Isaiah 33
33
A Prophecy of Deliverance
1#Isa 21:2; Mt 7:2 Woe to you, O destroyer,
though you were not destroyed,
and he who is treacherous,
though others did not deal treacherously with you!
When you cease destroying,
you shall be destroyed;
and when you finish dealing treacherously,
others shall deal treacherously with you.
2#Isa 25:9; 26:8 O Lord, be gracious to us;
we have waited for You.
Be our strength every morning,
our salvation also in the time of trouble.
3At the noise of the tumult, the people flee;
at the lifting up of Yourself, the nations scatter;
4your spoil is gathered like the caterpillar gathers;
as locusts rush about, men rush about on it.
5#Isa 2:17 The Lord is exalted, for He dwells on high;
He has filled Zion with justice and righteousness.
6#Mt 6:33; Ps 112:1–3 He shall be the stability of your times,
a wealth of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge;
the fear of the Lord is His treasure.
7#2Ki 18:18; Isa 36:22 Listen! Their valiant ones cry in the streets;
the ambassadors of peace weep bitterly.
8#Jdg 5:6 The highways lie waste,
the wayfaring man ceases.
He has broken the covenant,
he has despised the cities,
he has no regard for man.
9#Isa 35:2; 65:10 The earth mourns and languishes;
Lebanon is ashamed and hewn down.
Sharon is like a wilderness,
and Bashan and Carmel shake off their fruits.
Impending Judgment on Israel
10#Ps 12:5 “Now I will rise,” says the Lord,
“now I will be exalted,
now I will be lifted up.
11#Ps 7:14; Isa 59:4 You have conceived chaff,
you shall bring forth stubble;
My breath, as fire, shall devour you.
12#2Sa 23:6–7; Isa 27:4 The people shall be burned to lime,
as thorns cut up are burned in the fire.”
13#Ps 48:10; Isa 49:1 Hear what I have done, you who are far away;
and you who are near, acknowledge My might.
14#Heb 12:29; Isa 66:24 The sinners in Zion are afraid;
fearfulness has seized the hypocrites:
“Who among us can live with the continual fire?
Who among us can live with everlasting burning?”
15#Ps 119:37 He who walks righteously
and speaks uprightly,
he who rejects unjust gain
and shakes his hands from holding bribes,
who stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed,
and shuts his eyes from seeing evil:
16He shall dwell on high;
his place of defense shall be the impregnable rock;
his bread shall be given him,
his waters shall be sure.
The Land of the Majestic King
17#Isa 6:5 Your eyes shall see the King in His beauty;
they shall see the land that is very far away.
18#2Ki 18:14; 1Co 1:20 Your heart shall meditate on terror:
“Where is he who counts?
Where is he who weighs?
Where is he who counts the towers?”
19#Isa 28:11; Dt 28:49–50 You shall not see a fierce people any more,
a people of unintelligible speech which no one comprehends,
of a stammering tongue which no one understands.
20#Ps 46:5; Isa 32:18 Look upon Zion, the city of our appointed feasts;
your eyes shall see Jerusalem,
a quiet habitation, a tabernacle that shall not be taken down;
not one of its stakes shall ever be removed,
nor shall any of its cords be broken.
21#Ps 46:4–5 But there the glorious Lord will be to us
a place of broad rivers and streams
on which no boat with oars shall go
and on which no gallant ship shall pass,
22#Jas 4:12; Ps 89:18 for the Lord is our judge,
the Lord is our lawgiver,
the Lord is our king;
He will save us.
23#2Ki 7:8; Ps 68:12 Your tackle hangs loose;
it cannot hold the base of its mast securely,
nor spread out the sail.
Then the prey of an abundant spoil shall be divided;
the lame shall take the prey.
24#Jer 50:20; 1Jn 1:7–9 The inhabitant shall not say, “I am sick”;
the people who dwell there shall be forgiven their iniquity.
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Isaiah 33: MEV
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Military Bible Association
Isaiah 33
33
The Lord Will Restore Zion
1 The destroyer is as good as dead,#tn Heb “Woe [to] the destroyer.”sn In this context “the destroyer” appears to refer collectively to the hostile nations (vv. 3-4). Assyria would probably have been primary in the minds of the prophet and his audience.
you who have not been destroyed!
The deceitful one is as good as dead,#tn Heb “and the deceitful one”; NAB, NIV “O traitor”; NRSV “you treacherous one.” In the parallel structure הוֹי (hoy, “woe [to]”) does double duty.
the one whom others have not deceived!
When you are through destroying, you will be destroyed;
when you finish#tc The form in the Hebrew text appears to derive from an otherwise unattested verb נָלָה (nalah). The translation follows the Qumran scroll 1QIsaa in reading ככלתך, a Piel infinitival form from the verbal root כָּלָה (kalah), meaning “finish.” deceiving, others will deceive you!
2 Lord, be merciful to us! We wait for you.
Give us strength each morning!#tn Heb “Be their arm each morning.” “Arm” is a symbol for strength. The mem suffixed to the noun has been traditionally understood as a third person suffix, but this is contrary to the context, where the people speak of themselves in the first person. The mem (מ) is probably enclitic with ellipsis of the pronoun, which can be supplied from the context. See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:589, n. 1.
Deliver us when distress comes.#tn Heb “[Be] also our deliverance in the time of distress.”
3 The nations run away when they hear a loud noise;#tn Heb “at the sound of tumult the nations run away.”
the nations scatter when you spring into action!#tn Heb “because of your exaltation the nations scatter.”
4 Your plunder#tn The pronoun is plural; the statement is addressed to the nations who have stockpiled plunder from their conquests of others. disappears as if locusts were eating it;#tn Heb “and your plunder is gathered, the gathering of the locust.”
they swarm over it like locusts!#tn Heb “like a swarm of locusts swarming on it.”
5 The Lord is exalted,#tn Or “elevated”; NCV, NLT “is very great.”
indeed,#tn Or “for” (KJV, NASB, NIV). he lives in heaven;#tn Heb “on high” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV); CEV “in the heavens.”
he fills Zion with justice and fairness.
6 He is your constant source of stability;#tn Heb “and he is the stability of your times.”
he abundantly provides safety and great wisdom;#tn Heb “a rich store of deliverance, wisdom, and knowledge.”
he gives all this to those who fear him.#tn Heb “the fear of the Lord, it is his treasure.”
7 Look, ambassadors#tn The meaning of the Hebrew word is unknown. Proposals include “heroes” (cf. KJV, ASV “valiant ones”; NASB, NIV “brave men”); “priests,” “residents [of Jerusalem].” The present translation assumes that the term is synonymous with “messengers of peace,” with which it corresponds in the parallel structure of the verse. cry out in the streets;
messengers sent to make peace#tn Heb “messengers of peace,” apparently those responsible for negotiating the agreements that have been broken (see v. 8). weep bitterly.
8 Highways are empty,#tn Or “desolate” (NAB, NASB); NIV, NRSV, NLT “deserted.”
there are no travelers.#tn Heb “the one passing by on the road ceases.”
Treaties are broken,#tn Heb “one breaks a treaty”; NAB “Covenants are broken.”
witnesses are despised,#tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “he despises cities.” The term עָרִים (’arim, “cities”) is probably a corruption of an original עֵדִים (’edim, “[legal] witnesses”), a reading that is preserved in the Qumran scroll 1QIsaa. Confusion of dalet (ד) and resh (ר) is a well-attested scribal error.
human life is treated with disrespect.#tn Heb “he does not regard human beings.”
9 The land#tn Or “earth” (KJV); NAB “the country.” dries up#tn Or “mourns” (BDB 5 s.v. I אָבַל). HALOT 6-7 lists homonyms I אבל (“mourn”) and II אבל (“dry up”). They propose the second here on the basis of parallelism. See 24:4. and withers away;
the forest of Lebanon shrivels up#tn Heb “Lebanon is ashamed.” The Hiphil is exhibitive, expressing the idea, “exhibits shame.” In this context the statement alludes to the withering of vegetation. and decays.
Sharon#sn Sharon was a fertile plain along the Mediterranean coast. See 35:2. is like the desert;#tn Or “the Arabah” (NIV). See 35:1.
Bashan and Carmel#sn Both of these areas were known for their trees and vegetation. See 2:13; 35:2. are parched.#tn Heb “shake off [their leaves]” (so ASV, NRSV); NAB “are stripped bare.”
10 “Now I will rise up,” says the Lord.
“Now I will exalt myself;
now I will magnify myself.#tn Or “lift myself up” (KJV); NLT “show my power and might.”
11 You conceive straw,#tn The second person verb and pronominal forms in this verse are plural. The hostile nations are the addressed, as the next verse makes clear.
you give birth to chaff;
your breath is a fire that destroys you.#sn The hostile nations’ plans to destroy God’s people will come to nothing; their hostility will end up being self-destructive.
12 The nations will be burned to ashes;#tn Heb “will be a burning to lime.” See Amos 2:1.
like thorn bushes that have been cut down, they will be set on fire.
13 You who are far away, listen to what I have done!
You who are close by, recognize my strength!”
14 Sinners are afraid in Zion;
panic#tn Or “trembling” (ASV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NLT “shake with fear.” grips the godless.#tn Or “the defiled”; TEV “The sinful people of Zion”; NLT “The sinners in Jerusalem.”
They say,#tn The words “they say” are supplied in the translation for clarification. ‘Who among us can coexist with destructive fire?
Who among us can coexist with unquenchable#tn Or “perpetual”; or “everlasting” (KJV, ASV, NAB, NIV, NRSV). fire?’
15 The one who lives#tn Heb “walks” (so NASB, NIV). uprightly#tn Or, possibly, “justly”; NAB “who practices virtue.”
and speaks honestly;
the one who refuses to profit from oppressive measures
and rejects a bribe;#tn Heb “[who] shakes off his hands from grabbing hold of a bribe.”
the one who does not plot violent crimes#tn Heb “[who] shuts his ear from listening to bloodshed.”
and does not seek to harm others#tn Heb “[who] closes his eyes from seeing evil.” –
16 This is the person who will live in a secure place;#tn Heb “he [in the] exalted places will live.”
he will find safety in the rocky, mountain strongholds;#tn Heb “mountain strongholds, cliffs [will be] his elevated place.”
he will have food
and a constant supply of water.
17 You will see a king in his splendor;#tn Heb “your eyes will see a king in his beauty”; NIV, NRSV “the king.”
you will see a wide land.#tn Heb “a land of distances,” i.e., an extensive land.
18 Your mind will recall the terror you experienced,#tn Heb “your heart will meditate on terror.”
and you will ask yourselves,#tn The words “and you will ask yourselves” are supplied in the translation for clarification and stylistic reasons. “Where is the scribe?
Where is the one who weighs the money?
Where is the one who counts the towers?”#sn The people refer to various Assyrian officials who were responsible for determining the amount of taxation or tribute Judah must pay to the Assyrian king.
19 You will no longer see a defiant#tn The Hebrew form נוֹעָז (no’az) is a Niphal participle derived from יָעַז (ya’az, an otherwise unattested verb) or from עָזָז (’azaz, “be strong,” unattested elsewhere in the Niphal). Some prefer to emend the form to לוֹעֵז (lo’ez) which occurs in Ps 114:1 with the meaning “speak a foreign language.” See HALOT 809 s.v. עזז, 533 s.v. לעז. In this case, one might translate “people who speak a foreign language.” people
whose language you do not comprehend,#tn Heb “a people too deep of lip to hear.” The phrase “deep of lip” must be an idiom meaning “lips that speak words that are unfathomable [i.e., incomprehensible].”
whose derisive speech you do not understand.#tn Heb “derision of tongue there is no understanding.” The Niphal of לָעַג (la’ag) occurs only here. In the Qal and Hiphil the verb means “to deride, mock.” A related noun is used in 28:11.
20 Look at Zion, the city where we hold religious festivals!
You#tn Heb “your eyes” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV). will see Jerusalem,#map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
a peaceful settlement,
a tent that stays put;#tn Or “that does not travel”; NASB “which shall not be folded.”
its stakes will never be pulled up;
none of its ropes will snap in two.
21 Instead the Lord will rule there as our mighty king.#tn Heb “But there [as] a mighty one [will be] the Lord for us.”
Rivers and wide streams will flow through it;#tn Heb “a place of rivers, streams wide of hands [i.e., on both sides].”
no war galley will enter;#tn Heb “a ship of rowing will not go into it.”
no large ships will sail through.#tn Heb “and a mighty ship will not pass through it.”
22 For the Lord, our ruler,
the Lord, our commander,
the Lord, our king –
he will deliver us.
23 Though at this time your ropes are slack,#tn The words “though at this time” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The first half of the verse is addressed to Judah and contrasts the nation’s present weakness with its future prosperity. Judah is compared to a ship that is incapable of sailing.
the mast is not secured,#tn Heb “they do not fasten the base of their mast.” On כֵּן (ken, “base”) see BDB 487 s.v. III כֵּן and HALOT 483 s.v. III כֵּן.
and the sail#tn Or perhaps, “flag.” is not unfurled,
at that time you will divide up a great quantity of loot;#tn Heb “then there will be divided up loot of plunder [in] abundance.”
even the lame will drag off plunder.#sn Judah’s victory over its enemies will be so thorough there will be more than enough plunder for everyone, even slow-moving lame men who would normally get left out in the rush to gather the loot.
24 No resident of Zion#tn The words “of Zion” are supplied in the translation for clarification. will say, “I am ill”;
the people who live there will have their sin forgiven.
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