Isaiah 33
New King James Version
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.
2 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.
3 At the noise of the tumult the people (E)shall flee;
When You lift Yourself up, the nations shall be scattered;
4 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.
5 (F)The Lord is exalted, for He dwells on high;
He has filled Zion with justice and righteousness.
6 Wisdom and knowledge will be the stability of your times,
And the strength of salvation;
The fear of the Lord is His treasure.
7 Surely their valiant ones shall cry outside,
(G)The ambassadors of peace shall weep bitterly.
8 (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.
9 (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
- Isaiah 33:2 LXX omits their; Syr., Tg., Vg. our
- Isaiah 33:8 Tg. They have been removed from their cities
- Isaiah 33:8 So with MT, Vg.; DSS witnesses; LXX omits cities
- Isaiah 33:16 Lit. heights
- Isaiah 33:19 Unintelligible speech
- Isaiah 33:21 ship
Yeshayah 33
Orthodox Jewish Bible
33 Hoy (woe, doom) to thee that destroyest, and thou wast not destroyed; and dealest treacherously, and they dealt not treacherously as a boged (traitor, treacherous person) with thee! When thou shalt cease to destroy, thou shalt be destroyed; and when thou shalt make an end to deal treacherously, they shall deal treacherously as a boged with thee.
2 Hashem, be gracious unto us; we have waited for Thee; be Thou their zero’a in the bekarim (mornings), our Yeshuah (salvation) also in the time of tzoros.
3 At the noise of the tumult the peoples fled; at the lifting up of Thyself the Goyim were scattered.
4 And your shalal (booty, plunder, gain) shall be gathered like the gathering of the locusts; as the swarm of grasshoppers shall men pounce upon them.
5 Hashem is exalted; for He dwelleth on high; He hath filled Tziyon with mishpat and tzedakah.
6 And He shall be the emunah (faithfulness, stability) of thy times, a rich store of Yeshuah (salvation), chochmah, and da’as; the yirat Hashem is his otzar (treasure).
7 Behold, their valiant ones shall cry in the street; the malachei shalom shall weep bitterly.
8 The mesillot (highways) lie in ruins, the wayfaring man ceaseth; he hath annulled the brit (covenant), he hath despised the towns, he regardeth no enosh (humankind).
9 Ha’aretz mourneth and languisheth; Levanon is ashamed and shriveled; Sharon is like an aravah; and Bashan and Carmel shake off their foliage.
10 Now will I arise, saith Hashem; now will I be exalted; now will I lift up Myself.
11 Ye shall conceive chaff, ye shall bring forth straw; your ruach (breath), as eish, shall devour you.
12 And the peoples shall be as the burnings of lime; as thorns cut up shall they be burned in the eish.
13 Hear, ye that are far off, what I have done; and, ye that are near, acknowledge My gevurah (might).
14 The chatta’im (sinners) in Tziyon are terrified; trembling hath seized the khanafim (hypocrites). Who among us can dwell with the devouring eish? Who among us can dwell with mokedei olam (everlasting burnings, see Dan 12:2)?
15 He that walketh in tzedakot, and speaketh meisharim (right things), he that despiseth the gain of extortions, that guards his palms from accepting shochad (bribe[s]), that stoppeth his ozen from hearing of dahm, and shutteth his eynayim from seeing rah;
16 He shall dwell on high; his metzadot shall be the rocky fortress; his lechem shall be given him; his mayim shall be unfailing.
17 Thine eynayim shall see Melech in His yafeh (beauty); they shall behold eretz that is very far off.
18 Thine lev shall ponder terror. Where is the sofer (scribe)? Where is he who weighs [for Assyrian tax collection]? Where is he that counts the migdalim (towers)?
19 Thou shalt no longer see a fierce people, a people of unfathomable language that is incomprehensible, of a stammering lashon, that thou canst not understand.
20 Look upon Tziyon, the city of mo’adenu (our appointed times, festivals); thine eynayim shall see Yerushalayim a quiet naveh, an ohel that shall not be taken down; not one stake thereof shall ever be pulled up, neither shall any of the ropes thereof be broken.
21 But there Adir Hashem will be unto us a makom (place) of broad rivers and streams; wherein shall go no galley with oars, neither shall a mighty ship pass thereby.
22 For Hashem is our Shofet, Hashem is Mechokkeinu (our Lawgiver), Hashem is Malkeinu; Hu yoshieinu (He will save us).
23 Thy riggings are loosed; they could not well strengthen their mast, they could not spread the nes (sail); then is the shalal (spoil, plunder) of a great plunder divided; the pisechim (lame ones) take the plunder.
24 And the inhabitant [of Yerushalayim] shall not say, I am ill; the people that dwell therein shall be forgiven their avon.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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