Isaiah 33
33
Chapter 33
Trouble and hope
1It will be very bad for you who destroy other nations.
No other nation has destroyed you yet.
It will be very bad for you who deceive other nations.
No other nation has deceived you yet.
But in the end, when you stop destroying,
others will destroy you.
When you stop deceiving,
other nations will deceive you. #33:1 This message is for the enemies of God's people. Assyria was the strongest enemy at this time.
2 Lord, please be kind to us.
We wait for you to help us.
Make us strong every day.
Rescue us when trouble happens.
3When they hear the noise of battle,
the nations run away.
When you go to war,
they run in every direction!
4You nations, after the battle your valuable things will quickly disappear!
It will seem like locusts have eaten them all.
Yes, we will take it all,
like a hungry crowd of locusts.
5The Lord is greater than all others.
He lives high above the earth.
He will cause Zion's people to do what is right and fair.
6Whatever happens, he will cause you to be strong.
He will always keep you safe,
and he will make you wise,
so that you understand things.
Respect the Lord with fear,
and he will do all this for you.
7Look! Our brave soldiers are calling out in the streets.
The people that we sent to make peace with our enemies are weeping.
8The big roads are empty.
Nobody is travelling anywhere.
People spoil agreements that they have made.
They do not believe what people promise.
They do not respect anyone.
9The land itself is dry and useless.
Lebanon's forest is dying.
Sharon has become like a desert.
The trees in Bashan and Carmel have no leaves. #33:9 Lebanon had big forests of trees. Sharon was a valley where many plants grew. Now these places were very dry and the trees and plants were dying.
10The Lord says, ‘Now I will stand up to do something.
I will show that I am great and powerful.
11My enemies, everything that you want to do will be useless.
Your thoughts are like dry grass and straw.
Your own breath will destroy you,
like a fire that burns dry grass.
12Your people will be like wood for the fire,
and only ashes will remain.
They will burn as easily as thorn bushes
that people cut down and throw on the fire.
13You people who live far away,
listen to what I have done!
You people who are near,
understand that I am very strong.’
14The sinners who live in Zion are afraid.
The people who do not respect God shake with fear.
They ask, ‘Who among us can stay alive?
This is a fire that burns everything.
Nobody can stop it from burning!’
15But some people can still live!
Those who are honest in what they do
and fair in what they say.
Those who refuse to cheat other people
so that they can become rich.
Those who refuse to accept bribes.
Those who will not listen to murderers,
and who will not think about evil things.
16People who are like that will live in a safe place.
Danger will not reach them among the high rocks.
They will always have food to eat,
and plenty of water to drink.
17With your own eyes, you will see the king.
He will be great and beautiful.
You will see the land that he rules.
It will reach far and wide.
18Then you will think about the time when you were afraid.
You will say, ‘Where is the enemy's important officer?
Where is the officer that we paid taxes to?
Where is the officer who counted our strong buildings?
They are no longer here to give us trouble!’
19You will never see those cruel people again.
You could not understand their language.
They laughed at you with strange words.
20Now, look at Zion, the city where we have our festivals.
Yes, you will see Jerusalem.
It will be a place that is quiet and safe.
It will be like a tent that people will never move.
They will never pull up its pegs.
They will never break its ropes.
21The Lord will rule there as our powerful God.
Rivers and wide streams will run through it.
Our enemies will not be able to bring their ships there to attack us.
22The Lord will keep us safe.
He is our judge, our ruler and our king.
23At this time, your ship is not ready to go anywhere.
You have not tied the ropes.
There is nowhere to hang the sails.
But then, you will take many valuable things from your enemies.
You will share them after the battle.
Even people who cannot walk well
will carry away what they want!
24Nobody who lives in Zion will say, ‘I am ill.’
And God will forgive their sins.
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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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Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright 1996, 2004, 2007, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation.
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