Isaiah 33
New Living Translation
A Message about Assyria
33 What sorrow awaits you Assyrians, who have destroyed others[a]
but have never been destroyed yourselves.
You betray others,
but you have never been betrayed.
When you are done destroying,
you will be destroyed.
When you are done betraying,
you will be betrayed.
2 But Lord, be merciful to us,
for we have waited for you.
Be our strong arm each day
and our salvation in times of trouble.
3 The enemy runs at the sound of your voice.
When you stand up, the nations flee!
4 Just as caterpillars and locusts strip the fields and vines,
so the fallen army of Assyria will be stripped!
5 Though the Lord is very great and lives in heaven,
he will make Jerusalem[b] his home of justice and righteousness.
6 In that day he will be your sure foundation,
providing a rich store of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge.
The fear of the Lord will be your treasure.
7 But now your brave warriors weep in public.
Your ambassadors of peace cry in bitter disappointment.
8 Your roads are deserted;
no one travels them anymore.
The Assyrians have broken their peace treaty
and care nothing for the promises they made before witnesses.[c]
They have no respect for anyone.
9 The land of Israel wilts in mourning.
Lebanon withers with shame.
The plain of Sharon is now a wilderness.
Bashan and Carmel have been plundered.
10 But the Lord says: “Now I will stand up.
Now I will show my power and might.
11 You Assyrians produce nothing but dry grass and stubble.
Your own breath will turn to fire and consume you.
12 Your people will be burned up completely,
like thornbushes cut down and tossed in a fire.
13 Listen to what I have done, you nations far away!
And you that are near, acknowledge my might!”
14 The sinners in Jerusalem shake with fear.
Terror seizes the godless.
“Who can live with this devouring fire?” they cry.
“Who can survive this all-consuming fire?”
15 Those who are honest and fair,
who refuse to profit by fraud,
who stay far away from bribes,
who refuse to listen to those who plot murder,
who shut their eyes to all enticement to do wrong—
16 these are the ones who will dwell on high.
The rocks of the mountains will be their fortress.
Food will be supplied to them,
and they will have water in abundance.
17 Your eyes will see the king in all his splendor,
and you will see a land that stretches into the distance.
18 You will think back to this time of terror, asking,
“Where are the Assyrian officers
who counted our towers?
Where are the bookkeepers
who recorded the plunder taken from our fallen city?”
19 You will no longer see these fierce, violent people
with their strange, unknown language.
20 Instead, you will see Zion as a place of holy festivals.
You will see Jerusalem, a city quiet and secure.
It will be like a tent whose ropes are taut
and whose stakes are firmly fixed.
21 The Lord will be our Mighty One.
He will be like a wide river of protection
that no enemy can cross,
that no enemy ship can sail upon.
22 For the Lord is our judge,
our lawgiver, and our king.
He will care for us and save us.
23 The enemies’ sails hang loose
on broken masts with useless tackle.
Their treasure will be divided by the people of God.
Even the lame will take their share!
24 The people of Israel will no longer say,
“We are sick and helpless,”
for the Lord will forgive their sins.
Isaiah 33
International Standard Version
God’s Judgment
33 “How terrible it will be for you, destroyer,
you who have not been destroyed yourself!
And how terrible it will be for you, traitor,
one whom[a] people have not betrayed!
When you have sunk so low in[b] destroying others,
you will be destroyed;
and when you have finished betraying,
they will betray you.”
A Prayer for Grace
2 “Lord, be gracious to us; we long for you;
and[c] be our strength[d] every morning,
our salvation in times of trouble.
3 At the thunder of your voice, the peoples flee;
at your silence,[e] the nations scatter.
4 Your plunder is gathered as when grasshoppers gather;
just like[f] locusts pounce, people have pounced[g] on it.
5 “The Lord is exalted, for he lives on high;
he has filled Zion with justice and righteousness.
6 He will be a sure foundation for your times,
abundance and salvation,[h] wisdom and knowledge —
the fear of the Lord is Zion’s treasure.”
Israel’s Unenviable Plight
7 “Listen! Their brave men cry out in the streets;
the envoys of peace weep bitterly.
8 The highways are deserted;
travelers have quit the road.
The enemy[i] has broken treaties;
he despises their witnesses,[j]
and respects no one.
9 The land mourns and wastes away;
Lebanon feels ashamed and withers.
Sharon is like a desert;
Bashan[k] and Carmel shake off their leaves.”
God is Exalted
10 “Now I’ll rise up,” the Lord has said,[l]
“now I’ll exalt myself;
now I’ll be lifted up.
11 You conceive dried grass, you give birth to stubble;
your breath is a fire that will consume you.
12 And the peoples will be burned as if to ashes;
like cut thorn bushes, they will be set ablaze.
13 “Those who are far away have heard[m] what I’ve done;
and those that are near have acknowledged[n] my power.
14 The sinners in Zion are terrified;
trembling grips the godless:
“Who among us can live with the consuming fire?
Who among us can live with everlasting flames?”
15 The one who walks righteously and has spoken[o] sincere words,
who rejects gain from extortion
and waves his hand,
rejecting bribes,
who blocks his ears from hearing plots of murder
and shuts his eyes against seeing evil—
16 this is the one who will live on the heights;
his refuge will be a mountain fortress.
His food will be supplied,
and his water will be guaranteed.
17 “Your eyes will see the king in his elegance,
and will view a land that stretches afar.
18 Your mind will ponder at that time of terror:
‘Where is the king’s accountant?
Where is the one who weighed the revenue?
Where is the officer who supervises[p] the towers?’
19 No longer will you[q] see those arrogant people,
those people with their obscure speech you cannot comprehend,
stammering in a language you cannot understand.
20 “Look at Zion, city of our festivals![r]
Your eyes will see Jerusalem,
an undisturbed abode, an immovable tent;
its stakes will never be pulled up,
nor will any of its ropes be broken.
21 But there the Lord in majesty will be for us
our source[s] of broad rivers and streams,
where no galley with oars can go,
where no stately ship can sail.
22 For the Lord is our judge,
and the Lord is our lawgiver;
and the Lord is our king,
and it is he who will save us.
23 “Your rigging hangs loose;
it cannot reliably[t] hold the mast in its place,
and the sail cannot spread out.[u]
Then an abundance of spoils will be divided —
even the lame will carry off plunder.
24 And no one living there will say, ‘I am ill.’
The people living there will have their sins forgiven.”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 33:1 So 1QIsaa MT; MTmss read you whom
- Isaiah 33:1 So 1QIsaa; MT reads stopped
- Isaiah 33:2 So 1QIsaa; the Heb. lacks and
- Isaiah 33:2 Lit. arm
- Isaiah 33:3 So 1QIsaa; MT reads when you rise up; LXX reads from fear of you
- Isaiah 33:4 So 1QIsaa; the Heb. lacks just like
- Isaiah 33:4 So 1QIsaa; MT reads people pounce
- Isaiah 33:6 So 1QIsaa; MT reads of salvation
- Isaiah 33:8 Lit. He
- Isaiah 33:8 So 1QIsaa; MT reads cities
- Isaiah 33:9 So 1QIsaa; MT reads and Bashan
- Isaiah 33:10 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read says the Lord
- Isaiah 33:13 So 1QIsaa; cf. LXX; MT reads You who are far away, hear
- Isaiah 33:13 So 1QIsaa LXX; MT reads you that are near, acknowledge
- Isaiah 33:15 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read and who speaks
- Isaiah 33:18 Lit. counts
- Isaiah 33:19 So 1QIsaa (pl.); MT (sing.)
- Isaiah 33:20 So 1QIsaa MTmss; MT reads our festival
- Isaiah 33:21 Lit. us a place
- Isaiah 33:23 So 1QIsaa; MT reads firmly
- Isaiah 33:23 So 1QIsaa; MT reads they cannot spread the sail
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
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