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 you, destroyer who has not been destroyed! Woe to the betrayer whom they have not betrayed! When you stop destroying, you will be destroyed. When you stop betraying, they will betray you.
2 O LORD, be gracious to us! We wait for You. Be our strength every morning and our salvation in time of trouble.
Yahweh, be gracious to us; we wait for you; be our arm every morning, our salvation in the time of trouble.
3 The peoples flee the thunder of Your voice; the nations scatter when You rise.
At the loud noise the peoples flee; when you arise, the nations are scattered.
4 Your spoil, O nations, is gathered as by locusts; like a swarm of locusts men sweep over it.
Your spoil is gathered as the locusts gather; as locusts leap, men leap on it.
5 The LORD is exalted, for He dwells on high; He has filled Zion with justice and righteousness.
Yahweh is exalted. He lives in a high place. He will fill Zion with justice 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.
He will be the stability in your times, abundance of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge; the fear of Yahweh is his treasure.
7 Behold, their valiant ones cry aloud in the streets; the envoys of peace weep bitterly.
Look, their envoys cry in the streets; the diplomats hoping for peace weep bitterly.
8 The highways are deserted; travel has ceased. The treaty has been broken, the witnesses are despised, and human life is disregarded.
The highways are deserted; there are no more travelers. Covenants are broken, witnesses are despised, and mankind is not respected.
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 and withers away; Lebanon is ashamed and withers away; Sharon is like a desert plain; and Bashan and Carmel shake off their leaves.
10 “Now I will arise,” says the LORD. “Now I will lift Myself up. Now I will be exalted.
“Now will I arise,” says Yahweh; “now I will be lifted up; now I will be elevated.
11 You conceive chaff; you give birth to stubble. Your breath is a fire that will consume you.
You conceive chaff, and you give birth to stubble; your breath is a fire that will consume you.
12 The peoples will be burned to ashes, like thorns cut down and set ablaze.
The peoples will be burned to lime, as thornbushes are cut down and are burned.
13 You who are far off, hear what I have done; you who are near, acknowledge My might.”
You who are far away, hear what I have done; and, you who are near, acknowledge my might.”
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 Zion are afraid; trembling has seized the godless ones. Who among us can sojourn with a raging fire? Who among us can sojourn with everlasting burnings?
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 who walks righteously and speaks honestly; who despises the gain of oppression, who shakes his hand so that it will not accept a bribe, who stops his ears from hearing about bloodshed, and who shuts his eyes from looking on evil—
16 he will dwell on the heights; the mountain fortress will be his refuge; his food will be provided and his water assured.
this is the man who will dwell on the heights, his place of defense will be the fortress among the cliffs, his food will be given, and his water will be in steady supply.
17 Your eyes will see the King in His beauty and behold a land that stretches afar.
Your eyes will see the king in his beauty; they will see a land off in the distance.
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 heart will recall the terror; where is the scribe, where is he who weighed the money? Where is he who counted the towers?
19 You will no longer see the insolent, a people whose speech is unintelligible, who stammer in a language you cannot understand.
You will no longer see the defiant people, a people of a strange language that you do not understand.
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.
Look at Zion, the city of our feasts; your eyes will see Jerusalem as a quiet habitation, a tent that will not be removed, whose stakes will never be pulled up nor will any of its cords be 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.
Instead, Yahweh in majesty will be with us, in a place of broad rivers and streams. No warship with oars will travel it, and no large ships will sail by.
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 Yahweh is our judge, Yahweh is our lawgiver, Yahweh is our king; he will 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.
Your riggings are slack; they cannot hold the mast in place; they cannot spread the sail; when the great spoil is divided, even the lame will drag off the spoil.
24 And no resident of Zion will say, “I am sick.” The people who dwell there will be forgiven of iniquity.
The inhabitants will not say, “I am sick;” the people who live there will be forgiven for their iniquity.
