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
1Woe to you, destroyer,
who yourself have not been destroyed;
you treacherous one,
with whom none has dealt treacherously!
When you have ceased to destroy,
you will be destroyed;
and when you have made an end of dealing treacherously,
you will be dealt with treacherously.
2O Lord, be gracious to us; we wait for thee.
Be our arm every morning,
our salvation in the time of trouble.
3At the thunderous noise peoples flee,
at the lifting up of thyself nations are scattered;
4and spoil is gathered as the caterpillar gathers;
as locusts leap, men leap upon it.
5The Lord is exalted, for he dwells on high;
he will fill Zion with justice and righteousness;
6and he will be the stability of your times,
abundance of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge;
the fear of the Lord is his treasure.
7Behold, the valiant ones#33.7 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain cry without;
the envoys of peace weep bitterly.
8The highways lie waste,
the wayfaring man ceases.
Covenants are broken,
witnesses#33.8 One ancient Ms: Heb cities are despised,
there is no regard for man.
9The 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.
11You conceive chaff, you bring forth stubble;
your breath is a fire that will consume you.
12And the peoples will be as if burned to lime,
like thorns cut down, that are burned in the fire.”
13Hear, you who are far off, what I have done;
and you who are near, acknowledge my might.
14The sinners in Zion are afraid;
trembling has seized the godless:
“Who among us can dwell with the devouring fire?
Who among us can dwell with everlasting burnings?”
15He who walks righteously and speaks uprightly,
who despises the gain of oppressions,
who shakes his hands, lest they hold a bribe,
who stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed
and shuts his eyes from looking upon evil,
16he will dwell on the heights;
his place of defense will be the fortresses of rocks;
his bread will be given him, his water will be sure.
17Your eyes will see the king in his beauty;
they will behold a land that stretches afar.
18Your mind will muse on the terror:
“Where is he who counted, where is he who weighed the tribute?
Where is he who counted the towers?”
19You will see no more the insolent people,
the people of an obscure speech which you cannot comprehend,
stammering in a tongue which you cannot understand.
20Look upon Zion, the city of our appointed feasts!
Your eyes will see Jerusalem,
a quiet habitation, an immovable tent,
whose stakes will never be plucked up,
nor will any of its cords be broken.
21But 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.
22For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our ruler,
the Lord is our king; he will save us.
23Your tackle hangs loose;
it cannot hold the mast firm in its place,
or keep the sail spread out.
Then prey and spoil in abundance will be divided;
even the lame will take the prey.
24And no inhabitant will say, “I am sick”;
the people who dwell there will be forgiven their iniquity.
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Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America