Albert Barnes Commentary Isaiah 10:1

"Woe unto them that decree unrighteous decrees, and to the writers that write perverseness;" — Isaiah 10:1 (ASV)

Woe to them that decree unrighteous decrees – This refers to those who frame statutes that are oppressive and iniquitous. The prophet here refers, undoubtedly, to the rulers and judges of the land of Judea. He had given a similar description before (see Isaiah 1:10, Isaiah 1:23, and other similar passages).

And that write... – The Hebrew is, ‘And to the writers who write violence.’ The word translated “grievousness,” עמל ‛âmâl, properly denotes wearisome labor, trouble, oppression, or injustice. Here, it evidently refers to the judges who declared oppressive and unjust sentences and caused them to be recorded. It does not refer to the mere scribes, or recorders of the judicial opinions, but to the judges themselves, who pronounced the sentence and caused it to be recorded.

The manner of making Eastern decrees differs from ours: they are first written, and then the magistrate authenticates or annuls them. This, I remember, is the Arab manner, according to D’Arvieux. When an Arab wanted a favor from the emir, the way was to apply to the secretary, who drew up a decree according to the request of the party; if the emir granted the favor, he printed his seal upon it; if not, he would return it, torn, to the petitioner.

Sir John Chardin confirms this account and applies it very appropriately to the illustration of a passage I never thought of when I read D’Arvieux.

After citing Isaiah 10:1, ‘Woe to them that decree unrighteous decrees, and to the writers that write grievousness,’ (for so our translators have rendered the latter part of the verse in the margin, much more suitably than in the main body of the translation), Sir John goes on, ‘The manner of making royal acts and ordinances relates to this; they are always drawn up according to the request. The first minister, or the one whose office it is, writes on its side, “according to the king’s will,” and from there it is sent to the secretary of state, who draws up the order in form.’ – Harmer.