Isaiah 33
1 Woe to thee that spoilest, and thou wast not spoiled; and that dealest treacherously, and they dealt not treacherously with thee! When thou shalt cease to spoil, thou shalt be spoiled; when thou shalt make an end of dealing treacherously, they shall deal treacherously with thee.
Woe to you who plunder! Will you yourselves not also be plundered? And woe to you who despise! Will you yourselves not also be despised? When you will have completed your plundering, you will be plundered. When, out of fatigue, you will have ceased acting with contempt, you will be treated with contempt.
2 Jehovah, be gracious unto us; we have waited for thee: be their arm every morning, yea, our salvation in the time of trouble.
O Lord, take pity on us. For we have waited for you. Be our arm in the morning and our salvation in the time of tribulation.
3 At the noise of the tumult the peoples fled; at the lifting up of thyself the nations were scattered.
From the voice of the Angel, the people fled. And from your exultation, the nations were scattered.
4 And your spoil shall be gathered [like] the gathering of the caterpillar: as the running of locusts shall they run upon it.
And your spoils will be gathered together, just as the locusts are collected when the ditches have become filled with them.
5 Jehovah is exalted; for he dwelleth on high: he hath filled Zion with justice and righteousness;
The Lord has been magnified, because he has lived on high. He has filled Zion with judgment and justice.
6 and he shall be the stability of thy times, the riches of salvation, wisdom and knowledge: the fear of Jehovah shall be your treasure.
And there will be faith in your times: the riches of salvation, wisdom and knowledge. For the fear of the Lord is his treasure.
7 Behold, their valiant ones cry without; the messengers of peace weep bitterly.
Behold, outside, those who see will cry out. The Angels of peace will weep bitterly.
8 The highways are desolate, the wayfaring man ceaseth. He hath broken the covenant, he hath despised the cities, he regardeth no man.
The roads have become desolate. Travelers have ceased along the paths. The covenant has been nullified. He has tossed aside cities. He has disregarded men.
9 The land mourneth, it languisheth; Lebanon is ashamed, is withered; the Sharon is become as a desert, and Bashan and Carmel are stripped.
The earth has mourned and languished. Lebanon has been confounded and desecrated. And Sharon has become like a desert. And Bashan and Carmel have been struck together.
10 Now will I arise, saith Jehovah; now will I be exalted, now will I lift up myself.
“Now, I will rise up!” says the Lord. “Now I will be exalted! Now I will lift myself up!”
11 Ye shall conceive dry grass, ye shall bring forth stubble: your breath shall devour you [as] fire.
You will conceive heat. You will give birth to stubble. Your own spirit will devour you like fire.
12 And the peoples shall be [as] burnings of lime, [as] thorns cut up shall they be burned in the fire.
And the people will be like the ashes from a fire. They will be consumed by fire like a bundle of thorns.
13 Hear, ye that are far off, what I have done; and ye that are near, acknowledge my might.
“You who are far away, listen to what I have done! And you who are near, acknowledge my strength!”
14 The sinners in Zion are afraid; trembling hath surprised the hypocrites: Who among us shall dwell with the consuming fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting flames?
The sinners in Zion are terrified; trembling has taken hold of the hypocrites. Who among you is able to live with a devouring fire? Who among you will live with an everlasting flame?
15 — He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from taking hold of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil:
The one who walks in justice and speaks the truth, who casts out avarice with oppression and shakes all bribes from his hands, who blocks his ears so that he may not listen to blood, and closes his eyes so that he may not see evil.
16 he shall dwell on high, the fortresses of the rocks shall be his high retreat; bread shall be given him, his water shall be sure.
Such a one will live on high; the fortification of rocks will be his lofty place. Bread has been given to him; his waters are reliable.
17 Thine eyes shall see the King in his beauty; they shall behold the land that is far off.
His eyes will see the king in his elegance; they will discern the land from far away.
18 Thy heart shall meditate on terror: Where is the scribe? where is the receiver? where is he that counted the towers?
Your heart will meditate on fear. Where are the learned? Where are those who ponder the words of the law? Where are the teachers of little ones?
19 Thou shalt no more see the fierce people, a people of a deeper speech than thou canst comprehend, of a stammering tongue that cannot be understood.
You will not look upon a shameless people, a people of exalted words. For you are not able to understand the dissertation of a tongue in which there is no wisdom.
20 Look 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 pulled up, neither shall any of its cords be broken;
Look with favor upon Zion, the city of our solemnity. Your eyes will behold Jerusalem: an opulent habitation, a tabernacle that can never be taken away. Its stakes will not be taken away forever, nor will any of its cords be broken.
21 but there Jehovah is unto us glorious, — a place of rivers, of broad streams: no galley with oars shall go there, neither shall gallant ship pass thereby.
For only in that place has our Lord been magnified. It is a place of rivers, very broad and open. No ship with oars will cross through it, nor will the great Greek ship pass through it.
22 For Jehovah is our judge, Jehovah, our lawgiver, Jehovah, our king: he will save us.
For the Lord is our judge. The Lord is our lawgiver. The Lord is our king. He himself will save us.
23 Thy tacklings are loosed; they strengthen not the socket of their mast, they cannot spread the sail: then is the prey of a great spoil divided; the lame take the prey.
Your ropes have become loose, and they will not prevail. Your mast will be such that you will not be able to unfurl a flag. Then the spoils of much plunder will be divided. The lame will seize the spoils.
24 And the inhabitant shall not say, I am sick: the people that dwell therein shall be forgiven [their] iniquity.
He who is nearby will not say: “I am too weak.” The people who live in it will have their iniquity taken away from them.
