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A Prophecy of Deliverance from Foes

33 Woe to the destroyer,
    who yourself have not been destroyed;
you treacherous one,
    with whom no one has dealt treacherously!
When you have ceased to destroy,
    you will be destroyed;
and when you have stopped dealing treacherously,
    you will be dealt with treacherously.(A)

O Lord, be gracious to us; we wait for you.
    Be our arm every morning,
    our salvation in the time of trouble.(B)
At the sound of tumult, peoples fled;
    before your majesty, nations scattered.(C)
Spoil was gathered as the caterpillar gathers;
    as locusts leap, they leaped[a] upon it.
The Lord is exalted; he dwells on high;
    he filled Zion with justice and righteousness;(D)
he will be the stability of your times,
    abundance of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge;
    the fear of the Lord is Zion’s treasure.[b](E)

Listen! The people of Ariel[c] cry out in the streets;
    the envoys of peace weep bitterly.(F)
The highways are deserted;
    travelers have quit the road.
The treaty is broken;
    its oaths[d] are despised,
    the people are disregarded.
The land mourns and languishes;
    Lebanon is confounded and withers away;
Sharon is like a desert,
    and Bashan and Carmel shake off their leaves.

10 “Now I will arise,” says the Lord,
    “now I will lift myself up;
    now I will be exalted.
11 You conceive chaff; you bring forth stubble;
    wind like a fire[e] will consume you.
12 And the peoples will be as if burned to lime,
    like thorns cut down that are burned in the fire.”

13 Hear, you who are far away, what I have done,
    and you who are near, acknowledge my might.
14 The sinners in Zion are afraid;
    trembling has seized the godless:
“Who among us can live with the devouring fire?
    Who among us can live with everlasting flames?”
15 Those who walk righteously and speak uprightly,
    who despise the gain of oppression,
who wave away a bribe instead of accepting it,
    who stop their ears from hearing of bloodshed
    and shut their eyes from looking on evil,
16 they will live on the heights;
    their refuge will be the fortresses of rocks;
    their food will be supplied, their water assured.

The Land of the Majestic King

17 Your eyes will see the king in his beauty;
    they will behold a land that stretches far away.
18 Your mind will muse on the terror:
    “Where is the one who counted?
    Where is the one who weighed the tribute?
    Where is the one who counted the towers?”(G)
19 No longer will you see the insolent people,
    the people of an obscure speech that you cannot comprehend,
    stammering in a language that you cannot understand.(H)
20 Look on Zion, the city of our appointed festivals!
    Your eyes will see Jerusalem,
    a quiet habitation, an immovable tent
whose stakes will never be pulled up
    and none of whose ropes will be broken.(I)
21 But there the Lord in majesty will be for us
    a place of broad rivers and streams
where no galley with oars can go
    nor stately ship can pass.(J)
22 For the Lord is our judge; the Lord is our ruler;
    the Lord is our king; he will save us.(K)

23 Your rigging hangs loose;
    it cannot hold the mast firm in its place
    or keep the sail spread out.

Then the blind will divide abundant spoil,[f]
    and the lame will take plunder.(L)
24 And no inhabitant will say, “I am sick”;
    the people who live there will be forgiven their iniquity.(M)

Footnotes

  1. 33.4 Meaning of Heb uncertain
  2. 33.6 Heb his treasure
  3. 33.7 Heb mss: Meaning of MT uncertain
  4. 33.8 Q ms: MT cities
  5. 33.11 Cn: Heb your breath
  6. 33.23 Cn: Heb Then prey and spoil in abundance will be divided

Distress and Help

33 Woe(A) to you, destroyer,
    you who have not been destroyed!
Woe to you, betrayer,
    you who have not been betrayed!
When you stop destroying,
    you will be destroyed;(B)
when you stop betraying,
    you will be betrayed.(C)

Lord, be gracious(D) to us;
    we long for you.
Be our strength(E) every morning,
    our salvation(F) in time of distress.(G)
At the uproar of your army,(H) the peoples flee;(I)
    when you rise up,(J) the nations scatter.
Your plunder,(K) O nations, is harvested(L) as by young locusts;(M)
    like a swarm of locusts people pounce on it.

The Lord is exalted,(N) for he dwells on high;(O)
    he will fill Zion with his justice(P) and righteousness.(Q)
He will be the sure foundation for your times,
    a rich store of salvation(R) and wisdom and knowledge;
    the fear(S) of the Lord is the key to this treasure.[a](T)

Look, their brave men(U) cry aloud in the streets;
    the envoys(V) of peace weep bitterly.
The highways are deserted,
    no travelers(W) are on the roads.(X)
The treaty is broken,(Y)
    its witnesses[b] are despised,
    no one is respected.
The land dries up(Z) and wastes away,
    Lebanon(AA) is ashamed and withers;(AB)
Sharon(AC) is like the Arabah,
    and Bashan(AD) and Carmel(AE) drop their leaves.

10 “Now will I arise,(AF)” says the Lord.
    “Now will I be exalted;(AG)
    now will I be lifted up.
11 You conceive(AH) chaff,
    you give birth(AI) to straw;
    your breath is a fire(AJ) that consumes you.
12 The peoples will be burned to ashes;(AK)
    like cut thornbushes(AL) they will be set ablaze.(AM)

13 You who are far away,(AN) hear(AO) what I have done;
    you who are near, acknowledge my power!
14 The sinners(AP) in Zion are terrified;
    trembling(AQ) grips the godless:
“Who of us can dwell with the consuming fire?(AR)
    Who of us can dwell with everlasting burning?”
15 Those who walk righteously(AS)
    and speak what is right,(AT)
who reject gain from extortion(AU)
    and keep their hands from accepting bribes,(AV)
who stop their ears against plots of murder
    and shut their eyes(AW) against contemplating evil—
16 they are the ones who will dwell on the heights,(AX)
    whose refuge(AY) will be the mountain fortress.(AZ)
Their bread will be supplied,
    and water will not fail(BA) them.

17 Your eyes will see the king(BB) in his beauty(BC)
    and view a land that stretches afar.(BD)
18 In your thoughts you will ponder the former terror:(BE)
    “Where is that chief officer?
Where is the one who took the revenue?
    Where is the officer in charge of the towers?(BF)
19 You will see those arrogant people(BG) no more,
    people whose speech is obscure,
    whose language is strange and incomprehensible.(BH)

20 Look on Zion,(BI) the city of our festivals;
    your eyes will see Jerusalem,
    a peaceful abode,(BJ) a tent(BK) that will not be moved;(BL)
its stakes will never be pulled up,
    nor any of its ropes broken.
21 There the Lord will be our Mighty(BM) One.
    It will be like a place of broad rivers and streams.(BN)
No galley with oars will ride them,
    no mighty ship(BO) will sail them.
22 For the Lord is our judge,(BP)
    the Lord is our lawgiver,(BQ)
the Lord is our king;(BR)
    it is he who will save(BS) us.

23 Your rigging hangs loose:
    The mast is not held secure,
    the sail is not spread.
Then an abundance of spoils will be divided
    and even the lame(BT) will carry off plunder.(BU)
24 No one living in Zion will say, “I am ill”;(BV)
    and the sins of those who dwell there will be forgiven.(BW)

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 33:6 Or is a treasure from him
  2. Isaiah 33:8 Dead Sea Scrolls; Masoretic Text / the cities