Isaiah 33
33
A Prayer in Deep Distress
1Woe to you #Is. 21:2; Hab. 2:8who plunder, though you have not been plundered;
And you who deal treacherously, though they have not dealt treacherously with you!
#Rev. 13:10When you cease plundering,
You will be #Is. 10:12; 14:25; 31:8plundered;
When you make an end of dealing treacherously,
They will deal treacherously with you.
2O Lord, be gracious to us;
#Is. 25:9; 26:8We have waited for You.
Be their arm every morning,
Our salvation also in the time of trouble.
3At the noise of the tumult the people #Is. 17:13shall flee;
When You lift Yourself up, the nations shall be scattered;
4And Your plunder shall be gathered
Like the gathering of the caterpillar;
As the running to and fro of locusts,
He shall run upon them.
5#Ps. 97:9The Lord is exalted, for He dwells on high;
He has filled Zion with justice and righteousness.
6Wisdom and knowledge will be the stability of your times,
And the strength of salvation;
The fear of the Lord is His treasure.
7Surely their valiant ones shall cry outside,
#2 Kin. 18:18, 37The ambassadors of peace shall weep bitterly.
8#Judg. 5:6The highways lie waste,
The traveling man ceases.
#2 Kin. 18:13–17He has broken the covenant,
He has despised the cities,
He regards no man.
9#Is. 24:4The earth mourns and languishes,
Lebanon is shamed and shriveled;
Sharon is like a wilderness,
And Bashan and Carmel shake off their fruits.
Impending Judgment on Zion
10“Now#Ps. 12:5; Is. 2:19, 21 I will rise,” says the Lord;
“Now I will be exalted,
Now I will lift Myself up.
11#(Ps. 7:14; Is. 26:18; 59:4; James 1:15)You shall conceive chaff,
You shall bring forth stubble;
Your breath, as fire, shall devour you.
12And the people shall be like the burnings of lime;
#Is. 9:18Like thorns cut up they shall be burned in the fire.
13Hear, #Ps. 48:10; Is. 49:1you who are afar off, what I have done;
And you who are near, acknowledge My might.”
14The sinners in Zion are afraid;
Fearfulness has seized the hypocrites:
“Who among us shall dwell with the devouring #Is. 30:27, 30; Heb. 12:29fire?
Who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?”
15He who #Ps. 15:2; 24:3, 4; Is. 58:6–11walks righteously and speaks uprightly,
He who despises the gain of oppressions,
Who gestures with his hands, refusing bribes,
Who stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed,
And #Ps. 119:37shuts his eyes from seeing evil:
16He will dwell on high;
His place of defense will be the fortress of rocks;
Bread will be given him,
His water will be sure.
The Land of the Majestic King
17Your eyes will see the King in His #Ps. 27:4beauty;
They will see the land that is very far off.
18Your heart will meditate on terror:
#1 Cor. 1:20“Where is the scribe?
Where is he who weighs?
Where is he who counts the towers?”
19#2 Kin. 19:32You will not see a fierce people,
#Deut. 28:49, 50; Is. 28:11; Jer. 5:15A people of obscure speech, beyond perception,
Of a stammering tongue that you cannot understand.
20#Ps. 48:12Look upon Zion, the city of our appointed feasts;
Your eyes will see #Ps. 46:5; 125:1; Is. 32:18Jerusalem, a quiet home,
A tabernacle that will not be taken down;
#Is. 37:33Not one of #Is. 54:2its stakes will ever be removed,
Nor will any of its cords be broken.
21But there the majestic Lord will be for us
A place of broad rivers and streams,
In which no galley with oars will sail,
Nor majestic ships pass by
22(For the Lord is our #(Acts 10:42)Judge,
The Lord is our #Is. 1:10; 51:4, 7; James 4:12Lawgiver,
#Ps. 89:18; Is. 25:9; 35:4; Zech. 9:9The Lord is our King;
He will save us);
23Your tackle is loosed,
They could not strengthen their mast,
They could not spread the sail.
Then the prey of great plunder is divided;
The lame take the prey.
24And the inhabitant will not say, “I am sick”;
#Is. 40:2; Jer. 50:20; Mic. 7:18, 19; 1 John 1:7–9The people who dwell in it will be forgiven their iniquity.
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Isaiah 33: NKJV
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The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
Isaiah 33
33
Jerusalem Will Be Safe
1You defeated my people.
Now you're in for trouble!
You've never been destroyed,
but you will be destroyed;
you've never been betrayed,
but you will be betrayed.
When you have finished
destroying and betraying,
you will be destroyed
and betrayed in return.
2Please, Lord, be kind to us!
We depend on you.
Make us strong each morning,
and come to save us
when we are in trouble.
3Nations scatter when you roar
and show your greatness.#33.3 greatness: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 3.
4We attack our enemies
like swarms of locusts;#33.4 locusts: Insects like grasshoppers that travel in swarms and cause great damage to crops.
we take everything
that belongs to them.#33.4 them: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 4.
5You, Lord, are above all others,
and you live in the heavens.
You have brought justice
and fairness to Jerusalem;
6you are the foundation
on which we stand today.
You always save us and give
true wisdom and knowledge.
Nothing means more to us#33.6 Nothing … us: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
than obeying you.
The Lord Will Do Something
7Listen! Our bravest soldiers
are running through the streets,
screaming for help.#33.7 Listen … help: Or “The Lord heard our shouts and will come to help us.”
Our messengers hoped for peace,
but came home crying.
8No one travels anymore;
every road is empty.
Treaties are broken,
and no respect is shown
to any who keep promises.#33.8 to any … promises: The Dead Sea Scrolls; the Standard Hebrew Text “to those in the cities.”
9Fields are dry and barren;
Mount Lebanon wilts
with shame.
Sharon Valley is a desert;
the forests of Bashan and Carmel
have lost their leaves.
10But the Lord says,
“Now I will do something
and be greatly praised.
11Your deeds are straw
that will be set on fire
by your very own breath.
12You will be burned to ashes
like thorns in a fire.
13Everyone, both far and near,
come look at what I have done.
See my mighty power!”
Punishment and Rewards
14Those terrible sinners
on Mount Zion tremble
as they ask in fear,
“How can we possibly live
where a raging fire
never stops burning?”
15But there will be rewards
for those who live right
and tell the truth,
for those who refuse
to take money by force
or accept bribes,
for all who hate murder
and violent crimes.
16They will live in a fortress
high on a rocky cliff,
where they will have food
and plenty of water.
The Lord Is Our King
17With your own eyes
you will see the glorious King;
you will see his kingdom
reaching far and wide.
18Then you will ask yourself,
“Where are those officials
who terrified us and forced us
to pay such heavy taxes?”
19You will never again have to see
the proud people who spoke
a strange and foreign language
you could not understand.
20Look to Mount Zion
where we celebrate
our religious festivals.
You will see Jerusalem,
secure as a tent with pegs
that cannot be pulled up
and fastened with ropes
that can never be broken.
21Our wonderful Lord
will be with us!
There will be deep rivers
and wide streams
safe from enemy ships.#33.21 safe … ships: This probably means that Jerusalem will have a lot of water, without the danger of attacks from enemy ships.
The Lord Is Our Judge
22The Lord is our judge
and our ruler;
the Lord is our king
and will keep us safe.
23But your nation#33.23 your nation: Possibly Judah or Assyria. is a ship
with its rigging loose,
its mast shaky,
and its sail not spread.
Someday even you that are lame
will take everything you want
from your enemies.
24The Lord will forgive your sins,
and none of you will say,
“I feel sick.”
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.