Isaiah 33
1 Woe to you, destroyer who has not been destroyed! Woe to the betrayer whom they have not betrayed! When you stop destroying, you will be destroyed. When you stop betraying, they will betray you.
Woe to thee that spoilest, shalt not thou thyself also be spoiled? and thou that despisest, shalt not thyself also be despised? when thou shalt have made an end of spoiling, thou shalt be spoiled: when being wearied thou shalt cease to despise, thou shalt be despised.
2 Yahweh, be gracious to us; we wait for you; be our arm every morning, our salvation in the time of trouble.
O Lord, have mercy on us: for we have waited for thee: be thou our arm in the morning, and our salvation in the time of trouble.
3 At the loud noise the peoples flee; when you arise, the nations are scattered.
At the voice of the angel the people fled, and at the lifting up thyself the nations are scattered.
4 Your spoil is gathered as the locusts gather; as locusts leap, men leap on it.
And your spoils shall be gathered together as the locusts are gathered, as when the ditches are full of them.
5 Yahweh is exalted. He lives in a high place. He will fill Zion with justice and righteousness.
The Lord is magnified, for he hath dwelt on high: he hath filled Sion with judgment and justice.
6 He will be the stability in your times, abundance of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge; the fear of Yahweh is his treasure.
And there shall be faith in thy times: riches of salvation, wisdom and knowledge: the fear of the Lord is his treasure.
7 Look, their envoys cry in the streets; the diplomats hoping for peace weep bitterly.
Behold they that see shall cry without, the angels of peace shall weep bitterly.
8 The highways are deserted; there are no more travelers. Covenants are broken, witnesses are despised, and mankind is not respected.
The ways are made desolate, no one passeth by the road, the covenant is made void, he hath rejected the cities, he hath not regarded the men.
9 The land mourns and withers away; Lebanon is ashamed and withers away; Sharon is like a desert plain; and Bashan and Carmel shake off their leaves.
The land hath mourned, and languished: Libanus is confounded and become foul, and Saron is become as a desert: and Basan and Carmel are shaken.
10 “Now will I arise,” says Yahweh; “now I will be lifted up; now I will be elevated.
Now will I rise up, saith the Lord: now will I be exalted, now will I lift up myself.
11 You conceive chaff, and you give birth to stubble; your breath is a fire that will consume you.
You shall conceive heat, you shall bring forth stubble: your breath as fire shall devour you.
12 The peoples will be burned to lime, as thornbushes are cut down and are burned.
And the people shall be as ashes after a fire, as a bundle of thorns they shall be burnt with fire.
13 You who are far away, hear what I have done; and, you who are near, acknowledge my might.”
Hear, you that are far off, what I have done, and you that are near know my strength.
14 The sinners in Zion are afraid; trembling has seized the godless ones. Who among us can sojourn with a raging fire? Who among us can sojourn with everlasting burnings?
The sinners in Sion are afraid, trembling hath seized upon the hypocrites. Which of you can dwell with devouring fire? which of you shall dwell with everlasting burnings?
15 He who walks righteously and speaks honestly; who despises the gain of oppression, who shakes his hand so that it will not accept a bribe, who stops his ears from hearing about bloodshed, and who shuts his eyes from looking on evil—
He that walketh in justices, and speaketh truth, that casteth away avarice by oppression, and shaketh his hands from all bribes, that stoppeth his ears lest he hear blood, and shutteth his eyes that he may see no evil.
16 this is the man who will dwell on the heights, his place of defense will be the fortress among the cliffs, his food will be given, and his water will be in steady supply.
He shall dwell on high, the fortifications of rocks shall be his highness: bread is given him, his waters are sure.
17 Your eyes will see the king in his beauty; they will see a land off in the distance.
His eyes shall see the king in his beauty, they shall see the land far off.
18 Your heart will recall the terror; where is the scribe, where is he who weighed the money? Where is he who counted the towers?
Thy heart shall meditate fear: where is the learned? where is he that pondereth the words of the law? where is the teacher of little ones?
19 You will no longer see the defiant people, a people of a strange language that you do not understand.
The shameless people thou shalt not see, the people of profound speech: so that thou canst not understand the eloquence of his tongue, in whom there is no wisdom.
20 Look at Zion, the city of our feasts; your eyes will see Jerusalem as a quiet habitation, a tent that will not be removed, whose stakes will never be pulled up nor will any of its cords be broken.
Look upon Sion the city of our solemnity: thy eyes shall see Jerusalem, a rich habitation, a tabernacle that cannot be removed: neither shall the nails thereof be taken away for ever, neither shall any of the cords thereof be broken:
21 Instead, Yahweh in majesty will be with us, in a place of broad rivers and streams. No warship with oars will travel it, and no large ships will sail by.
Because only there our Lord is magnificent: it place of rivers, very broad and spacious streams: no ship with oars shall pass by it, neither shall the great galley 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 Your riggings are slack; they cannot hold the mast in place; they cannot spread the sail; when the great spoil is divided, even the lame will drag off the spoil.
Thy tacklings are loosed, and they shall be of no strength: thy mast shall be in such condition, that thou shalt not be able to spread the flag. Then shall the spoils of much prey be divided: the lame shall take the spoil.
24 The inhabitants will not say, “I am sick;” the people who live there will be forgiven for their iniquity.
Neither shall he that is near, say: I am feeble. The people that dwell therein, shall have their iniquity taken away from them.
