Isaiah 33

1 Alas! thou plunderer when, thou, hadst not been plundered, And thou traitor when they had not betrayed thee: When thou hast ceased plundering, thou shalt be plundered, When thou hast left off betraying, they shall betray thee.

Woe to them that afflict you; but no one makes you miserable: and he that deals perfidiously with you does not deal perfidiously: they that deal perfidiously shall be taken and given up, and as a moth on a garment, so shall they be spoiled.

2 O Yahweh! shew us favour, —For thee, have we waited, —Be thou their arm every morning, Yea our salvation in the time of distress.

Lord, have mercy upon us; for we have trusted in you: the seed of the rebellious is gone to destruction, but our deliverance was in a time of affliction.

3 At the noise of a tumult, the peoples retreated, —When thou didst lift thyself up, nations were scattered.

By reason of the terrible sound the nations were dismayed for fear of you, and the heathen were scattered.

4 Then shall your spoil be gathered as the gathering of the caterpillar, —As the swift running of locusts, is he about to run upon them.

And now shall the spoils of your small and great be gathered: as if one should gather locusts, so shall they mock you.

5 Exalted is Yahweh, for he inhabiteth a height, —He hath filled Zion with justice and righteousness.

The God who dwells on high is holy: Sion is filled with judgment and righteousness.

6 So shall a wealth of deliverances, wisdom and knowledge, become the stability of thy times, —the reverence of Yahweh, the same is his treasure.

They shall be delivered up to the law: our salvation is our treasure: there are wisdom and knowledge and piety toward the Lord; these are the treasures of righteousness.

7 Lo! their heroes, have cried out openly, —the messengers of peace, in bitterness, continue weeping [they say]:

Behold now, these shall be terrified with fear of you: those whom you feared shall cry out because of you: messengers shall be sent, bitterly weeping, entreating for peace.

8 The highways are deserted, The passer-by on the path, hath ceased, —He hath broken covenant, He hath despised cities, He hath made no account of men.

For the ways of these shall be made desolate: the terror of the nations has been made to cease, and the covenant with these is taken away, and you shall by no means deem them men.

9 The land mourneth, languisheth, Lebanon, displayeth shame, is withered, —Sharon, hath become, as the waste plain, And Bashan and Carmel are shaking off their leaves.

The land mourns; Libanus is ashamed: Saron is become marshes; Galilee shall be laid bare, and Chermel.

10 Now, will I arise, Saith Yahweh, Now, will I lift myself up, Now, will I be exalted!

Now will I arise, says the Lord, now will I be glorified; now will I be exalted.

11 Ye shall conceive chaff Ye shall bring forth stubble, —Your own breath, like fire, shall devour you.

Now shall you see, now shall you perceive; the strength of your breath, shall be vain; fire shall devour you.

12 So shall peoples, become, as the burnings of lime, —As thorns lopped off, with fire, shall they be burned.

And the nations shall be burnt up; as a thorn in the field cast out and burnt up.

13 Hear—ye that are far off. what I have done, And know—ye that are near my might:

They that are afar off shall hear what I have done; they that draw near shall know my strength.

14 Terror-stricken in Zion, —are sinners, Shuddering hath seized the impious, —Who among us can sojourn with a fire that devoureth? Who among us can sojourn with burnings age-abiding?

The sinners in Sion have departed; trembling shall seize the ungodly. Who will tell you that a fire is kindled? Who will tell you of the eternal place?

15 He that walketh righteously, And speaketh uprightly, —He that refuseth the gain of exactions That shaketh his hands free from holding a bribe, That stoppeth his ear from hearkening to deeds of blood, And shutteth his eyes from giving countenance to wrong,

He that walks in righteousness, speaking rightly, hating transgression and iniquity, and shaking his hands from gifts, stopping his ears that he should not hear the judgment of blood, shutting his eyes that he should not see injustice.

16 He, the heights, shall inhabit, A stronghold of crags, shall be his refuge, —His bread, hath been delivered, His waters, have been made sure,

he shall dwell in a high cave of a strong rock: bread shall be given him, and his water shall be sure.

17 Of a king, in his beauty, shall thine eyes have vision: They shall see a land that stretcheth afar.

You shall see a king with glory: your eyes shall behold a land from afar.

18 Thy heart, may murmur in terror, —Where is the scribe? Where—the receiver? Where—he that maketh a list of the towers?

Your soul shall meditate terror. Where are the scribes? where are the counselors, where is he that numbers them that are growing up,

19 The fierce people, shalt thou not see, —The people of too deep a lip to be understood, of too barbarous a tongue for thee to comprehend.

[even] the small and great people? with whom he took not counsel, neither did he understand [a people] of deep speech, so that a despised people should not hear, and there is no understanding to him that hears.

20 Look thou on Zion, the city of our appointed feast, —Thine own eyes, shall see Jerusalem—A home of comfort A tent which shall not be packed up—Whose pins shall not be pulled out, for ever, And none of, whose cords, shall be broken.

Behold the city of Sion, our refuge: your eyes shall behold Jerusalem, a rich city, tabernacles which shall not be shaken, neither shall the pins of her tabernacle be moved for ever, neither shall her cords be at all broken:

21 But, there shall Yahweh be our majestic one, A place of rivers—streams broad on both hands, Wherein shall go no galley with oars, Neither shall majestic ship traverse it;

for the name of the Lord is great to you: you shall have a place, [even] rivers and wide and spacious channels: you shall not go this way, neither a vessel with oars go [thereby].

22 For, Yahweh is our judge, Yahweh, is our lawgiver, —Yahweh, is our king, He will save us!

For my God is great: the Lord our judge shall not pass me by: the Lord is our prince, the Lord is our king; the Lord, he shall save us.

23 Loosed are thy ropes, —They cannot strengthen the socket of their mast They have not unfurled a sail Now, can be apportioned spoil, in abundance, The lame, have captured prey!

Your cords are broken, for they had no strength: your meat has given way, it shall not spread the sails, it shall not bear a signal, until it be given up for plunder; therefore shall many lame men take spoil.

24 Neither shall the inhabitant say. I am sick, —the people who dwell therein, have been forgiven iniquity.

And the people dwelling among them shall by no means say, I am in pain: for their sin shall be forgiven them.