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

求救的祈祷

33 祸哉!你这未遭毁灭而毁灭人的人,
人未以诡诈待你而你以诡诈待人的人!
等你行完了毁灭,
自己必被毁灭;
你行完了诡诈,
人必以诡诈待你。

耶和华啊,求你施恩给我们,
我们等候你。
求你每早晨作我们的膀臂,
遭难时作我们的拯救。
轰然之声一发出,万民就奔逃;
你一兴起[a],列国就四散。
你们的掳物必被敛尽,
有如蚂蚱敛尽禾稼;
人为掳物奔走,宛如蝗虫蹦跳。

耶和华受尊崇,居高处,
使公平和公义充满锡安
他是你这世代安定的力量,
丰盛的救恩、
智慧和知识;
敬畏耶和华是锡安的至宝。

看哪,他们的英雄在外面哀号[b]
求和的使臣在痛哭。
大路荒凉,行人止息;
盟约撕毁,见证[c]被弃,
人也不受尊重。
大地悲哀衰残,
黎巴嫩羞愧且枯干,
沙仑好像旷野,
巴珊迦密必凋残。

耶和华对敌人的警告

10 耶和华说:
“现在我要兴起,
要高升,
要受尊崇。
11 你们怀的是糠秕,生的是碎秸;
你们的气息如火吞灭自己。
12 万民必像烧着的石灰,
又如斩断的荆棘,在火里燃烧。”
13 你们远方的人,当听我所做的事;
你们近处的人,当承认我的大能。
14 锡安的罪人都惧怕,
战兢抓住不敬虔的人。
我们中间有谁能与吞噬的火同住?
我们中间有谁能与不灭的火共存呢?
15 那行事公义、说话正直、
憎恶欺压所得之财、
摇手不受贿赂、
掩耳不听流血的计谋、
闭眼不看邪恶之事的,
16 这人必居高处,
他的保障是磐石的堡垒,
必有粮食赐给他,
饮水也不致断绝。

光荣的将来

17 你必亲眼看见君王的荣美,
看见辽阔之地。
18 你的心必回想那些恐怖的事:
“那数算的人在哪里?
秤重的人在哪里?
数点城楼的又在哪里呢?”
19 你必不再看见那凶暴的民,
他们嘴唇说艰涩的言语,难以理解;
舌头结巴,说无意义的话。
20 你要注视锡安,我们守圣节的城!
你必亲眼看见耶路撒冷成为安静的居所,
成为不挪移的帐幕,
橛子永不拔出,
绳索一根也不折断。
21 在那里,威严的耶和华对我们是宽阔的江河,
其中必没有摇桨的小船来往,
也没有巨大的船舶经过。
22 耶和华是审判我们的,
耶和华为我们设立律法;
耶和华是我们的君王,
他必拯救我们。

23 船上的绳索松开,
不能稳住桅杆,
也无法扬起船帆。
那时许多掳物被瓜分,
连瘸腿的也能夺走掠物。
24 城内的居民无人说:“我病了”;
城里居住的百姓,罪孽都蒙赦免。

Footnotes

  1. 33.3 “兴起”:死海古卷是“安静”或“吼叫”。
  2. 33.7 “看哪…哀号”:有古卷是“我看见他们,他们在外面哀号”;原文另译“亚利伊勒(参赛29.1)在外面哀号”。
  3. 33.8 “见证”是根据死海古卷;原文是“城镇”。