This page gives you Bible study questions for Isaiah 10, with a leader’s answer or discussion note for each one. It works for a small group, a Sunday class, or personal study. Isaiah 10 moves from a warning against unjust rulers to a prophecy about Assyria’s pride and God’s judgment, and ends with hope for a remnant that returns to the Lord.
Isaiah 10 at a Glance
The chapter opens with a woe against leaders who write laws that rob the needy and the widow. Isaiah then turns to the day of reckoning, when God’s anger will reach the nation that has been used as his instrument but has grown proud in its work. The king of Assyria boasts that his own strength and wisdom have won him every nation, and the prophet answers that an ax does not get to take credit for the one who swings it.
From there the chapter describes an advancing army moving toward Jerusalem, town by town, before the Lord brings it low. The closing section shifts to comfort: a remnant of Israel will stop leaning on its oppressor and will lean on the Lord instead, and the people of Zion are told not to fear.
Observation Questions
Use these questions first, before anyone offers an interpretation. Ask the group to point to the exact words in the text, and let several people answer before you add your own comments.
Isaiah 10:1-2
1 Woe to those who decree unrighteous decrees, and to the writers who write oppressive decrees; 2 to deprive the needy from justice, and to rob the poor among my people of their rights, that widows may be their plunder, and that they may make the fatherless their prey!
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Reading the opening woe aloud sets the moral tone for the whole chapter. It names the injustice clearly, which helps the group see that God cares about how power is used in ordinary structures.
Isaiah 10:13-14
13 For he has said, “By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom; for I have understanding: and I have removed the boundaries of the peoples, and have robbed their treasures. Like a valiant man I have brought down their rulers. 14 My hand has found the riches of the peoples like a nest, and like one gathers eggs that are abandoned, I have gathered all the earth. There was no one who moved their wing, or that opened their mouth, or chirped.”
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Hearing the king’s boast in his own voice makes the pride easy to recognize. Reading it aloud lets the group feel how confidently self-reliance speaks.
Isaiah 10:20-21
20 It will come to pass in that day that the remnant of Israel, and those who have escaped from the house of Jacob will no more again lean on him who struck them, but shall lean on the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. 21 A remnant will return, even the remnant of Jacob, to the mighty God.
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These verses describe the turn from leaning on an oppressor to leaning on the Lord. Reading them slowly gives the group a clear picture of what the remnant’s faith looks like.
Isaiah 10:24-25
24 Therefore the Lord, the LORD of Armies, says “My people who dwell in Zion, don’t be afraid of the Assyrian, though he strike you with the rod, and lift up his staff against you, as Egypt did. 25 For yet a very little while, and the indignation against you will be accomplished, and my anger will be directed to his destruction.”
(WEB)
The Lord’s word of comfort to Zion speaks directly to fear. Reading it aloud allows the group to hear God’s reassurance in the same words his people first received.
Isaiah 10:33-34
33 Behold, the Lord, the LORD of Armies, will lop the boughs with terror. The tall will be cut down, and the lofty will be brought low. 34 He will cut down the thickets of the forest with iron, and Lebanon will fall by the Mighty One.
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The chapter closes with the image of the mighty being brought low. Reading the final verses aloud helps the group end on the reality of God’s sovereignty over every proud height.
Memory Verse for Isaiah 10
Isaiah 10:20
It will come to pass in that day that the remnant of Israel, and those who have escaped from the house of Jacob will no more again lean on him who struck them, but shall lean on the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, in truth.
(WEB)
This verse captures the chapter’s central turn from leaning on those who harm us to leaning on the Lord. Memorizing it gives you a short phrase to recall whenever you feel tempted to trust a source of help that cannot truly save.
A Closing Prayer for the Group
Father, we come to you as people who are tempted to trust our own strength, our plans and the powers around us. Show us where we have taken credit that belongs to you, and where we have turned to others for help when we should have turned to you. Give us hearts that care for the poor and the widow, and courage to speak for those who have no voice. Teach us to lean on you in truth, as the remnant did, and to trust your timing when fear rises. Thank you that your purposes stand even when nations rise and fall. Amen.
