Isaiah 10:16 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Therefore the Lord God of hosts will send wasting sickness among his stout warriors, and under his glory a burning will be kindled, like the burning of fire.

NIV: Therefore, the Lord, the Lord Almighty, will send a wasting disease upon his sturdy warriors; under his pomp a fire will be kindled like a blazing flame.

NASB: Therefore the Lord, the God of armies, will send a wasting disease among his stout warriors; And under his glory a fire will be kindled like a burning flame.

CSB: Therefore the Lord God of Armies will inflict an emaciating disease on the well-fed of Assyria, and he will kindle a burning fire under its glory.

NLT: Therefore, the Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, will send a plague among Assyria’s proud troops, and a flaming fire will consume its glory.

KJV: Therefore shall the Lord, the Lord of hosts, send among his fat ones leanness; and under his glory he shall kindle a burning like the burning of a fire.

NKJV: Therefore the Lord, the Lord of hosts, Will send leanness among his fat ones; And under his glory He will kindle a burning Like the burning of a fire.

Nothing humbles a supposedly strong and self-reliant person quite like illness. No matter how disciplined and successful a person may be, people can quickly become helpless when invaded by the smallest viruses or bacteria. That's what the Lord plans to use, in part, to humble the arrogant king of Assyria.

Isaiah writes that the Lord will punish the king's arrogant speech about his own power (Isaiah 10:12). The Lord God will do this by sending sickness among the king's stout warriors. Epidemic illnesses were always a threat in the ancient era. They have always been potent threats among armies who camped in close quarters with large numbers together. A great number of history's war casualties were the result of disease, rather than injury. An unknown virus could quickly tear through such a population. By inducing vomiting and diarrhea, limiting appetite, and reducing the ability to be active, such a virus or illness could quickly shrink the most powerful soldier to a shadow of his former self.

In addition to disease, the Lord will start a flame under the king's glory. He is using the example of a fire that will quickly reveal that the king's supposed control and power to be a weak and flickering thing. The Assyrian king holds no true power in comparison to the Lord. The Lord would not allow the Assyrian king's arrogance to stand. God would take the strength and reputation right out from under the leader of Assyria.

That's exactly what happened. In 701 BC, the Assyrian king Sennacherib had Jerusalem under siege. Then the angel of the Lord arrived and struck down 185,000 Assyrian soldiers in one night. Nothing but body after body was left to be discovered in the morning (2 Kings 19:35). About a hundred years later, Babylon defeated the Assyrian Empire once and for all. All of this was the work of the Lord.

Isaiah 10:5–19 describes Assyria as a weapon of the Lord's anger directed at His own people. The king of Assyria imagines himself to be the source of his own strength. He also images that he will keep conquering one nation after another. However, when the Lord has finished using Assyria, He will turn and judge the king for his arrogance. Does the axe boast over the one who uses it? Or does the staff lift the one who holds it? The Lord will consume Assyria as fire consumes a forest.

Isaiah declares woe on those in Israel and Judah who use the law to take advantage of the poor. These people will not escape the Lord's judgment. He next describes the Assyrians as the Lord's staff of judgment against the godless nation that is His people. When He is done punishing His people, the Lord will turn His anger on the Assyrians, nearly destroying them. Eventually, a remnant of Israelites will return to faith in the Lord. Destruction will come, but it will not consume everything. The Lord will triumph over Assyria.

Isaiah 10 follows prophecies about God's judgment on Israel for the nation's sins. It begins pronouncing sorrow for those who oppress the poor and needy. He also declares woe on the Assyrians, whom the Lord is using to judge His people Israel. Soon, the Lord will direct His anger against the Assyrians for the arrogance of their king. He will burn them down as a forest. A remnant of Israel will survive the Assyrian judgment and trust the Lord again. His anger will turn from Israel to Assyria. The Assyrian oppression of Israel will be ended.

Isaiah is among the most important prophetic books in the entire Bible. The first segment details God's impending judgment against ancient peoples for sin and idolatry (Isaiah 1—35). The second part of Isaiah briefly explains a failed assault on Jerusalem during the rule of Hezekiah (Isaiah 36—39). The final chapters predict Israel's rescue from Babylonian captivity (Isaiah 40—48), the promised Messiah (Isaiah 49—57), and the final glory of Jerusalem and God's people (Isaiah 58—66).