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, spoiler! And you not spoiled, And treacherous! And they did not deal treacherously with you, When you finish, O spoiler, you are spoiled, When you finish dealing treacherously, They deal treacherously with you.
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 YHWH, favor us, We have waited for You, Be their arm, in the mornings, Indeed, our salvation in time of adversity.
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.
From the voice of a multitude peoples have fled, From Your exaltation nations have been scattered.
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.
And Your spoil has been gathered, A gathering of the caterpillar, As a running to and fro of locusts He is running on it.
5 Yahweh is greater than anyone else, and he lives in heaven, and he will rule justly and righteously in Jerusalem.
YHWH is set on high, for He is dwelling on high, He filled Zion [with] judgment 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.
And has been the steadfastness of your times, The strength of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge, Fear of YHWH—it [is] His 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 Ariel,” they have cried outside, Messengers 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.
Highways have been desolated, He who passes along the path has ceased, He has broken covenant, He has despised enemies, He has not esteemed a man.
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 has mourned, languished, Lebanon has been confounded, Sharon has been withered as a wilderness, And Bashan and Carmel are shaking.
10 Yahweh says, “Now I will begin to show that I am very powerful [DOU].
Now I arise, says YHWH, Now I am exalted, now I am lifted up.
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 bear stubble; Your spirit—a fire [that] devours you.
12 [Your] people will be burned until only ashes remain [MET] like [SIM] thornbushes are cut down and burned up in a fire.
And peoples have been [as] burnings of lime, Thorns, as sweepings, they burn with fire.
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.”
Hear, you far off, that which I have done, And know, you near ones, 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!”
Sinners have been afraid in Zion, Trembling has seized the profane: Who dwells for us—consuming fire, Who dwells for us—burnings of the age?
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,
Whoever is walking righteously, And is speaking uprightly, Kicking against gain of oppressions, Shaking his hands from taking hold on a bribe, Stopping his ear from hearing of blood, And shutting his eyes from looking on 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 inhabits high places, Strongholds of rock [are] his high tower, His bread has been given, his waters steadfast.
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 see a king in his beauty, They see a far-off land.
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 heart meditates [on] terror, Where [is] he who is counting? Where [is] he who is weighing? Where [is] he who is counting the towers?
19 Those arrogant people who spoke a language that we could not understand are no longer here!”
You do not see the strong people, A people deeper of lip than to be understood, Of a scorned tongue, there is no understanding.
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.
See Zion, the city of our meetings, Your eyes see Jerusalem—a quiet habitation, A tent not taken down, its pins are not removed forever, And none of its cords are 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 YHWH [is] mighty for us there, A place of rivers—streams of broad sides, No ship with oars goes into it, And a mighty ship does not pass over it.
22 Yahweh is our judge; he is the one who gives us laws, and he is our king. He will rescue us.
For YHWH, ours who is judging, YHWH our lawgiver, YHWH our King—He saves 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 have been left, They do not correctly strengthen their mast, They have not spread out a sail, Then a prey of much spoil has been apportioned, The lame have taken spoil.
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.
Nor does an inhabitant say, “I was sick”; The people dwelling in it [are] forgiven of [their] iniquity!
