Isaiah 33
1 Woe to thee that spoilest, shalt not thou thyself also be spoiled? and thou that despisest, shalt not thyself also be despised? when thou shalt have made an end of spoiling, thou shalt be spoiled: when being wearied thou shalt cease to despise, thou shalt be despised.
Tragedy is coming to you, you destroyer who has not experienced destruction yourself, you deceiver who has not experienced deception yourself! When you have finished with your destroying, you will be destroyed yourself. Then you are finished with your deceiving, you will be deceived yourselves.
2 O Lord, have mercy on us: for we have waited for thee: be thou our arm in the morning, and our salvation in the time of trouble.
Lord, please be kind to us; we put our confidence in you. Be the strength we rely on every morning; be our salvation in times of trouble.
3 At the voice of the angel the people fled, and at the lifting up thyself the nations are scattered.
When you roar, the peoples run away; when you prepare for action, the nations scatter!
4 And your spoils shall be gathered together as the locusts are gathered, as when the ditches are full of them.
You plunder defeated enemy armies like caterpillars eating up plants; like an attack of swarming locusts.
5 The Lord is magnified, for he hath dwelt on high: he hath filled Sion with judgment and justice.
The Lord is praised for he lives in highest heaven; he has filled Zion with justice and right.
6 And there shall be faith in thy times: riches of salvation, wisdom and knowledge: the fear of the Lord is his treasure.
He will be your constant support throughout your lives an abundant source of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge. Reverence for the Lord is what makes Zion rich.
7 Behold they that see shall cry without, the angels of peace shall weep bitterly.
But look! Even your bravest soldiers are crying loudly in the street; the messengers you sent to ask for peace are weeping bitterly.
8 The ways are made desolate, no one passeth by the road, the covenant is made void, he hath rejected the cities, he hath not regarded the men.
Your highways are deserted; nobody's traveling on your roads anymore. He breaks the treaty; he despises the witnesses; he doesn't care about anybody.
9 The land hath mourned, and languished: Libanus is confounded and become foul, and Saron is become as a desert: and Basan and Carmel are shaken.
Israel is in mourning and fades away; Lebanon withers in shame; the fields of Sharon have become a desert; the forests of Bashan and Carmel have shed their leaves.
10 Now will I rise up, saith the Lord: now will I be exalted, now will I lift up myself.
“But now I'm going to intervene!” says the Lord. “I'm prepared to act! I will show myself to be above all others!
11 You shall conceive heat, you shall bring forth stubble: your breath as fire shall devour you.
All you give birth to is only dry grass, all you deliver is just stubble. Your breath is a fire that will burn you up.
12 And the people shall be as ashes after a fire, as a bundle of thorns they shall be burnt with fire.
You people will be burned to ashes like thorns that are cut down and thrown into the fire.
13 Hear, you that are far off, what I have done, and you that are near know my strength.
Those of you who are far away, recognize what I have accomplished; those of you who are nearby, recognize how powerful I am.”
14 The sinners in Sion are afraid, trembling hath seized upon the hypocrites. Which of you can dwell with devouring fire? which of you shall dwell with everlasting burnings?
The sinners who live in Zion tremble with fear; those who are irreligious are overcome with terror. They ask, “Who can live with this fire that consumes everything? Who can live among such everlasting burning?”
15 He that walketh in justices, and speaketh truth, that casteth away avarice by oppression, and shaketh his hands from all bribes, that stoppeth his ears lest he hear blood, and shutteth his eyes that he may see no evil.
Those who live right and speak the truth, those who refuse to profit from extortion and refuse to take bribes, who don't listen to plots to kill people, who close their eyes rather than look at evil.
16 He shall dwell on high, the fortifications of rocks shall be his highness: bread is given him, his waters are sure.
They will live on high; they will be protected by the mountain fortresses; they will always be provided with food and will always have water.
17 His eyes shall see the king in his beauty, they shall see the land far off.
You will see the king in his wonderful appearance, and you will view a land that stretches into the distance.
18 Thy heart shall meditate fear: where is the learned? where is he that pondereth the words of the law? where is the teacher of little ones?
In your mind you will think about the terrifying things that were expected, and then ask yourself, “Where are the enemy officials—the scribes who were to record events, the treasurers who were to weigh the looted money, the surveyors who were to count and destroy the towers?”
19 The shameless people thou shalt not see, the people of profound speech: so that thou canst not understand the eloquence of his tongue, in whom there is no wisdom.
You won't see these offensive people anymore with their barbaric language that sounds like someone stammering and is impossible to understand.
20 Look upon Sion the city of our solemnity: thy eyes shall see Jerusalem, a rich habitation, a tabernacle that cannot be removed: neither shall the nails thereof be taken away for ever, neither shall any of the cords thereof be broken:
On the contrary, you'll see Zion as a festival city. You will view Jerusalem as a quiet and peaceful place. It will be like a tent that's never taken down, whose tent-pegs are never pulled up, whose guy ropes never snap.
21 Because only there our Lord is magnificent: it place of rivers, very broad and spacious streams: no ship with oars shall pass by it, neither shall the great galley pass through it.
Right here our majestic Lord will be like a place of broad rivers and waters that no enemy ship with oars can cross—no great ship can pass.
22 For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king: he will save us.
For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king. He is the one who will save us.
23 Thy tacklings are loosed, and they shall be of no strength: thy mast shall be in such condition, that thou shalt not be able to spread the flag. Then shall the spoils of much prey be divided: the lame shall take the spoil.
The rigging on your ship hangs loose so the mast isn't secure and the sail can't be spread. Then all the looted treasure you're carrying will be divided among the victors—even those who are lame will have their share.
24 Neither shall he that is near, say: I am feeble. The people that dwell therein, shall have their iniquity taken away from them.
Nobody in Israel will say, “I'm sick,” and those who live there will have their guilt removed.
