Isaiah 10:2 - Printer Friendly

ESV: to turn aside the needy from justice and to rob the poor of my people of their right, that widows may be their spoil, and that they may make the fatherless their prey!

NIV: to deprive the poor of their rights and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people, making widows their prey and robbing the fatherless.

NASB: So as to deprive the needy of justice And rob the poor among My people of their rights, So that widows may be their spoil And that they may plunder the orphans.

CSB: to keep the poor from getting a fair trial and to deprive the needy among my people of justice, so that widows can be their spoil and they can plunder the fatherless.

NLT: They deprive the poor of justice and deny the rights of the needy among my people. They prey on widows and take advantage of orphans.

KJV: To turn aside the needy from judgment, and to take away the right from the poor of my people, that widows may be their prey, and that they may rob the fatherless!

NKJV: To rob the needy of justice, And to take what is right from the poor of My people, That widows may be their prey, And that they may rob the fatherless.

Isaiah is pronouncing "woe" on corruption in Israel and Judah. More specifically, he is condemning those who write laws favoring the rich and destroying the powerless and poor (Isaiah 10:1). Corrupt officials use their political power to bend the law to their advantage. This is always at the cost of those with no political power.

The result, the prophet writes, is that they turn aside the needy from justice. As well as steal away the rights of the poor in Israel. In this way, they take what little the widows have left as if they were the spoils of battle. They turn orphans into prey. They hunt them down to take their last possessions and keep them from any chance to get justice through the law.

As Isaiah will show in the following verses, this is one more reason God's judgment is coming down on Israel and Judah.

Isaiah 10:1–4 begins with Isaiah's declaration of woe. These are against those in Israel and Judah who use the local laws to take advantage of the poor and needy for financial gain. He asks what these rich people will do when the day of punishment comes. What good will their wealth be then? Nothing will be left for them but to die or to cower among those taken captive. The Lord's anger with them will not be satisfied even then.

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).