Isaiah 33
33
The Lord Will Show His Power
1Look at you. You attack others when you have not been attacked. You turn against others when no one has turned against you. So when you stop your attacks, you will be attacked. When you stop turning against others, they will turn against you.
2Lord, be kind to us.
We have waited for your help.
Give us strength every morning.
Save us when we are in trouble.
3Your powerful voice makes people run away in fear.
Your greatness causes the nations to run away.
4You people stole things in war. Those things will be taken from you. Many will come and take your wealth. It will be like the times when locusts come and eat all your crops.
5The Lord is very great. He lives in a very high place. He fills Zion with justice and goodness.
6Jerusalem, you are rich with wisdom and knowledge of God. You are rich with salvation. You respect the Lord, and that makes you rich.
7But listen! The messengers are crying outside. The messengers#33:7 messengers … messengers The Hebrew text has two different words that can also mean “angels.” who bring peace are crying very hard. 8The roads are empty; there is no one walking along the paths. People don’t respect each other. They have broken the agreements they made, and they refuse to believe what witnesses#33:8 witnesses Literally, “cities.” tell them. 9The land is sick and dying. Lebanon is dying and Sharon Valley is dry and empty. Bashan and Carmel once grew beautiful plants—but now those plants have stopped growing.
10The Lord says, “Now, I will stand and show people how great and powerful I am. 11You people have done useless things. These things are like hay and straw. They are worth nothing! Your breath will be like a fire and burn you. 12People will be burned until their bones become lime.#33:12 lime A white powder that is often used to make mortar or cement. It can be made by burning bones, shells, or limestone. They will burn quickly like thorns and dry bushes.
13“You people in faraway lands, listen to what I have done. You people who are near me, learn about my power.”
14The sinners in Zion are afraid. Those who do wrong shake with fear. They say, “Can any of us live through this fire that destroys? Who can live near this fire that burns forever?”#33:14 fire that … burns forever This might mean God, the Fire (Light) of Israel.
15Good, honest people who refuse to hurt others for money will live through that fire. They refuse to take bribes or listen to plans to murder other people. They refuse to look at plans for doing bad things. 16They will live safely in high places. They will be protected in high rock fortresses. They will always have food and water.
17Your eyes will see the King in his beauty. You will see the great land. 18-19When you think about the troubles you had in the past, you will wonder, “Where are those foreigners who spoke languages we could not understand. Where are the officials and tax collectors from other lands? Where are the spies who counted our defense towers?”
God Will Protect Jerusalem
20Look at Zion, the city of our religious festivals. Look at Jerusalem—that beautiful place of rest. Jerusalem is like a tent that will never be moved. The pegs that hold her in place will never be pulled up. Her ropes will never be broken, 21-23because the Lord is our powerful leader there. That land is a place with streams and wide rivers, but there will be no enemy boats or powerful ships on those rivers. You men who work on such boats can stop your work with the ropes. You cannot make the mast strong enough. You will not be able to open your sails, because the Lord is our judge. He makes our laws. He is our king. He saves us. The Lord will give us our wealth. Even crippled people will get their share. 24No one living there will say, “I am sick,” because everyone living there has had their guilt removed.
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© 1987, 2004 Bible League International
Isaiah 33
33
The Lord Is Exalted
1Woe to you, O destroyer never destroyed,
O traitor never betrayed!
When you have finished destroying,
you will be destroyed.
When you have finished betraying,
you will be betrayed.
2O Lord, be gracious to us!
We wait for You.
Be our strength every morning
and our salvation in time of trouble.
3The peoples flee the thunder of Your voice;
the nations scatter when You rise.
4Your spoil, O nations, #33:4 O nations is added for clarity. is gathered as by locusts;
like a swarm of locusts men sweep over it.
5The Lord is exalted, for He dwells on high;
He has filled Zion with justice and righteousness.
6He will be the sure foundation for your times,
a storehouse of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge.
The fear of the Lord is Zion’s treasure.
7Behold, their valiant ones cry aloud in the streets;
the envoys of peace weep bitterly.
8The highways are deserted;
travel has ceased.
The treaty #33:8 Forms of the Hebrew berit are translated in most passages as covenant. has been broken,
the witnesses #33:8 DSS; MT the cities are despised,
and human life is disregarded.
9The land mourns and languishes;
Lebanon is ashamed and decayed.
Sharon is like a desert;
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 give birth to stubble.
Your breath is a fire that will consume you.
12The peoples will be burned to ashes,
like thorns cut down and set ablaze.
13You who are far off, hear what I have done;
you who are near, acknowledge My might.”
14The sinners in Zion are afraid;
trembling grips the ungodly:
“Who of us can dwell with a consuming fire?
Who of us can dwell with everlasting flames?”
15He who walks righteously
and speaks with sincerity,
who refuses gain from extortion,
whose hand never takes a bribe,
who stops his ears against murderous plots
and shuts his eyes tightly against evil—
16he will dwell on the heights;
the mountain fortress will be his refuge;
his food will be provided
and his water assured.
17Your eyes will see the King in His beauty
and behold a land that stretches afar.
18Your mind will ponder the former terror:
“Where is he who tallies? Where is he who weighs?
Where is he who counts the towers?”
19You will no longer see the insolent,
a people whose speech is unintelligible,
who stammer in a language you cannot understand.
20Look upon Zion,
the city of our appointed feasts.
Your eyes will see Jerusalem,
a peaceful pasture, a tent that does not wander;
its tent pegs will not be pulled up,
nor will any of its cords be broken.
21But there the Majestic One, our Lord,
will be for us a place of rivers and wide canals,
where no galley with oars will row,
and no majestic vessel will pass.
22For the Lord is our Judge,
the Lord is our lawgiver,
the Lord is our King.
It is He who will save us.
23Your ropes are slack;
they cannot secure the mast or spread the sail.
Then an abundance of spoils will be divided,
and even the lame will carry off plunder.
24And no resident of Zion will say, “I am sick.”
The people who dwell there
will be forgiven of iniquity.
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The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible, BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee. This text of God's Word has been dedicated to the public domain.