Isaiah — Chapter 33

1Woe to thee that spoilest, and thou wast not spoiled; and dealest treacherously, and they dealt not treacherously with thee! when thou shalt cease to spoil, thou shalt be spoiled; and when thou shalt make an end to deal treacherously, they shall deal treacherously with thee.

2O LORD, be gracious unto us; we have waited for thee: be thou their arm every morning, our salvation also in the time of trouble.

3At the noise of the tumult the people fled; at the lifting up of thyself the nations were scattered.

4And your spoil shall be gathered like the gathering of the caterpiller: as the running to and fro of locusts shall he run upon them.

5The LORD is exalted; for he dwelleth on high: he hath filled Zion with judgment and righteousness.

6And wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of thy times, and strength of salvation: the fear of the LORD is his treasure.

7Behold, their valiant ones shall cry without: the ambassadors of peace shall weep bitterly.

8The highways lie waste, the wayfaring man ceaseth: he hath broken the covenant, he hath despised the cities, he regardeth no man.

9The earth mourneth and languisheth: Lebanon is ashamed and hewn down: Sharon is like a wilderness; and Bashan and Carmel shake off their fruits.

10Now will I rise, saith the LORD; now will I be exalted; now will I lift up myself.

11Ye shall conceive chaff, ye shall bring forth stubble: your breath, as fire, shall devour you.

12And the people shall be as the burnings of lime: as thorns cut up shall they be burned in the fire.

13Hear, ye that are far off, what I have done; and, ye that are near, acknowledge my might.

14The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?

15He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil;

16He shall dwell on high: his place of defence shall be the munitions of rocks: bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure.

17Thine eyes shall see the king in his beauty: they shall behold the land that is very far off.

18Thine heart shall meditate terror. Where is the scribe? where is the receiver? where is he that counted the towers?

19Thou shalt not see a fierce people, a people of a deeper speech than thou canst perceive; of a stammering tongue, that thou canst not understand.

20Look upon Zion, the city of our solemnities: thine eyes shall see Jerusalem a quiet habitation, a tabernacle that shall not be taken down; not one of the stakes thereof shall ever be removed, neither shall any of the cords thereof be broken.

21But there the glorious LORD will be unto us a place of broad rivers and streams; wherein shall go no galley with oars, neither shall gallant ship pass thereby.

22For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our king; he will save us.

23Thy tacklings are loosed; they could not well strengthen their mast, they could not spread the sail: then is the prey of a great spoil divided; the lame take the prey.

24And the inhabitant shall not say, I am sick: the people that dwell therein shall be forgiven their iniquity.

1Woe to thee that destroyest, and thou wast not destroyed; and dealest treacherously, and they dealt not treacherously with thee! When thou hast ceased to destroy, thou shalt be destroyed; and when thou hast made an end of dealing treacherously, they shall deal treacherously with thee.

2O Jehovah, be gracious unto us; we have waited for thee: be thou our arm every morning, our salvation also in the time of trouble.

3At the noise of the tumult the peoples are fled; at the lifting up of thyself the nations are scattered.

4And your spoil shall be gathered as the caterpillar gathereth: as locusts leap shall men leap upon it.

5Jehovah is exalted; for he dwelleth on high: he hath filled Zion with justice and righteousness.

6And there shall be stability in thy times, abundance of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge: the fear of Jehovah is thy treasure.

7Behold, their valiant ones cry without; the ambassadors of peace weep bitterly.

8The highways lie waste, the wayfaring man ceaseth: [the enemy] hath broken the covenant, he hath despised the cities, he regardeth not man.

9The land mourneth and languisheth; Lebanon is confounded and withereth away; Sharon is like a desert; and Bashan and Carmel shake off [their leaves].

10Now will I arise, saith Jehovah; now will I lift up myself; now will I be exalted.

11Ye shall conceive chaff, ye shall bring forth stubble: your breath is a fire that shall devour you.

12And the peoples shall be as the burnings of lime, as thorns cut down, that are burned in the fire.

13Hear, ye that are far off, what I have done; and, ye that are near, acknowledge my might.

14The sinners in Zion are afraid; trembling hath seized the godless ones: Who among us can dwell with the devouring fire? who among us can dwell with everlasting burnings?

15He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from taking a bribe, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from looking upon evil:

16He shall dwell on high; his place of defence shall be the munitions of rocks; his bread shall be given [him]; his waters shall be sure.

17Thine eyes shall see the king in his beauty: they shall behold a land that reacheth afar.

18Thy heart shall muse on the terror: Where is he that counted, where is he that weighed [the tribute]? where is he that counted the towers?

19Thou shalt not see the fierce people, a people of a deep speech that thou canst not comprehend, of a strange tongue that thou canst not understand.

20Look upon Zion, the city of our solemnities: thine eyes shall see Jerusalem a quiet habitation, a tent that shall not be removed, the stakes whereof shall never be plucked up, neither shall any of the cords thereof be broken.

21But there Jehovah will be with us in majesty, a place of broad rivers and streams, wherein shall go no galley with oars, neither shall gallant ship pass thereby.

22For Jehovah is our judge, Jehovah is our lawgiver, Jehovah is our king; he will save us.

23Thy tacklings are loosed; they could not strengthen the foot of their mast, they could not spread the sail: then was the prey of a great spoil divided; the lame took the prey.

24And the inhabitant shall not say, I am sick: the people that dwell therein shall be forgiven their iniquity.

1The destroyer is as good as dead, you who have not been destroyed! The deceitful one is as good as dead, the one whom others have not deceived! When you are through destroying, you will be destroyed; when you finish deceiving, others will deceive you!

2Lord, be merciful to us! We wait for you. Give us strength each morning. Deliver us when distress comes.

3The nations run away when they hear a loud noise; the nations scatter when you spring into action!

4Your plunder disappears as if locusts were eating it; they swarm over it like locusts.

5The Lord is exalted, indeed, he lives in heaven; he fills Zion with justice and fairness.

6He is your constant source of stability; he abundantly provides safety and great wisdom; he gives all this to those who fear him.

7Look, ambassadors cry out in the streets; messengers sent to make peace weep bitterly.

8Highways are empty; there are no travelers. Treaties are broken; witnesses are despised; human life is treated with disrespect.

9The land dries up and withers away; the forest of Lebanon shrivels up and decays. Sharon is like the arid rift valley; Bashan and Carmel are parched.

10“Now I will rise up,” says the Lord. “Now I will exalt myself; now I will magnify myself.

11You conceive straw, you give birth to chaff; your breath is a fire that destroys you.

12The nations will be burned to ashes; like thornbushes that have been cut down, they will be set on fire.

13You who are far away, listen to what I have done! You who are close by, recognize my strength.”

14Sinners are afraid in Zion; panic grips the godless. They say, “Who among us can coexist with destructive fire? Who among us can coexist with unquenchable fire?”

15The one who lives uprightly and speaks honestly, the one who refuses to profit from oppressive measures and rejects a bribe, the one who does not plot violent crimes and does not seek to harm others—

16this is the person who will live in a secure place; he will find safety in the rocky, mountain strongholds; he will have food and a constant supply of water.

17You will see a king in his splendor; you will see a wide land.

18Your mind will recall the terror you experienced, and you will ask yourselves, “Where is the scribe? Where is the one who weighs the money? Where is the one who counts the towers?”

19You will no longer see a defiant people whose language you do not comprehend, whose derisive speech you do not understand.

20Look at Zion, the city where we hold religious festivals! You will see Jerusalem, a peaceful settlement, a tent that stays put; its stakes will never be pulled up; none of its ropes will snap in two.

21Instead the Lord will rule there as our mighty king. Rivers and wide streams will flow through it; no war galley will enter; no large ships will sail through.

22For the Lord, our ruler, the Lord, our commander, the Lord, our king— he will deliver us.

23Though at this time your ropes are slack, the mast is not secured, and the sail is not unfurled, at that time you will divide up a great quantity of loot; even the lame will drag off plunder.

24No resident of Zion will say, “I am ill”; the people who live there will have their sin forgiven.

1Woe to you who destroy, but you weren’t destroyed; and who betray, but nobody betrayed you! When you have finished destroying, you will be destroyed; and when you have finished betrayal, you will be betrayed.

2Yahweh, be gracious to us. We have waited for you. Be our strength every morning, our salvation also in the time of trouble.

3At the noise of the thunder, the peoples have fled. When you lift yourself up, the nations are scattered.

4Your plunder will be gathered as the caterpillar gathers. Men will leap on it as locusts leap.

5Yahweh is exalted, for he dwells on high. He has filled Zion with justice and righteousness.

6There will be stability in your times, abundance of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge. The fear of Yahweh is your treasure.

7Behold, their valiant ones cry outside; the ambassadors of peace weep bitterly.

8The highways are desolate. The traveling man ceases. The covenant is broken. He has despised the cities. He doesn’t respect man.

9The land mourns and languishes. Lebanon is confounded and withers away. Sharon is like a desert, and Bashan and Carmel are stripped bare.

10“Now I will arise,” says Yahweh; “Now I will lift myself up. Now I will be exalted.

11You will conceive chaff. You will give birth to stubble. Your breath is a fire that will devour you.

12The peoples will be like the burning of lime, like thorns that are cut down and burned in the fire.

13Hear, you who are far off, what I have done; and, you who are near, acknowledge my might.”

14The sinners in Zion are afraid. Trembling has seized the godless ones. Who among us can live with the devouring fire? Who among us can live with everlasting burning?

15He who walks righteously, and speaks blamelessly; He who despises the gain of oppressions, who gestures with his hands, refusing to take a bribe, who stops his ears from hearing of blood, and shuts his eyes from looking at evil—

16he will dwell on high. His place of defense will be the fortress of rocks. His bread will be supplied. His waters will be sure.

17Your eyes will see the king in his beauty. They will see a distant land.

18Your heart will meditate on the terror. Where is he who counted? Where is he who weighed? Where is he who counted the towers?

19You will no longer see the fierce people, a people of a deep speech that you can’t comprehend, with a strange language that you can’t understand.

20Look at Zion, the city of our appointed festivals. Your eyes will see Jerusalem, a quiet habitation, a tent that won’t be removed. Its stakes will never be plucked up, nor will any of its cords be broken.

21But there Yahweh will be with us in majesty, a place of wide rivers and streams, in which no galley with oars will go, neither will any gallant ship pass by there.

22For Yahweh is our judge. Yahweh is our lawgiver. Yahweh is our king. He will save us.

23Your rigging is untied. They couldn’t strengthen the foot of their mast. They couldn’t spread the sail. Then the prey of a great plunder was divided. The lame took the prey.

24The inhabitant won’t say, “I am sick.” The people who dwell therein will be forgiven their iniquity.