主必拯救锡安

33 你们这些毁灭别人、自己还未被毁灭的人有祸了!

等你们毁灭完了,就毁灭你们。
你们这些欺诈别人、自己还未被欺诈的人有祸了!
等你们欺诈完了,就欺诈你们。

耶和华啊,求你施恩给我们,
我们等候你。
求你每天早晨都作我们的力量,
在艰难的时候拯救我们。
你大喊一声,列邦都奔逃;
你一站起来,列国都溃散。
他们的战利品必被拿走,
就像谷物被蝗虫吃掉一样;
人们像蝗虫一样扑向他们的战利品。

耶和华受尊崇,
因为祂住在高天之上,
祂必使锡安充满公平和公义。
祂必成为你一生的保障,
使你得到丰盛的救恩、智慧和知识。
敬畏耶和华是你最大的宝藏。

看啊,他们的勇士在街上哀号,
求和的使者悲痛哭泣。
大路荒凉,行人绝迹。
条约被废,城邑被弃,
人民遭藐视。
地上一片荒凉,
黎巴嫩的树木枯干,
沙仑好像旷野,
巴珊和迦密的树叶凋零。
10 耶和华说:
“我现在要施展大能,
我必受尊崇。
11 你们所谋的像糠秕,
所行的如碎秸,毫无价值。
你们的气息会像火一样烧灭你们自己。
12 列邦必被烧成灰烬,
好像割下的荆棘被火焚烧。”
13 远方的人啊,
要听一听我的作为。
近处的人啊,
要承认我的大能。
14 锡安的罪人恐惧,
不敬虔的人颤抖。
他们说:“我们谁能住在烈火中呢?
谁能住在永不止息的火焰里呢?”
15 秉公行义、说话正直、
憎恶不义之财、不受贿赂、
掩耳不听害人之谋、
闭眼不看邪恶之事的人,
16 才可以住在高处。
他们的堡垒是坚固的磐石,
他们必不会绝粮断水。
17 你们必目睹君王的荣美,
看到辽阔的土地,
18 你们必想起以往可怕的情景,
说:“登记人口的在哪里?
收贡银的在哪里?
数城楼的在哪里?”
19 你们再也看不见那些残暴之徒了,
他们的言语奇怪、陌生、
无法听懂。
20 你们看锡安——我们守节期的城!
你们必看见耶路撒冷成为安宁之地,
像一个永不挪移的帐篷,
橛子永不拔出,
绳索也不会断。
21 在那里,威严的耶和华必与我们同在。
那里必如巨川大河流经之地,
敌人的大小船只都无法穿过。
22 因为耶和华是我们的审判官,
是我们的立法者,
是我们的君王,
是我们的拯救者。
23 敌人的帆索松开,
桅杆晃动不稳,
风帆无法扬起。
那时,大量的战利品将被瓜分,
甚至瘸子都分得一份。
24 耶路撒冷必没有居民说:
“我生病了”,
城中百姓的罪恶必得到赦免。

Distress and Help

33 Woe(A) to you, destroyer,
    you who have not been destroyed!
Woe to you, betrayer,
    you who have not been betrayed!
When you stop destroying,
    you will be destroyed;(B)
when you stop betraying,
    you will be betrayed.(C)

Lord, be gracious(D) to us;
    we long for you.
Be our strength(E) every morning,
    our salvation(F) in time of distress.(G)
At the uproar of your army,(H) the peoples flee;(I)
    when you rise up,(J) the nations scatter.
Your plunder,(K) O nations, is harvested(L) as by young locusts;(M)
    like a swarm of locusts people pounce on it.

The Lord is exalted,(N) for he dwells on high;(O)
    he will fill Zion with his justice(P) and righteousness.(Q)
He will be the sure foundation for your times,
    a rich store of salvation(R) and wisdom and knowledge;
    the fear(S) of the Lord is the key to this treasure.[a](T)

Look, their brave men(U) cry aloud in the streets;
    the envoys(V) of peace weep bitterly.
The highways are deserted,
    no travelers(W) are on the roads.(X)
The treaty is broken,(Y)
    its witnesses[b] are despised,
    no one is respected.
The land dries up(Z) and wastes away,
    Lebanon(AA) is ashamed and withers;(AB)
Sharon(AC) is like the Arabah,
    and Bashan(AD) and Carmel(AE) drop their leaves.

10 “Now will I arise,(AF)” says the Lord.
    “Now will I be exalted;(AG)
    now will I be lifted up.
11 You conceive(AH) chaff,
    you give birth(AI) to straw;
    your breath is a fire(AJ) that consumes you.
12 The peoples will be burned to ashes;(AK)
    like cut thornbushes(AL) they will be set ablaze.(AM)

13 You who are far away,(AN) hear(AO) what I have done;
    you who are near, acknowledge my power!
14 The sinners(AP) in Zion are terrified;
    trembling(AQ) grips the godless:
“Who of us can dwell with the consuming fire?(AR)
    Who of us can dwell with everlasting burning?”
15 Those who walk righteously(AS)
    and speak what is right,(AT)
who reject gain from extortion(AU)
    and keep their hands from accepting bribes,(AV)
who stop their ears against plots of murder
    and shut their eyes(AW) against contemplating evil—
16 they are the ones who will dwell on the heights,(AX)
    whose refuge(AY) will be the mountain fortress.(AZ)
Their bread will be supplied,
    and water will not fail(BA) them.

17 Your eyes will see the king(BB) in his beauty(BC)
    and view a land that stretches afar.(BD)
18 In your thoughts you will ponder the former terror:(BE)
    “Where is that chief officer?
Where is the one who took the revenue?
    Where is the officer in charge of the towers?(BF)
19 You will see those arrogant people(BG) no more,
    people whose speech is obscure,
    whose language is strange and incomprehensible.(BH)

20 Look on Zion,(BI) the city of our festivals;
    your eyes will see Jerusalem,
    a peaceful abode,(BJ) a tent(BK) that will not be moved;(BL)
its stakes will never be pulled up,
    nor any of its ropes broken.
21 There the Lord will be our Mighty(BM) One.
    It will be like a place of broad rivers and streams.(BN)
No galley with oars will ride them,
    no mighty ship(BO) will sail them.
22 For the Lord is our judge,(BP)
    the Lord is our lawgiver,(BQ)
the Lord is our king;(BR)
    it is he who will save(BS) us.

23 Your rigging hangs loose:
    The mast is not held secure,
    the sail is not spread.
Then an abundance of spoils will be divided
    and even the lame(BT) will carry off plunder.(BU)
24 No one living in Zion will say, “I am ill”;(BV)
    and the sins of those who dwell there will be forgiven.(BW)

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 33:6 Or is a treasure from him
  2. Isaiah 33:8 Dead Sea Scrolls; Masoretic Text / the cities

A Prayer in Deep Distress

33 Woe to you (A)who plunder, though you have not been plundered;
And you who deal treacherously, though they have not dealt treacherously with you!
(B)When you cease plundering,
You will be (C)plundered;
When you make an end of dealing treacherously,
They will deal treacherously with you.

O Lord, be gracious to us;
(D)We have waited for You.
Be [a]their arm every morning,
Our salvation also in the time of trouble.
At the noise of the tumult the people (E)shall flee;
When You lift Yourself up, the nations shall be scattered;
And Your plunder shall be gathered
Like the gathering of the caterpillar;
As the running to and fro of locusts,
He shall run upon them.

(F)The Lord is exalted, for He dwells on high;
He has filled Zion with justice and righteousness.
Wisdom and knowledge will be the stability of your times,
And the strength of salvation;
The fear of the Lord is His treasure.

Surely their valiant ones shall cry outside,
(G)The ambassadors of peace shall weep bitterly.
(H)The highways lie waste,
The traveling man ceases.
(I)He has broken the covenant,
[b]He has despised the [c]cities,
He regards no man.
(J)The earth mourns and languishes,
Lebanon is shamed and shriveled;
Sharon is like a wilderness,
And Bashan and Carmel shake off their fruits.

Impending Judgment on Zion

10 “Now(K) I will rise,” says the Lord;
“Now I will be exalted,
Now I will lift Myself up.
11 (L)You shall conceive chaff,
You shall bring forth stubble;
Your breath, as fire, shall devour you.
12 And the people shall be like the burnings of lime;
(M)Like thorns cut up they shall be burned in the fire.
13 Hear, (N)you who are afar off, what I have done;
And you who are near, acknowledge My might.”

14 The sinners in Zion are afraid;
Fearfulness has seized the hypocrites:
“Who among us shall dwell with the devouring (O)fire?
Who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?”
15 He who (P)walks righteously and speaks uprightly,
He who despises the gain of oppressions,
Who gestures with his hands, refusing bribes,
Who stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed,
And (Q)shuts his eyes from seeing evil:
16 He will dwell on [d]high;
His place of defense will be the fortress of rocks;
Bread will be given him,
His water will be sure.

The Land of the Majestic King

17 Your eyes will see the King in His (R)beauty;
They will see the land that is very far off.
18 Your heart will meditate on terror:
(S)“Where is the scribe?
Where is he who weighs?
Where is he who counts the towers?”
19 (T)You will not see a fierce people,
(U)A people of obscure speech, beyond perception,
Of a [e]stammering tongue that you cannot understand.

20 (V)Look upon Zion, the city of our appointed feasts;
Your eyes will see (W)Jerusalem, a quiet home,
A tabernacle that will not be taken down;
(X)Not one of (Y)its stakes will ever be removed,
Nor will any of its cords be broken.
21 But there the majestic Lord will be for us
A place of broad rivers and streams,
In which no [f]galley with oars will sail,
Nor majestic ships pass by
22 (For the Lord is our (Z)Judge,
The Lord is our (AA)Lawgiver,
(AB)The Lord is our King;
He will save us);
23 Your tackle is loosed,
They could not strengthen their mast,
They could not spread the sail.

Then the prey of great plunder is divided;
The lame take the prey.
24 And the inhabitant will not say, “I am sick”;
(AC)The people who dwell in it will be forgiven their iniquity.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 33:2 LXX omits their; Syr., Tg., Vg. our
  2. Isaiah 33:8 Tg. They have been removed from their cities
  3. Isaiah 33:8 So with MT, Vg.; DSS witnesses; LXX omits cities
  4. Isaiah 33:16 Lit. heights
  5. Isaiah 33:19 Unintelligible speech
  6. Isaiah 33:21 ship