World English Bible · Under Assyria
Isaiah 3
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For, behold, , of Armies, takes away from and from Judah supply and support, the whole supply of bread, and the whole supply of water; the mighty man, the man of war, the judge, the , the , the elder, the captain of fifty, the honorable man, the , the skilled craftsman, and the clever enchanter. I will give boys to be their princes, and children shall them. The people will be oppressed, everyone by another, and everyone by his neighbor. The child will behave himself proudly against the old man, and against the honorable. Indeed a man shall take hold of his brother in the house of his , saying, "You have clothing, you be our ruler, and let this be under your hand." In that day he will cry out, saying, "I will not be a healer; for in my house is neither bread nor clothing. You shall not make me ruler of the people." For is ruined, and Judah is fallen; because their and their doings are against , to provoke the eyes of his . The look of their faces testify against them. They parade their like . They don't hide it. Woe to their ! For they have brought disaster upon themselves. Tell that it will be well with them, for they will eat the fruit of their deeds. Woe to ! Disaster is upon them, for the deeds of their hands will be paid back to them. As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women them. My people, those who lead you cause you to err, and destroy of your . stands up to contend, and stands to judge the peoples. will enter into with the of his people and their leaders: "It is you who have eaten up the . The plunder of is in your houses. What do you mean that you crush my people, and grind the of ?" , of Armies. Moreover said, "Because the daughters of are arrogant, and walk with outstretched necks and flirting eyes, walking daintily as they go, jingling ornaments on their feet; therefore brings sores on the of the head of the women of , and will make their scalps bald." In that day will take away the beauty of their anklets, the headbands, the crescent necklaces, the earrings, the bracelets, the veils, the headdresses, the ankle chains, the sashes, the perfume containers, the charms, the signet rings, the nose rings, 22the fine robes, the capes, the cloaks, the purses, the hand mirrors, the fine linen garments, the tiaras, and the shawls. It shall happen that instead of sweet spices, there shall be rottenness; instead of a belt, a rope; instead of well set hair, baldness; instead of a robe, a wearing of ; and branding instead of beauty. Your men shall fall , and your mighty in the war. Her shall and mourn. She shall be desolate and sit on the ground.
A public domain modern English translation, free to read and share. Notes and cards are EKLI’s own.
The world at this moment · Under Assyria, 745 BC to 612 BC ›
Assyria at full stretch, deporting whole populations as policy. The northern kingdom is destroyed in 722 BC and Judah survives as a tribute-paying vassal.
- Assyria
- The first empire to run mass deportation as ordinary administration: move the leadership somewhere else, settle strangers in their place, and the province stops being a nation. It worked. Samaria fell in 722 BC and the northern tribes did not come back. Assyria also advertised its cruelty deliberately, carving flayings and impalements on palace walls where envoys would see them, because terror is cheaper than garrisons.
- Judah
- Survives by paying. Hezekiah rebels, Sennacherib takes forty-six Judean towns and besieges Jerusalem in 701 BC, and the city holds. The Assyrian account boasts of shutting Hezekiah up like a bird in a cage and pointedly does not claim to have taken the city, which is one of the more interesting silences in ancient records.
- Egypt
- The splintered reed of a staff that Assyria's field commander mocks Judah for leaning on. It promises help and cannot deliver, and Isaiah spends decades saying so. Assyria eventually invades and sacks Thebes.
- Further afield
- Greece is in its archaic period, founding colonies from Spain to the Black Sea. Rome is under kings. Assyria's own libraries are collecting the literature of Mesopotamia, which is how Gilgamesh survived to be read again in the nineteenth century.
All of Isaiah