The Lord Rises Up

33 Woe, you destroyer never destroyed,
you traitor never betrayed!
When you have finished destroying,
you will be destroyed.
When you have finished betraying,
they will betray you.(A)
Lord, be gracious to us! We wait for you.(B)
Be our strength every morning
and our salvation in time of trouble.(C)
The peoples flee at the thunderous noise;(D)
the nations scatter when you rise in your majesty.
Your spoil will be gathered as locusts are gathered;
people will swarm over it like an infestation of locusts.
The Lord is exalted, for he dwells on high;
he has filled Zion with justice and righteousness.
There will be times of security for you—
a storehouse of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge.
The fear of the Lord is Zion’s treasure.(E)
Listen! Their warriors cry loudly in the streets;
the messengers of peace weep bitterly.(F)

The highways are deserted;
travel has ceased.
An agreement has been broken,(G)
cities[a] despised,
and human life disregarded.
The land mourns and withers;(H)
Lebanon is ashamed and wilted.
Sharon is like a desert;
Bashan and Carmel shake off their leaves.
10 “Now I will rise up,”(I) says the Lord.
“Now I will lift myself up.
Now I will be exalted.
11 You will conceive chaff;(J)
you will give birth to stubble.
Your breath is fire that will consume you.
12 The peoples will be burned to ashes,
like thorns cut down and burned in a fire.
13 You who are far off, hear what I have done;
you who are near,(K) know my strength.”
14 The sinners in Zion are afraid;
trembling seizes the ungodly:
“Who among us can dwell with a consuming fire?(L)
Who among us can dwell with ever-burning flames?”(M)
15 The one who lives righteously
and speaks rightly,(N)
who refuses profit from extortion,
whose hand never takes a bribe,
who stops his ears from listening to murderous plots
and shuts his eyes against evil schemes(O)
16 he will dwell on the heights;
his refuge will be the rocky fortresses,
his food provided, his water assured.
17 Your eyes will see the King in his beauty;(P)
you will see a vast land.(Q)
18 Your mind will meditate on the past terror:
“Where is the accountant?[b]
Where is the tribute collector?[c]
Where is the one who spied out our defenses?” [d]
19 You will no longer see the barbarians,
a people whose speech is difficult to comprehend—
who stammer in a language that is not understood.(R)
20 Look at Zion, the city of our festival times.
Your eyes will see Jerusalem,
a peaceful pasture,(S) a tent that does not wander;
its tent pegs will not be pulled up
nor will any of its cords be loosened.(T)
21 For the majestic one, our Lord, will be there,(U)
a place of rivers and broad streams
where ships that are rowed will not go,
and majestic vessels will not pass.(V)
22 For the Lord is our Judge,
the Lord is our Lawgiver,(W)
the Lord is our King.
He will save us.(X)
23 Your ropes are slack;
they cannot hold the base of the mast
or spread out the flag.
Then abundant spoil will be divided,
the lame will plunder it,
24 and none there will say, “I am sick.”
The people who dwell there
will be forgiven(Y) their iniquity.(Z)

Footnotes

  1. 33:8 DSS read witnesses
  2. 33:18 Lit counter
  3. 33:18 Lit weigher
  4. 33:18 Lit who counts towers

Judgment and hope for the righteous

33 Doom to the destroyer left undestroyed,
    you traitor whom none have betrayed:
when you have finished destroying, you will be destroyed;
    and when you have stopped betraying, they will betray you.

Lord, show us favor;
    we hope in you.
Be our strength every morning,
    our salvation in times of distress.
At the noise, peoples fled;
    on account of your roar, nations scattered.
They gathered spoil like insects;
    they rushed upon it like a swarm of locusts.[a]
The Lord is exalted; he lives on high,
    filling Zion with justice and righteousness.
He will provide security during a lifetime:[b]
    a source of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge—
    fear of the Lord will be Zion’s treasure.[c]

But then those in Ariel[d] cried out in the streets;
    messengers of peace wept bitterly.
The highways were deserted;
    travelers left the road.
The covenant was broken;
    solemn pledges[e] were rejected;
    no one cared for humanity.
The land mourned; it wasted away;
    Lebanon was ashamed; it withered.
Sharon became like the desert,
    and Bashan and Carmel were dropping their leaves.

10 Now I will arise, says the Lord.
    Now I will exalt myself; now I will stand tall.
11 You conceive straw, give birth to stubble;
    your breath is a fire that devours you.
12 Peoples will be burned to lime,
    thorns cut up and set ablaze.
13 You who are far away, hear what I have done;
    and you who are near, know my strength!

14 Sinners became terrified in Zion;
    trembling seized the godless:
        “Who among us can live with the devouring fire?
        Who among us can live with the everlasting blaze?”
15 The one who walks righteously and speaks truthfully,
    who rejects profit from extortion,
    who waves away a bribe instead of grabbing it,
    who won’t listen to bloody plots,
    and who won’t contemplate doing something evil.
16 He will live on the heights;
    fortresses in the cliffs will be his refuge.
His food will be provided,
    his water guaranteed.
17 When you gaze upon a king in his glamour
    and look at the surrounding land,
18     in dismay you will think:
    Where is the one who counts?
    Where is the one who weighs?
    Where is the one who counts towers?
19 You will no longer see the defiant people,
    the people of speech too obscure to understand,
    who stammer in an incomprehensible language.
20 Gaze upon Zion, our festival town.
    Your eyes will see Jerusalem,
    a carefree dwelling,
    a tent that is not packed up,
    whose stakes are never pulled up,
    whose ropes won’t snap.
21 The Lord’s majesty will be there for us:
    as a place of rivers, broad streams
    where no boat will go,
    no majestic ship will cross.
22 The Lord is our judge;
    the Lord is our leader;
    the Lord is our king—
    he will deliver us.
23 Your ropes are loosened;
    they can’t hold the mast firmly;
    they can’t spread the sail.
Then abundant spoil will be divided;
    even the lame will seize spoil.
24 And no inhabitant will say, “I’m sick.”
    The people living there will be forgiven their sin.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 33:4 Heb uncertain
  2. Isaiah 33:6 Or your times
  3. Isaiah 33:6 Or his treasure
  4. Isaiah 33:7 Or the valiant; Heb uncertain
  5. Isaiah 33:8 Correction; or cities; DSS (1QIsaa) witnesses

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