the ax glorify itself over the one hewing with it? Or will the saw exalt itself over one waving it—waving it as a rod of the one raising it, lifting it up as a staff not of wood!
Latin
Numquid gloriabitur securis contra eum qui secat in ea? aut exaltabitur serra contra eum a quo trahitur? Quomodo si elevetur virga contra elevantem se, et exaltetur baculus, qui utique lignum est.

Original

Hebrew
English
Does 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!

Notes

Isaiah 10:15

axe … saw … rod … staff: These tools are only as effective as the person using them. Assyria thought it was independent of God's influence. However, their victories were possible only with his permission and to fulfill his purposes (Isaiah 10:5).

Isaiah 10:5–19

God announced judgment on Assyria for several reasons:

  • They destroyed other nations without mercy (Isaiah 10:7).

  • They spoke with pride and dishonored God. They boasted about their own power (Isaiah 10:12).

  • They oppressed other peoples and took what did not belong to them (Isaiah 10:13–14).

  • They believed they were acting on their own. They did not recognize that God was using them (Isaiah 10:15).

Isaiah 10:5–11:16

Isaiah 9:8–10:4 shows that the Lord’s moral law is supreme. This means God’s standards of right and wrong stand above every nation and ruler. The next section explains what this truth means:

  1. Assyria was only a tool in God’s hands. Because of this, Assyria was also responsible to God. Like every other nation, it would face judgment for its sin (Isaiah 10:5–19, 28–34).

  2. Those among God’s people who trusted in him and obeyed his covenant would be rescued (Isaiah 10:20–27).

  3. God would establish his kingdom on earth (Isaiah 11).

Isaiah 7:1–12:6

These prophecies occurred when Assyria rose to power. Syria and Israel formed an alliance against Judah (Isaiah 7:1–2; see 2 Kings 16:5). God used Assyria as a tool to punish Syria, Israel, and Judah (Isaiah 7–10).

Theme notes and profiles

Isaiah Salvation in Isaiah

Events

Glossary

Branch Isaiah, Book of Jesse (Person) Offerings and Sacrifices

Topics

Afflictions: God Dispenses, As he Will Assyria: Predictions Respecting: Destruction of Assyria: Prophecies Concerning Boasting: General Scriptures Concerning Boasting: Sennacherib Infidelity: General Scriptures Concerning Isaiah: Prophecies, Reproofs, and Exhortations of Foretells the Destruction of Sennacherib's Armies Presumption: General Scriptures Concerning Pride: General Scriptures Concerning Saw: Figurative Scoffing: General Scriptures Concerning Technology The Providence of God: Danger of Denying