Isaiah 33
1 Woe to thee that wastest, while thou wast not wasted; and traitor, while men dealt not treacherously with thee! when thou shalt have made an end of wasting, thou shalt be wasted, and when thou shalt have finished to deal treacherously, men shall deal treacherously with thee.
Terrible things will happen to you [people of Assyria]! You have destroyed [others], [but] you have not been destroyed [yet]. You have betrayed/deceived [others], [but] you have not been betrayed/deceived [yet]. When you stop destroying [others], others will destroy you. When you stop betraying/deceiving others, [others] betray you.
2 O Lord, be gracious; we have waited for thee: be thou their support every morning, also our salvation in the time of trouble.
Yahweh, be kind to us, because we have patiently waited for you [to help us]. Enable us to be strong every day, and rescue us when we have troubles.
3 At the noise of [thy] thunder people fled; when thou liftedst thyself up nations were scattered.
Our enemies run away when they hear your voice. When you stand up and show that you are powerful [IDM], the people of all nations flee.
4 And your spoil shall be gathered as the cricket gathereth: as locusts run about, so shall people hasten after it.
[And after our enemies have been defeated], we, your people, will take away all our enemies’ possessions like [SIM] caterpillars and locusts strip off all the leaves of plants.
5 The Lord is exalted; for he dwelleth on high; he hath filled Zion with justice and righteousness.
Yahweh is greater than anyone else, and he lives in heaven, and he will rule justly and righteously in Jerusalem.
6 And the stability of thy times and the strength of thy happiness shall be wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the Lord is his treasure.
[When that happens], he will enable you to live securely/safely; he will fully protect your possessions, he will enable you to be wise and to know [all that you need to know]; and revering Yahweh will be [like] [MET] a valuable treasure for you.
7 Behold, their valiant ones cry without: the ambassadors of peace weep bitterly.
[But now], look, our brave men are crying out in the streets; our ambassadors [have gone to other countries to make peace treaties], [but they will] cry bitterly [because they will not succeed].
8 The highways lie waste, ceased hath the wayfaring traveler: he hath broken the covenant, he despiseth cities, he regardeth not man.
No one travels on our roads [DOU]. [The leaders of Assyria] have broken/disregarded their peace treaty [with us]; they despise the people who made those treaties, and they do not respect anyone.
9 It mourneth, it languisheth—the land: Lebanon is ashamed, it is withered away; Sharon is become like a wilderness; and bereft of their fruits are Bashan and Carmel.
The land [of Judah] is dry and barren. The [cedar trees in] Lebanon are drying up and decaying. The Sharon [Plain along the coast] is now a desert. There are no more leaves on the trees in the Bashan and Carmel [areas].
10 Now will I arise, saith the Lord; now will I raise myself; now will I lift myself up.
Yahweh says, “Now I will begin to show that I am very powerful [DOU].
11 Ye shall be pregnant with hay, [and] ye shall bring forth stubble: your breath is a fire, which shall devour you.
You [people of Assyria] make plans that are [as useless as] [MET] chaff and straw. Your breath will become a fire that will burn you up.
12 And the people shall be burnt as lime: as cut-off thorns shall they blaze up in fire.
[Your] people will be burned until only ashes remain [MET] like [SIM] thornbushes are cut down and burned up in a fire.
13 Hear, ye distant ones, what I have done; and acknowledge ye that are near my might.
You people who live far away and you people who live nearby, pay attention to what I have done and realize that I am [very] powerful.”
14 In Zion sinners are in dread; trembling hath seized on hypocrites. “Who among us shall abide with the devouring fire? who among us shall abide with everlasting burnings?”
The sinners in Jerusalem will tremble because of being very afraid; godless people will be terrified. [They say], “None of us can [RHQ] remain alive because this fire is burning everything; it is like the fire on Yahweh’s altar that will burn forever!”
15 He that walketh in righteousness, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands against taking hold of bribes, that stoppeth his ears against hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes against looking on evil;
Those who act honestly and say what is right, those who do not try to become rich by (extortion/forcing people to give them money), those who do not try to get bribes, those who refuse to listen to people who are planning to murder someone, those who do not join others who urge them to do what is wrong,
16 He shall dwell on high; rocky strongholds shall be his refuge: his bread shall be given him; his water shall be sure.
they are the people who will live safely [MTY]; they will find places to be safe in the caves in the mountains. They will have plenty of food and water.
17 The king in his beauty shall thy eyes behold: they shall see a far-off land.
You [SYN] [people of Judah] will see the king wearing all his beautiful [robes], and you will see that he rules a land that extends far away.
18 Thy heart shall meditate [on past] terror. “Where is who wrote down? where is he that weighed? where is he that counted the towers?”
When you see that, you will think about when you were previously terrified, [and you will say], “[The officers of Assyria] who counted the tax money that we were forced to pay to them [have disappeared] [RHQ]! Those men who counted our towers [are gone] [RHQ]!
19 The barbarous people shalt thou not see any more, the people of a speech too obscure to be understood, of a stammering tongue, without meaning.
Those arrogant people who spoke a language that we could not understand are no longer here!”
20 Look on Zion, the town of our solemn assemblies; thy eyes shall see Jerusalem as an undisturbed residence, a tent that shall not be struck for removal; not one of the stakes of which shall ever be moved, and all the cords of which shall never be torn loose.
[At that time], you will see Zion Hill, the place where we celebrate our festivals; you will see that Jerusalem has become a place that is calm and safe. It will be [secure], [like] [SIM] a tent [that cannot be moved because] its ropes are tight and its stakes are firmly in the ground.
21 But there will the Lord [show himself] mighty unto us, [in] a place of rivers and streams of ample breadth; wherein no oared galley shall go, and a gallant ship shall not pass thereby.
Yahweh will be our mighty God; he will be [like] [SIM] a mighty river that will protect us because [our enemies] will not be able to cross it; no one will be able to row across it and no ships will be able to sail across it.
22 For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king; he will save us.
Yahweh is our judge; he is the one who gives us laws, and he is our king. He will rescue us.
23 Loose hang thy tacklings; they cannot well uphold strongly their mast, they cannot spread the sail. Then are divided booty and spoil in abundance, [even] the lame take the booty.
The ropes on our enemies’ boats will hang loose, their masts will not be fastened firmly, and their sails will not be spread out. The treasures that they have seized will be divided [among us, God’s people], and even lame [people among us] will get some.
24 And no inhabitant shall say, I am sick: the people that dwell therein shall be one whose iniquity is forgiven.
And the people in Jerusalem will no [longer] say, “We are sick,” [because Yahweh] will forgive the sins that have been committed by the people who live there.
