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
A Message about Assyria
1What sorrow awaits you Assyrians, who have destroyed others#33:1 Hebrew What sorrow awaits you, O destroyer. The Hebrew text does not specifically name Assyria as the object of the prophecy in this chapter.
but have never been destroyed yourselves.
You betray others,
but you have never been betrayed.
When you are done destroying,
you will be destroyed.
When you are done betraying,
you will be betrayed.
2But Lord, be merciful to us,
for we have waited for you.
Be our strong arm each day
and our salvation in times of trouble.
3The enemy runs at the sound of your voice.
When you stand up, the nations flee!
4Just as caterpillars and locusts strip the fields and vines,
so the fallen army of Assyria will be stripped!
5Though the Lord is very great and lives in heaven,
he will make Jerusalem#33:5 Hebrew Zion; also in 33:14. his home of justice and righteousness.
6In that day he will be your sure foundation,
providing a rich store of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge.
The fear of the Lord will be your treasure.
7But now your brave warriors weep in public.
Your ambassadors of peace cry in bitter disappointment.
8Your roads are deserted;
no one travels them anymore.
The Assyrians have broken their peace treaty
and care nothing for the promises they made before witnesses.#33:8 As in Dead Sea Scrolls; Masoretic Text reads care nothing for the cities.
They have no respect for anyone.
9The land of Israel wilts in mourning.
Lebanon withers with shame.
The plain of Sharon is now a wilderness.
Bashan and Carmel have been plundered.
10But the Lord says: “Now I will stand up.
Now I will show my power and might.
11You Assyrians produce nothing but dry grass and stubble.
Your own breath will turn to fire and consume you.
12Your people will be burned up completely,
like thornbushes cut down and tossed in a fire.
13Listen to what I have done, you nations far away!
And you that are near, acknowledge my might!”
14The sinners in Jerusalem shake with fear.
Terror seizes the godless.
“Who can live with this devouring fire?” they cry.
“Who can survive this all-consuming fire?”
15Those who are honest and fair,
who refuse to profit by fraud,
who stay far away from bribes,
who refuse to listen to those who plot murder,
who shut their eyes to all enticement to do wrong—
16these are the ones who will dwell on high.
The rocks of the mountains will be their fortress.
Food will be supplied to them,
and they will have water in abundance.
17Your eyes will see the king in all his splendor,
and you will see a land that stretches into the distance.
18You will think back to this time of terror, asking,
“Where are the Assyrian officers
who counted our towers?
Where are the bookkeepers
who recorded the plunder taken from our fallen city?”
19You will no longer see these fierce, violent people
with their strange, unknown language.
20Instead, you will see Zion as a place of holy festivals.
You will see Jerusalem, a city quiet and secure.
It will be like a tent whose ropes are taut
and whose stakes are firmly fixed.
21The Lord will be our Mighty One.
He will be like a wide river of protection
that no enemy can cross,
that no enemy ship can sail upon.
22For the Lord is our judge,
our lawgiver, and our king.
He will care for us and save us.
23The enemies’ sails hang loose
on broken masts with useless tackle.
Their treasure will be divided by the people of God.
Even the lame will take their share!
24The people of Israel will no longer say,
“We are sick and helpless,”
for the Lord will forgive their sins.
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