Isaiah 10:5

Translations

Modern

Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger; the staff in their hands is My wrath.

Traditional

O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the staff in their hand is mine indignation.

Literal

Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger, and the staff that is in their hand is My rage.

Latin

Væ Assur! virga furoris mei et baculus ipse est; in manu eorum indignatio mea.

Original

Hebrew

English

Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger; the staff in their hands is My wrath.

Notes

Isaiah 10:5

The Assyrians were God’s instrument in judging Syria, Israel, and Judah. The prophet describes them as a rod and a club. These are tools used to strike or discipline someone.

God used Assyria to punish these nations. However, Assyria acted with pride and cruelty. Because of their own wickedness, they would not escape judgment.

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:

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

Prophecies of Isaiahc. 759 BC

Related verses

Isaiah 10:15
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!
Jeremiah 51:20–24
“You are My war club, My weapon for battle. With you I shatter nations; with you I bring kingdoms to ruin.
Zephaniah 2:13
And He will stretch out His hand against the north and destroy Assyria; He will make Nineveh a desolation, as dry as a desert.
Isaiah 30:30
And the LORD will cause His majestic voice to be heard and His mighty arm to be revealed, striking in angry wrath with a flame of consuming fire, and with cloudburst, storm, and hailstones.
Isaiah 14:25
I will break Assyria in My land; I will trample him on My mountain. His yoke will be taken off My people, and his burden removed from their shoulders.”
Isaiah 66:14
When you see, you will rejoice, and you will flourish like grass; then the hand of the LORD will be revealed to His servants, but His wrath will be shown to His enemies.
Isaiah 14:5–6
The LORD has broken the staff of the wicked, the scepter of the rulers.
Isaiah 13:5
They are coming from faraway lands, from the ends of the heavens—the LORD and the weapons of His wrath—to destroy the whole country.
Isaiah 8:4
For before the boy knows how to cry ‘Father’ or ‘Mother,’ the wealth of Damascus and the plunder of Samaria will be carried off by the king of Assyria.”
Psalm 125:3
For the scepter of the wicked will not rest upon the land allotted to the righteous, so that the righteous will not put forth their hands to injustice.
Psalm 17:14
…from such men, O LORD, by Your hand—from men of the world whose portion is in this life. May You fill the bellies of Your treasured ones and satisfy their sons, so they leave their abundance to their children.
Genesis 10:11
From that land he went forth into Assyria, where he built Nineveh, Rehoboth-Ir, Calah,

Places

Assyria: A powerful ancient empire, often in conflict with Israel

Glossary

Hosea, Book of Isaiah, Book of Jesse (Person) Lord

Topics

Agency in Executing Judgments Assyria: As a Power, Was: An Instrument of God's Vengeance Assyria: Predictions Respecting: Invasion of Judah By Assyria: Prophecies Concerning God: Providence of, Overruling Interpositions of The Isaiah: Prophecies, Reproofs, and Exhortations of Foretells the Destruction of Sennacherib's Armies Pride: General Scriptures Concerning The Providence of God: The Wicked Made to Promote the Designs

Isaiah 10:5

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Translations

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