3. What will you do on the day when the Lord punishes you? On that day trouble will come from far away. Who will you run to for help? Who will you trust your riches with?
4. All you can do is bow down in fear among the prisoners. All you can do is fall among those who have died in battle. Even then, the Lord is still angry. His hand is still raised against them.
5. The Lord says, "How terrible it will be for the people of Assyria! They are the war club that carries out my anger.
6. I will send them against the ungodly nation of Judah. I will order them to fight against my own people. They make me angry. I will order them to take their goods and carry them away. I will order them to walk on my people as if they were walking on mud.
7. But that is not what the king of Assyria plans. It is not what he has in mind. His purpose is to destroy many nations. His purpose is to put an end to them.
8. 'Aren't all of my commanders kings?' he says.
9. 'I took over Calno just as I took Carchemish. I took over Hamath just as I did Arpad. I took Samaria just as I did Damascus.
10. My powerful hand grabbed hold of kingdoms whose people worship statues of gods. They had more gods than Jerusalem and Samaria did.
11. I took over Samaria and its statues of gods. In the same way, I will take Jerusalem and its gods.' "
12. The Lord will finish everything he has planned to do against Mount Zion and Jerusalem. Then he'll say, "Now I will punish the king of Assyria. I will punish him because his heart and his eyes are so proud.
13. "The king of Assyria says, " 'I have used my powerful hand to take over all of those nations. I am very wise. I have great understanding. I have wiped out the borders between nations. I've taken their treasures. Like a great hero I've brought their kings under my control.