Isaiah 33
New American Standard Bible
The Judgment of God
33 Woe (A)to you, destroyer,
While you were not destroyed;
And he (B)who is treacherous, while others did not deal treacherously with him.
As soon as you finish destroying, (C)you will be destroyed;
As soon as you cease to deal treacherously, others will (D)deal treacherously with you.
2 Lord, (E)be gracious to us; we have (F)waited for You.
Be [a]their [b](G)strength every morning,
Our salvation also in the (H)time of distress.
3 At the sound of a roar, (I)peoples flee;
At the (J)lifting up of Yourself, nations disperse.
4 Your plunder is gathered as the caterpillar gathers;
Like an infestation of locusts, people storm it.
5 The Lord is (K)exalted, for He dwells on high;
He has (L)filled Zion with justice and righteousness.
6 And He will be the [c](M)stability of your times,
A (N)wealth of salvation, wisdom, and (O)knowledge;
The (P)fear of the Lord is his treasure.
7 Behold, their brave men cry out [d]in the streets,
The [e](Q)ambassadors of peace weep bitterly.
8 The highways are desolate, [f]the (R)traveler has ceased,
He has (S)broken the covenant, he has despised the cities,
He has no regard for mankind.
9 (T)The land mourns and wastes away,
(U)Lebanon is shamed and withers;
(V)Sharon is like a desert plain,
And Bashan and Carmel [g]lose their foliage.
10 “Now (W)I will arise,” says the Lord,
“Now I will be exalted, now I will be lifted up.
11 You have (X)conceived [h]chaff, you will give birth to stubble;
[i]My (Y)breath will consume you like a fire.
12 The peoples will be burned to lime,
(Z)Like cut thorns which are burned in the fire.
13 “You who are far away, (AA)hear what I have done;
And you who are near, [j]acknowledge My might.”
14 (AB)Sinners in Zion are terrified;
(AC)Trembling has seized the godless.
“Who among us can live with (AD)the consuming fire?
Who among us can live with everlasting (AE)burning?”
15 One who (AF)walks righteously and speaks with integrity,
One who rejects [k]unjust gain
And shakes his hands so that they hold no bribe;
One who stops his ears from hearing about bloodshed
And (AG)shuts his eyes from looking at evil;
16 He will dwell on the heights,
(AH)His refuge will be the [l]impregnable rock;
(AI)His bread will be given him,
His water will be sure.
17 Your eyes will see (AJ)the King in His beauty;
They will see (AK)a distant land.
18 Your heart will meditate on (AL)terror:
“Where is (AM)one who counts?
Where is one who weighs?
Where is one who counts the towers?”
19 You will no longer see a fierce people,
A people of [m](AN)unintelligible speech [n]which no one comprehends,
Of a stammering tongue [o]which no one understands.
20 (AO)Look at Zion, the city of our appointed feasts;
Your eyes will see Jerusalem, an (AP)undisturbed settlement,
(AQ)A tent which will not be folded;
Its stakes will never be pulled up,
Nor any of its ropes be torn apart.
21 But there the majestic One, the Lord, will be for us
A place of (AR)rivers and wide canals
On which no boat with oars will go,
And on which no mighty ship will pass—
22 For the Lord is our (AS)judge,
The Lord is (AT)our lawgiver,
The Lord is (AU)our king;
(AV)He will save us—
23 Your ship’s tackle hangs slack;
It cannot hold the base of its mast firmly,
Nor spread out the sail.
Then the (AW)prey of an abundant spoil will be divided;
(AX)Those who limp will take the plunder.
24 And no resident will say, “I am (AY)sick”;
The people who live [p]there will be (AZ)forgiven their wrongdoing.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 33:2 Some ancient versions our
- Isaiah 33:2 Lit arm
- Isaiah 33:6 Or faithfulness
- Isaiah 33:7 Lit outside
- Isaiah 33:7 Lit messengers
- Isaiah 33:8 Lit one who passes along the way
- Isaiah 33:9 Lit shake off
- Isaiah 33:11 Lit dry grass
- Isaiah 33:11 One ancient version; MT Your breath will
- Isaiah 33:13 Lit know
- Isaiah 33:15 Lit gain of extortioners
- Isaiah 33:16 Lit stronghold of rock
- Isaiah 33:19 Lit deepness of lip
- Isaiah 33:19 Lit from hearing
- Isaiah 33:19 Lit there is no understanding
- Isaiah 33:24 Lit in it
Isaiah 33
Lexham English Bible
Yahweh’s Judgment and Help
33 Ah, destroyer, and yourself not destroyed!
And treacherous one, and no one has dealt treacherously with him![a]
When you cease[b] destroying, you will be destroyed.
When you stop dealing treacherously, one will deal treacherously with you.
2 Yahweh, be gracious to us, we wait for you.
Be our[c] arm in the mornings,
indeed our salvation in the time of trouble.
3 At the sound of tumult, peoples fled;
because of your exaltation, nations scattered.
4 And your spoil is gathered,
as the gathering of the locust,
as a swarm of locusts storming on it.
5 Yahweh is exalted, for he dwells on high;
he filled Zion with justice and righteousness,
6 and he will be the security of your times,
an abundance of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge.
The fear of Yahweh is his treasure.
7 Look! Their heroes cry out in the street;
the messengers of peace weep bitterly.
8 Highways are deserted;
the traveler on the road ceases.
One breaks a treaty,
he rejects the cities,[d]
he does not hold man in high regard.
9 The land mourns; it languishes.
Lebanon feels abashed; it withers.
Sharon is like the desert,
and Bashan and Carmel are losing their leaves.[e]
10 “Now I will arise,” says Yahweh.
“Now I will lift myself up proudly;
now I will raise myself.
11 You conceive dry grass, you bring forth stubble;
your breath is a fire; it will consume you.
12 And the peoples will be burning to lime—
they are burned like thorns that have been cut down in the fire.
13 You who are far away, hear what I have done;
and you who are near, know my might!”
14 Sinners are afraid in Zion;
trembling has seized the godless:
“Who of us can live[f] with devouring fire?
Who of us can live[g] with everlasting consuming hearths?”
15 He who walks in righteousness
and speaks uprightness,
who rejects the gain of extortion,
who refuses[h] a bribe,
who stops up his ears[i] from hearing bloodshed[j]
and shuts his eyes from seeing evil.
16 That one will live on the heights;
the fortresses of rocks will be his refuge.
His food will be given;
his waters[k] will endure.
17 Your eyes will see the king in his beauty;
they will see a distant land.[l]
18 Your mind[m] will meditate on the terror:
“Where is the one who counted?
Where is the one who weighed out?
Where is the one who counted the towers?”
19 You will not see the insolent people,
the people whose language is too obscure to understand,[n]
whose stammering of tongue cannot be understood.[o]
20 Look on Zion, the city of our appointed festivals!
Your eyes will see Jerusalem,
an undisturbed settlement,
a tent that is not moved.[p]
No one will ever pull out its tent pegs,
and none of its ropes will be torn in two.
21 Rather, there Yahweh will be mighty for us,
a place of rivers and broad streams,[q]
a galley ship with[r] oars[s] cannot go in it,
and a mighty ship cannot pass through it.
22 For Yahweh is our judge; Yahweh is our lawgiver.
Yahweh is our king; he is the one who will save us.
23 Your riggings hang slack;
they do not hold the base of their mast firm,
they do not spread out the sail.
Then the prey of spoil in abundance will be divided;
the lame will take plunder.
24 And no inhabitant will say, “I am sick”;
the people who live in it, their iniquity will be taken away.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 33:1 Many manuscripts suggest “you” rather than “him”
- Isaiah 33:1 Literally “finishing”
- Isaiah 33:2 Hebrew “their”
- Isaiah 33:8 A Dead Sea Scroll reads “witnesses”
- Isaiah 33:9 Literally “shaking off”
- Isaiah 33:14 Literally “dwell as an alien”
- Isaiah 33:14 Literally “dwell as an alien”
- Isaiah 33:15 Literally “shakes his hand from the taking of”
- Isaiah 33:15 Hebrew “ear”
- Isaiah 33:15 Literally “blood”
- Isaiah 33:16 Hebrew “water”
- Isaiah 33:17 Literally “land of distance”
- Isaiah 33:18 Literally “heart”
- Isaiah 33:19 Literally “obscure of lip than to hear”
- Isaiah 33:19 Literally “there is no understanding”
- Isaiah 33:20 Literally “not he is loaded”
- Isaiah 33:21 Literally “streams broad of hands”
- Isaiah 33:21 Or “of”
- Isaiah 33:21 Hebrew “oar”
Isaiah 33
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 33
Overthrow of Assyria[a]
1 Ah! You destroyer never destroyed,
betrayer never betrayed!
When you have finished destroying, you will be destroyed;
when you have stopped betraying, you will be betrayed.(A)
2 Lord, be gracious to us; for you we wait.
Be our strength every morning,
our salvation in time of trouble!(B)
3 At the roaring sound, peoples flee;
when you rise in your majesty, nations are scattered.(C)
4 Spoil is gathered up as caterpillars gather,
an onrush like the rush of locusts.(D)
5 The Lord is exalted, enthroned on high;
he fills Zion with right and justice.(E)
6 That which makes her seasons certain,
her wealth, salvation, wisdom, and knowledge,
is the fear of the Lord, her treasure.(F)
7 See, the men of Ariel cry out in the streets,
the messengers of Shalem[b] weep bitterly.
8 The highways are desolate,
travelers have quit the paths,
Covenants are broken, witnesses spurned;
yet no one gives it a thought.(G)
9 The country languishes in mourning,
Lebanon withers with shame;
Sharon[c] is like the Arabah,
Bashan and Carmel are stripped bare.(H)
10 Now I will rise up, says the Lord,
now exalt myself,
now lift myself up.(I)
11 You conceive dry grass, bring forth stubble;
my spirit shall consume you like fire.
12 The peoples shall be burned to lime,
thorns cut down to burn in fire.(J)
13 Hear, you who are far off, what I have done;
you who are near, acknowledge my might.
14 In Zion sinners are in dread,
trembling grips the impious:
“Who of us can live with consuming fire?
who of us can live with everlasting flames?”(K)
15 Whoever walks righteously and speaks honestly,
who spurns what is gained by oppression,
Who waves off contact with a bribe,
who stops his ears so as not to hear of bloodshed,
who closes his eyes so as not to look on evil—(L)
16 That one shall dwell on the heights,
with fortresses of rock for stronghold,
food and drink in steady supply.
17 Your eyes will see a king[d] in his splendor,
they will look upon a vast land.(M)
18 Your mind will dwell on the terror:
“Where is the one who counted, where the one who weighed?
Where the one who counted the towers?”(N)
19 You shall no longer see a defiant people,
a people of speech too obscure to comprehend,
stammering in a tongue not understood.(O)
20 Look to Zion, the city of our festivals;
your eyes shall see Jerusalem
as a quiet abode, a tent not to be struck,
Whose pegs will never be pulled up,
nor any of its ropes severed.(P)
21 Indeed the Lord in majesty will be there for us
a place of rivers and wide streams
on which no galley may go,
where no majestic ship[e] may pass.(Q)
22 For the Lord is our judge,
the Lord is our lawgiver,
the Lord is our king;
he it is who will save us.
23 The rigging hangs slack;
it cannot hold the mast in place,
nor keep the sail spread out.
Then the blind will divide great spoils
and the lame will carry off the loot.(R)
24 No one who dwells there will say, “I am sick”;
the people who live there will be forgiven their guilt.(S)
Footnotes
- 33:1–24 After an introductory address to Assyria (v. 1), there follows a prayer on behalf of Jerusalem which recalls what God had done in the past (vv. 2–6) and a description of the present situation (vv. 7–9). In response, the Lord announces a judgment on Assyria (vv. 10–12) that will lead to the purification of Jerusalem’s inhabitants (vv. 13–16). The text ends with an idealized portrait of the redeemed Jerusalem of the future (vv. 17–24).
- 33:7 Ariel…Shalem: Jerusalem; cf. 29:1; Gn 14:18; Ps 76:3. There is a play on words between “Shalem,” the city name, and shalom, Heb. for “peace.”
- 33:9 Sharon: the fertile plain near the Mediterranean.
- 33:17 King: either the ideal Davidic king or God; cf. v. 22.
- 33:21–23 Galley…majestic ship: of a foreign oppressor. Though the broad streams of the future Jerusalem will make it accessible by boat, no foreign invader will succeed in a naval attack on the city, for the Lord will protect it, the enemy fleet will be disabled, and even the weakest inhabitants will gather much plunder from the defeated enemy.
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