Verse

Isaiah 10:2

ESV to turn aside the needy from justice and to rob the poor of my people of their right, that widows may be their spoil, and that they may make the fatherless their prey!
NIV to deprive the poor of their rights and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people, making widows their prey and robbing the fatherless.
NASB So as to deprive the needy of justice And rob the poor among My people of their rights, So that widows may be their spoil And that they may plunder the orphans.
CSB to keep the poor from getting a fair trial and to deprive the needy among my people of justice, so that widows can be their spoil and they can plunder the fatherless.
NLT They deprive the poor of justice and deny the rights of the needy among my people. They prey on widows and take advantage of orphans.
KJV 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!
NKJV To rob the needy of justice, And to take what is right from the poor of My people, That widows may be their prey, And that they may rob the fatherless.

What does Isaiah 10:2 mean?

Isaiah is pronouncing "woe" on corruption in Israel and Judah. More specifically, he is condemning those who write laws favoring the rich and destroying the powerless and poor (Isaiah 10:1). Corrupt officials use their political power to bend the law to their advantage. This is always at the cost of those with no political power.

The result, the prophet writes, is that they turn aside the needy from justice. As well as steal away the rights of the poor in Israel. In this way, they take what little the widows have left as if they were the spoils of battle. They turn orphans into prey. They hunt them down to take their last possessions and keep them from any chance to get justice through the law.

As Isaiah will show in the following verses, this is one more reason God's judgment is coming down on Israel and Judah.
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