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 thee that layest waste, and thou [wast] not laid waste; and dealest treacherously, and they dealt not treacherously with thee! when thou shalt cease to lay waste, thou shalt be wasted; [and] when thou shalt make an end to deal treacherously, they shall deal treacherously with thee.

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.

O LORD, be gracious to us; we have waited for thee: be thou their arm every morning, our salvation also in the time of trouble.

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

At the noise of the tumult the people fled; at the lifting up of thyself the nations 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 your spoil shall be gathered [like] the gathering of the caterpillar: as the running to and fro of locusts shall he run upon them.

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

The LORD is exalted; for he dwelleth on high: he hath filled Zion 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.

And wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of thy times, [and] strength of salvation: the fear of the LORD [is] his treasure.

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

Behold, their valiant ones shall cry without: the embassadors of peace shall weep bitterly.

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.

The highways lie waste, the way-faring man ceaseth: he hath broken the covenant, he hath despised the cities, he regardeth no man.

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 earth mourneth [and] languisheth: Lebanon is ashamed [and] hewn down: Sharon is like a wilderness; and Bashan and Carmel shake off [their fruits].

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

Now will I rise, saith the LORD; now will I be exalted; now will I lift up myself.

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

Ye shall conceive chaff, ye shall bring forth stubble: your breath, [as] 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 people shall be [as] the burnings of lime: [as] thorns cut up shall they be burned in the fire.

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

Ye [that are] far off, hear what I have done; and ye [that are] near, acknowledge my might.

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 Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?

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 walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil;

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 on high: his place of defense [shall be] the munitions of rocks: bread shall be given him; his waters [shall be] sure.

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

Thy eyes shall see the king in his beauty: they shall behold the land that is very far off.

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

Thy heart shall meditate terror. Where [is] the scribe? where [is] the receiver? where [is] he that counted the towers?

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.

Thou shalt not see a fierce people, a people of deeper speech than thou canst perceive; of a stammering tongue, [that thou canst] not understand.

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.

Look upon Zion, the city of our solemnities: thy eyes shall see Jerusalem a quiet habitation, a tabernacle [that] shall not be taken down; not one of its stakes shall ever be removed, neither shall any of its cords be 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;

But there the glorious LORD [will be] to us a place of broad rivers [and] streams; in which shall go no galley with oars, neither shall gallant ship pass through it.

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

For the LORD [is] our judge, the LORD [is] our lawgiver, the LORD [is] our king; he will 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!

Thy tacklings are loosed; they could not well strengthen their mast, they could not spread the sail: then is the prey of a great spoil divided; the lame take the prey.

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

And the inhabitants shall not say, I am sick: the people that dwell therein [shall be] forgiven [their] iniquity.