Isaiah 33

1 Woe to you, O destroyer never destroyed, O traitor never betrayed! When you have finished destroying, you will be destroyed. When you have finished betraying, you will be betrayed.

Woe to them that afflict you; but no one makes you miserable: and he that deals perfidiously with you does not deal perfidiously: they that deal perfidiously shall be taken and given up, and as a moth on a garment, so shall they be spoiled.

2 O LORD, be gracious to us! We wait for You. Be our strength every morning and our salvation in time of trouble.

Lord, have mercy upon us; for we have trusted in thee: the seed of the rebellious is gone to destruction, but our deliverance was in a time of affliction.

3 The peoples flee the thunder of Your voice; the nations scatter when You rise.

By reason of the terrible sound the nations were dismayed for fear of thee, and the heathen were scattered.

4 Your spoil, O nations, is gathered as by locusts; like a swarm of locusts men sweep over it.

And now shall the spoils of your small and great be gathered: as if one should gather locusts, so shall they mock you.

5 The LORD is exalted, for He dwells on high; He has filled Zion with justice and righteousness.

The God who dwells on high is holy: Sion is filled with judgment and righteousness.

6 He will be the sure foundation for your times, a storehouse of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge. The fear of the LORD is Zion’s treasure.

They shall be delivered up to the law: our salvation is our treasure: there are wisdom and knowledge and piety toward the Lord; these are the treasures of righteousness.

7 Behold, their valiant ones cry aloud in the streets; the envoys of peace weep bitterly.

Behold now, these shall be terrified with fear of you: those whom ye feared shall cry out because of you: messengers shall be sent, bitterly weeping, entreating for peace.

8 The highways are deserted; travel has ceased. The treaty has been broken, the witnesses are despised, and human life is disregarded.

For the ways of these shall be made desolate: the terror of the nations has been made to cease, and the covenant with these is taken away, and ye shall by no means deem them men.

9 The land mourns and languishes; Lebanon is ashamed and decayed. Sharon is like a desert; Bashan and Carmel shake off their leaves.

The land mourns; Libanus is ashamed: Saron is become marshes; Galilee shall be laid bare, and Chermel.

10 “Now I will arise,” says the LORD. “Now I will lift Myself up. Now I will be exalted.

Now will I arise, saith the Lord, now will I be glorified; now will I be exalted.

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

Now shall ye see, now shall ye perceive; the strength of your breath, shall be vain; fire shall devour you.

12 The peoples will be burned to ashes, like thorns cut down and set ablaze.

And the nations shall be burnt up; as a thorn in the field cast out and burnt up.

13 You who are far off, hear what I have done; you who are near, acknowledge My might.”

They that are afar off shall hear what I have done; they that draw nigh shall know my strength.

14 The sinners in Zion are afraid; trembling grips the ungodly: “Who of us can dwell with a consuming fire? Who of us can dwell with everlasting flames?”

The sinners in Sion have departed; trembling shall seize the ungodly. Who will tell you that a fire is kindled? Who will tell you of the eternal place?

15 He who walks righteously and speaks with sincerity, who refuses gain from extortion, whose hand never takes a bribe, who stops his ears against murderous plots and shuts his eyes tightly against evil—

He that walks in righteousness, speaking rightly, hating transgression and iniquity, and shaking his hands from gifts, stopping his ears that he should not hear the judgment of blood, shutting his eyes that he should not see injustice.

16 he will dwell on the heights; the mountain fortress will be his refuge; his food will be provided and his water assured.

he shall dwell in a high cave of a strong rock: bread shall be given him, and his water shall be sure.

17 Your eyes will see the King in His beauty and behold a land that stretches afar.

Ye shall see a king with glory: your eyes shall behold a land from afar.

18 Your mind will ponder the former terror: “Where is he who tallies? Where is he who weighs? Where is he who counts the towers?”

Your soul shall meditate terror. Where are the scribes? where are the counsellors, where is he that numbers them that are growing up,

19 You will no longer see the insolent, a people whose speech is unintelligible, who stammer in a language you cannot understand.

[even] the small and great people? with whom he took not counsel, neither did he understand [a people] of deep speech, so that a despised people should not hear, and there is no understanding to him that hears.

20 Look upon Zion, the city of our appointed feasts. Your eyes will see Jerusalem, a peaceful pasture, a tent that does not wander; its tent pegs will not be pulled up, nor will any of its cords be broken.

Behold the city of Sion, our refuge: thine eyes shall behold Jerusalem, a rich city, tabernacles which shall not be shaken, neither shall the pins of her tabernacle be moved for ever, neither shall her cords be at all broken:

21 But there the Majestic One, our LORD, will be for us a place of rivers and wide canals, where no galley with oars will row, and no majestic vessel will pass.

for the name of the Lord is great to you: ye shall have a place, [even] rivers and wide and spacious channels: thou shalt not go this way, neither a vessel with oars go [thereby].

22 For the LORD is our Judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our King. It is He who will save us.

For my God is great: the Lord our judge shall not pass me by: the Lord is our prince, the Lord is our king; the Lord, he shall save us.

23 Your ropes are slack; they cannot secure the mast or spread the sail. Then an abundance of spoils will be divided, and even the lame will carry off plunder.

Thy cords are broken, for they had no strength: thy meat has given way, it shall not spread the sails, it shall not bear a signal, until it be given up for plunder; therefore shall many lame men take spoil.

24 And no resident of Zion will say, “I am sick.” The people who dwell there will be forgiven of iniquity.

And the people dwelling among them shall by no means say, I am in pain: for their sin shall be forgiven them.