---
title: "Isaiah 10:1-2"
description: "God pronounces 'woe' not merely on those who kill, but specifically on the lawmakers and legal draftsmen who 'enact evil statutes' that deprive the vulnerable of justice. An incremental bill that codifies who may lawfully be killed is precisely the 'unjust decree' Isaiah condemns — and the woe…"
type: "scripture"
book: "Isaiah"
chapter: 10
verses: "1-2"
translation: "NASB"
refutes: "Pro-life incrementalism"
affirms_abolition: true
themes:
  - "woe to lawmakers"
  - "unjust statutes"
  - "the fatherless as prey"
  - "legal draftsmanship"
  - "judgment"
source_url: "https://www.abhortion.org/scripture/isaiah-10-1-2.html"
---

# Isaiah 10:1-2

Book of Isaiah · Chapter 10

## The text

> Woe to those who enact evil statutes and to those who constantly record unjust decisions, so as to deprive the needy of justice and rob the poor of My people of their rights, so that widows may be their spoil and that they may plunder the orphans.
> — Isaiah 10:1-2, NASB

**The claim this verse counters:** "Writing a bill that permits some abortion (a heartbeat, pain, or ultrasound bill) is a righteous step in the right direction."

## The argument

God pronounces 'woe' not merely on those who kill, but specifically on the lawmakers and legal draftsmen who 'enact evil statutes' that deprive the vulnerable of justice. An incremental bill that codifies who may lawfully be killed is precisely the 'unjust decree' Isaiah condemns — and the woe falls on its writers.

## Context & notes

The most-quoted abolitionist verse in these debates (the speaker notes it is 'openly mocked'). The point is that authorship of unjust law is itself culpable: the fatherless are made 'prey' by the pen. Applied to milestone bills that make protection contingent on developmental markers.

## Themes

- woe to lawmakers
- unjust statutes
- the fatherless as prey
- legal draftsmanship
- judgment

## Discussion questions

1. Isaiah's 'woe' targets the writers of unjust laws, not only killers. Who writes and sponsors abortion legislation — and does that include incremental bills?
2. If a bill makes a child's legal protection depend on a heartbeat or pain threshold, does it 'deprive the needy of justice'?
3. Can you author an unjust decree 'for a good cause' and escape the woe pronounced here?

## Source transcript

Drawn from Does the Pro-Life Movement Hate Justice? (T. Russell Hunter, 'Justice Alone') — 'probably the most quoted Bible verse from abolitionists... woe to those who decree iniquitous decrees.' Repeated in V2..

## Related

**Related scriptures:**

- [Deuteronomy 16:19](deuteronomy-16-19.md)
- [Amos 5:14-15](amos-5-14-15.md)
- [Ezekiel 45:9-10](ezekiel-45-9-10.md)
- [Habakkuk 1:4](habakkuk-1-4.md)

**Related arguments:**

- [God commands 'justice, and only justice' — not partial or deferred justice](../arguments/arg-justice-only.md)
- [“Bills that ban abortion at a heartbeat, at pain-capability, or after an ultrasound…”](../arguments/def-milestone-bills.md)
- [“A bill that protects some children now is better than a bill that protects none and…”](../arguments/def-some-justice-better.md)

## Attribution

Verse text is quoted from the NASB. Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible® (NASB), Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org