Discovery BoxIsaiah 10:1-3 
Context10:1 Those who enact unjust policies are as good as dead, 1
those who are always instituting unfair regulations, 2
10:2 to keep the poor from getting fair treatment,
and to deprive 3 the oppressed among my people of justice,
so they can steal what widows own,
and loot what belongs to orphans. 4
10:3 What will you do on judgment day, 5
when destruction arrives from a distant place?
To whom will you run for help?
Where will you leave your wealth?
1 tn Heb “Woe [to] those who decree evil decrees.” On הוֹי (hoy, “woe, ah”) see the note on the first phrase of 1:4.
2 tn Heb “[to] the writers who write out harm.” The participle and verb are in the Piel, suggesting repetitive action.
3 tn Or “rob” (ASV, NASB, NCV, NRSV); KJV “take away the right from the poor.”
4 tn Heb “so that widows are their plunder, and they can loot orphans.”
sn On the socio-economic background of vv. 1-2, see the note at 1:23.
5 tn Heb “the day of visitation” (so KJV, ASV), that is, the day when God arrives to execute justice on the oppressors.
