Isaiah 33
1 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.
Woe to you, O destroyer never destroyed, O traitor never betrayed! When you have finished destroying, you will be destroyed. When you have finished betraying, you will be betrayed.
2 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.
O LORD, be gracious to us! We wait for You. Be our strength every morning and our salvation in time of trouble.
3 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.
The peoples flee the thunder of Your voice; the nations scatter when You rise.
4 [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.
Your spoil, O nations, is gathered as by locusts; like a swarm of locusts men sweep over it.
5 Yahweh is greater than anyone else, and he lives in heaven, and he will rule justly and righteously in Jerusalem.
The LORD is exalted, for He dwells on high; He has filled Zion with justice and righteousness.
6 [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.
He will be the sure foundation for your times, a storehouse of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge. The fear of the LORD is Zion’s treasure.
7 [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].
Behold, their valiant ones cry aloud in the streets; the envoys of peace weep bitterly.
8 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.
The highways are deserted; travel has ceased. The treaty has been broken, the witnesses are despised, and human life is disregarded.
9 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].
The land mourns and languishes; Lebanon is ashamed and decayed. Sharon is like a desert; Bashan and Carmel shake off their leaves.
10 Yahweh says, “Now I will begin to show that I am very powerful [DOU].
“Now I will arise,” says the LORD. “Now I will lift Myself up. Now I will be exalted.
11 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.
You conceive chaff; you give birth to stubble. Your breath is a fire that will consume you.
12 [Your] people will be burned until only ashes remain [MET] like [SIM] thornbushes are cut down and burned up in a fire.
The peoples will be burned to ashes, like thorns cut down and set ablaze.
13 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.”
You who are far off, hear what I have done; you who are near, acknowledge My might.”
14 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!”
The sinners in Zion are afraid; trembling grips the ungodly: “Who of us can dwell with a consuming fire? Who of us can dwell with everlasting flames?”
15 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,
He who walks righteously and speaks with sincerity, who refuses gain from extortion, whose hand never takes a bribe, who stops his ears against murderous plots and shuts his eyes tightly against evil—
16 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.
he will dwell on the heights; the mountain fortress will be his refuge; his food will be provided and his water assured.
17 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.
Your eyes will see the King in His beauty and behold a land that stretches afar.
18 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]!
Your mind will ponder the former terror: “Where is he who tallies? Where is he who weighs? Where is he who counts the towers?”
19 Those arrogant people who spoke a language that we could not understand are no longer here!”
You will no longer see the insolent, a people whose speech is unintelligible, who stammer in a language you cannot understand.
20 [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.
Look upon Zion, the city of our appointed feasts. Your eyes will see Jerusalem, a peaceful pasture, a tent that does not wander; its tent pegs will not be pulled up, nor will any of its cords be broken.
21 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.
But there the Majestic One, our LORD, will be for us a place of rivers and wide canals, where no galley with oars will row, and no majestic vessel will pass.
22 Yahweh is our judge; he is the one who gives us laws, and he is our king. He will rescue us.
For the LORD is our Judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our King. It is He who will save us.
23 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.
Your ropes are slack; they cannot secure the mast or spread the sail. Then an abundance of spoils will be divided, and even the lame will carry off plunder.
24 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.
And no resident of Zion will say, “I am sick.” The people who dwell there will be forgiven of iniquity.
