Isaiah 33

Chapter 33

The Judgment of God

¹Woe ^ato you, O destroyer,

While you were not destroyed;

And he ^bwho is treacherous, while others did not deal treacherously with him.

As soon as you finish destroying, ^cyou will be destroyed;

As soon as you cease to deal treacherously, others will ^ddeal treacherously with you.

²O Lord, ^abe gracious to us; we have ^bwaited for You.

Be ¹their ^2cstrength every morning,

Our salvation also in the ^dtime of distress.

³At the sound of the tumult ^apeoples flee;

At the ^blifting up of Yourself nations disperse.

⁴Your spoil is gathered as the caterpillar gathers;

As locusts rushing about men rush about on it.

⁵The Lord is ^aexalted, for He dwells on high;

He has ^bfilled Zion with justice and righteousness.

⁶And He will be the ^1astability of your times,

A ^bwealth of salvation, wisdom and ^cknowledge;

The ^dfear of the Lord is his treasure.

⁷Behold, their brave men cry in ¹the streets,

The ^2aambassadors of peace weep bitterly.

⁸The highways are desolate, ¹the ^atraveler has ceased,

He has ^bbroken the covenant, he has despised the cities,

He has no regard for man.

^9aThe land mourns and pines away,

^bLebanon is shamed and withers;

^cSharon is like a desert plain,

And Bashan and Carmel ¹lose their foliage.

¹⁰“Now ^aI will arise,” says the Lord,

“Now I will be exalted, now I will be lifted up.

¹¹“You have ^aconceived ¹chaff, you will give birth to stubble;

²My ^bbreath will consume you like a fire.

¹²“The peoples will be burned to lime,

^aLike cut thorns which are burned in the fire.

¹³“You who are far away, ^ahear what I have done;

And you who are near, ¹acknowledge My might.”

^14aSinners in Zion are terrified;

^bTrembling has seized the godless.

“Who among us can live with ^cthe consuming fire?

Who among us can live with ¹continual ^dburning?”

¹⁵He who ^awalks righteously and speaks with sincerity,

He who rejects ¹unjust gain

And shakes his hands so that they hold no bribe;

He who stops his ears from hearing about bloodshed

And ^bshuts his eyes from looking upon evil;

¹⁶He will dwell on the heights,

^aHis refuge will be the ¹impregnable rock;

^bHis bread will be given him,

His water will be sure.

¹⁷Your eyes will see ^athe King in His beauty;

They will behold ^ba far-distant land.

¹⁸Your heart will meditate on ^aterror:

“Where is ^bhe who counts?

Where is he who weighs?

Where is he who counts the towers?”

¹⁹You will no longer see a fierce people,

A people of ^1aunintelligible speech ²which no one comprehends,

Of a stammering tongue ³which no one understands.

^20aLook upon Zion, the city of our appointed feasts;

Your eyes will see Jerusalem, an ^bundisturbed habitation,

^cA tent which will not be folded;

Its stakes will never be pulled up,

Nor any of its cords be torn apart.

²¹But there the majestic One, the Lord, will be for us

A place of ^arivers and wide canals

On which no boat with oars will go,

And on which no mighty ship will pass—

²²For the Lord is our ^ajudge,

The Lord is ^bour lawgiver,

The Lord is ^cour king;

^dHe will save us—

²³Your tackle hangs slack;

It cannot hold the base of its mast firmly,

Nor spread out the sail.

Then the ^aprey of an abundant spoil will be divided;

^bThe lame will take the plunder.

²⁴And no resident will say, “I am ^asick”;

The people who dwell ¹there will be ^bforgiven their iniquity.