Isaiah 10:12

Judgment on Assyria

12 But when the Lord finishes all His work against Mount Zion and Jerusalem, [He will say,] "I[a] will punish the king of Assyria for his arrogant acts and the proud look in his eyes."

Isaiah 10:12 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 10:12

Wherefore it shall come to pass
It shall surely be; what God has purposed in his heart, and published in his word, shall certainly be fulfilled: [that] when the Lord hath performed his whole work upon Mount Zion,
and on Jerusalem;
in correcting, chastising, and humbling the inhabitants thereof, by suffering them to be besieged by the Assyrian army. God sometimes makes use of wicked men to chastise his people; this is his work, and not theirs; and when he begins, he goes on, and finishes it; and when he has done, punishes the instruments he uses; after he has scourged his children, he takes the rod, and breaks it to pieces. I will punish the fruit of the stout heart of the king of Assyria,
and the glory of his high looks;
that is, he would punish him for his wicked actions, which were the fruit of the haughtiness of his heart, and the pride of his eyes; or for that pride which filled his heart, and showed itself in his lofty looks. Kimchi joins this to the preceding clause, and makes the sense to be, that God would punish the Assyrian for his pride, in Mount Zion, and in Jerusalem; for there his army died, or near it, being smitten by the angel. The Targum is,

``and it shall be, when the Lord hath finished to do all that he hath said in Mount Zion, and in Jerusalem.''

Isaiah 10:12 In-Context

10 As my hand seized the idolatrous kingdoms, whose idols exceeded those of Jerusalem and Samaria,
11 and as I did to Samaria and its idols will I not also do to Jerusalem and its idols?
12 But when the Lord finishes all His work against Mount Zion and Jerusalem, [He will say,] "I will punish the king of Assyria for his arrogant acts and the proud look in his eyes."
13 For he said: I have done [this] by my own strength and wisdom, for I am clever. I abolished the borders of nations and plundered their treasures; like a mighty warrior, I subjugated the inhabitants.
14 My hand has reached out, as if into a nest, to seize the wealth of the nations. Like one gathering abandoned eggs, I gathered the whole earth. No wing fluttered; no beak opened or chirped.

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. LXX reads Jerusalem, He
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