Isaiah 10:1–4, King James Version
Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.
Isaiah 10:1–4
Unjust Decrees Rob the Poor of Defense
Woe to those who write oppression into law
Woe unto them that decree unrighteous decrees, and that write grievousness which they have prescribed; 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.
The crime is legal. Decrees and writings dispossess the poor, the widow, and the fatherless. The woe is aimed at lawmakers, not at the people they prey upon. It does not authorize a later party to punish enemies with new grievous writing of its own.
The day of visitation asks where the loot will hide
And what will ye do in the day of visitation, and in the desolation which shall come from far? to whom will ye flee for help? and where will ye leave your glory? Without me they shall bow down under the prisoners, and they shall fall under the slain. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.
Wealth and status cannot be stored against the day. Captivity and the slain are the shelters that remain. Concern for justice here must include people harmed by one's own statutes. The far desolation is not a warrant for cruelty, and it is not every modern crisis labeled as visitation.
How this should shape us
Read the laws you cheer. If they turn the needy aside, you are in this woe. Do not hide behind procedure, and do not use this text to weaponize the courts against a rival while widows remain prey in your system.
Teach it back
Explain Isaiah 10:1–4 in your own words. Name its place in Isaiah, one source-controlled observation, one uncertainty, one enduring truth, and one harmful use the passage does not authorize.
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Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete thought-unit coverage.
Isaiah 10:1–4, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology at the exact unit, without treating morphology as apparatus, lexicon, composition history, or interpretation.
Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Isa.xml, OSIS 10:1–4 with Hebrew/KJV versification difference checked
Supports: Verse-level controls for Hebrew, syntax, poetry, older KJV language, chronology, names, textual issues, and material translation alternatives.
Official NET Isaiah PDF, translator, study, and textual notes attached to Isaiah 10:1–4 in the complete 205-page book PDF
Supports: Eighth-century Assyrian setting, Isaiah traditions, later growth, justice, Zion, signs, royal language, nations, and policy, with proposals kept visible.
Yale Bible Study, First Isaiah course, Messianic Prophecy guide and sign-complex discussion; applied to Isaiah 10:1–4
Supports: Whole-book historical, literary, theological, ethical, and reception synthesis across Assyrian, Babylonian, Persian, and postexilic horizons.
Enter the Bible Isaiah course, Summary, Background, Introductory Issues, Outline Book 1A, and Theological Themes; applied to Isaiah 10:1–4
Sources for This Section
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Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete thought-unit coverage.
Exact location: Isaiah 10:1–4, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Isaiah
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology at the exact unit, without treating morphology as apparatus, lexicon, composition history, or interpretation.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Isa.xml, OSIS 10:1–4 with Hebrew/KJV versification difference checked
Open the fixed Hebrew Isaiah file ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible Notes: Isaiah
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2016; current official PDF
Supports: Verse-level controls for Hebrew, syntax, poetry, older KJV language, chronology, names, textual issues, and material translation alternatives.
Exact location: Official NET Isaiah PDF, translator, study, and textual notes attached to Isaiah 10:1–4 in the complete 205-page book PDF
Open the official NET Isaiah PDF ↗open university study guide series
First Isaiah study-guide course
John J. Collins and Joel S. Baden
Yale Bible Study, 2020; current public course
Supports: Eighth-century Assyrian setting, Isaiah traditions, later growth, justice, Zion, signs, royal language, nations, and policy, with proposals kept visible.
Exact location: Yale Bible Study, First Isaiah course, Messianic Prophecy guide and sign-complex discussion; applied to Isaiah 10:1–4
Open the Yale First Isaiah course ↗modern scholarly book course
Isaiah course: summary, outline, background, introductory issues, themes, and reception
Fred Gaiser; revised by Michael Chan
Enter the Bible, Luther Seminary, revised August 2024
Supports: Whole-book historical, literary, theological, ethical, and reception synthesis across Assyrian, Babylonian, Persian, and postexilic horizons.
Exact location: Enter the Bible Isaiah course, Summary, Background, Introductory Issues, Outline Book 1A, and Theological Themes; applied to Isaiah 10:1–4
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