Isaiah 33
1 Woe to thee, thou spoiler, who hast not been spoiled! Thou plunderer, who hast not been plundered! When thou hast ceased to spoil, thou shalt be spoiled; When thou hast finished plundering, they shall plunder 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 Jehovah, have mercy upon us! in thee do we trust; Be thou our strength every morning, 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 voice of thy thunder the people flee; When thou dost arise, the nations are 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 Your spoil shall be gathered, as the locust gathereth; As the locust runneth, so shall they run upon 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 Jehovah is exalted; Yea, he dwelleth on high; He filleth 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 There shall be security in thy times; Wisdom and knowledge shall be thy store of prosperity, And the fear of Jehovah, this shall be thy 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, the mighty men 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 are desolate; The traveller ceaseth; He breaketh the covenant; he despiseth the cities; Of men he maketh no account.
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 The land mourneth and languisheth; Lebanon is put to shame, and withered away; Sharon is like a desert, And Bashan and Carmel are stripped of their leaves.
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 Jehovah, Now will I exalt myself, Now will I lift myself up.
Yahweh says, “Now I will begin to show that I am very powerful [DOU].
11 Ye shall conceive chaff, and bring forth stubble; Your own wrath is the 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 The nations shall be burnt into lime; Like thorns cut down, they shall be consumed with 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 that are far off, what I have done; Mark, ye that are near, my power!
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 The sinners in Zion are struck with dread; Terror hath seized upon the unrighteous: “Who among us can dwell in devouring fire? Who among us can dwell in everlasting flames?”
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 that which is right, That despiseth the gain of oppression, And shaketh his hands from bribery, That stoppeth his ears, so as not to hear of blood, And shutteth his eyes, so as not to behold iniquity.
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; The strongholds of rocks shall be his defence; His bread shall be given him; His water shall not fail.
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 Thine eyes shall see the king in his glory They shall survey a wide-extended 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 the past terror: “Where now is the scribe? Where the weigher of tribute? Where he that numbered 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 Thou shalt see no more a fierce people, A people of a dark language, which thou couldst not hear, And of a barbarous tongue, which thou couldst not understand;
Those arrogant people who spoke a language that we could not understand are no longer here!”
20 Thou shalt see Zion, the city of our solemn feasts; Thine eyes shall behold Jerusalem, as a quiet habitation. A tent that shall never be moved, Whose stakes shall never be taken away, And whose cords shall never be broken.
[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 For there the glorious Jehovah will be to us Instead of rivers and broad streams, Which no oared galley shall pass, And no gallant ship go through.
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 Jehovah is our judge; Jehovah is our lawgiver; Jehovah is our king; it is he that 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 Thy ropes hang loose; They cannot hold the mast-socket, Nor can they spread the sail. Then shall a great spoil be divided; Even the lame shall take the prey.
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 No inhabitant shall say, I am sick; The people that dwell therein shall be forgiven their iniquity.
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.
