Isaiah 10:14

14 I reached out my hand and took all that they treasured as easily as a boy taking a bird's eggs from a nest. Like a farmer gathering eggs from the henhouse, I gathered the world in my basket, And no one so much as fluttered a wing or squawked or even chirped.'"

Isaiah 10:14 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 10:14

And my hand hath found as a nest the riches of the people,
&c.] With that ease as a man finds a nest of birds, and takes them: and as one gathereth eggs [that are] left;
by the bird, who not sitting upon them, there is none to protect them; whereas, when they are sat upon by the bird, she will flutter with her wings, and strike with her bill, and preserve them as well as she can: have I gathered all the earth;
the kingdoms and inhabitants of it, there being none to resist, or that dared to do it, as follows: and there was none that moved the wing;
as a bird will do, when its young or eggs are taken away from it: or opened the mouth, or peeped;
chattered, clucked, or expressed any grief, uneasiness, or resentment; the Targum is,

``that opened his mouth, and spoke a word.''

Isaiah 10:14 In-Context

12 When the Master has finished dealing with Mount Zion and Jerusalem, he'll say, "Now it's Assyria's turn. I'll punish the bragging arrogance of the king of Assyria, his high and mighty posturing,
13 the way he goes around saying, "'I've done all this by myself. I know more than anyone. I've wiped out the boundaries of whole countries. I've walked in and taken anything I wanted. I charged in like a bull and toppled their kings from their thrones.
14 I reached out my hand and took all that they treasured as easily as a boy taking a bird's eggs from a nest. Like a farmer gathering eggs from the henhouse, I gathered the world in my basket, And no one so much as fluttered a wing or squawked or even chirped.'"
15 Does an ax take over from the one who swings it? Does a saw act more important than the sawyer? As if a shovel did its shoveling by using a ditch digger! As if a hammer used the carpenter to pound nails!
16 Therefore the Master, God-of-the-Angel-Armies, will send a debilitating disease on his robust Assyrian fighters. Under the canopy of God's bright glory a fierce fire will break out.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.