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The Land of the Majestic King

17 Your eyes will see the king in his beauty;
    they will behold a land that stretches far away.
18 Your mind will muse on the terror:
    “Where is the one who counted?
    Where is the one who weighed the tribute?
    Where is the one who counted the towers?”(A)
19 No longer will you see the insolent people,
    the people of an obscure speech that you cannot comprehend,
    stammering in a language that you cannot understand.(B)
20 Look on Zion, the city of our appointed festivals!
    Your eyes will see Jerusalem,
    a quiet habitation, an immovable tent
whose stakes will never be pulled up
    and none of whose ropes will be broken.(C)
21 But there the Lord in majesty will be for us
    a place of broad rivers and streams
where no galley with oars can go
    nor stately ship can pass.(D)
22 For the Lord is our judge; the Lord is our ruler;
    the Lord is our king; he will save us.(E)

23 Your rigging hangs loose;
    it cannot hold the mast firm in its place
    or keep the sail spread out.

Then the blind will divide abundant spoil,[a]
    and the lame will take plunder.(F)
24 And no inhabitant will say, “I am sick”;
    the people who live there will be forgiven their iniquity.(G)

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Footnotes

  1. 33.23 Cn: Heb Then prey and spoil in abundance will be divided

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[a] the towers?’
19 No longer will you[b] 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![c]
    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[d] 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[e] hold the mast in its place,
        and the sail cannot spread out.[f]
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.”

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 33:18 Lit. counts
  2. Isaiah 33:19 So 1QIsaa (pl.); MT (sing.)
  3. Isaiah 33:20 So 1QIsaa MTmss; MT reads our festival
  4. Isaiah 33:21 Lit. us a place
  5. Isaiah 33:23 So 1QIsaa; MT reads firmly
  6. Isaiah 33:23 So 1QIsaa; MT reads they cannot spread the sail