Isaiah 33

Distress and Help

33Woe^h to you, destroyer,

you who have not been destroyed!

Woe to you, betrayer,

you who have not been betrayed!

When you stop destroying,

you will be destroyed;ⁱ

when you stop betraying,

you will be betrayed.^j

²Lord, be gracious^k to us;

we long for you.

Be our strength^l every morning,

our salvation^m in time of distress.ⁿ

³At the uproar of your army,^o the peoples flee;^p

when you rise up,^q the nations scatter.

⁴Your plunder,^r O nations, is harvested^s as by young locusts;^t

like a swarm of locusts people pounce on it.

⁵The Lord is exalted,^u for he dwells on high;^v

he will fill Zion with his justice^w and righteousness.^x

⁶He will be the sure foundation for your times,

a rich store of salvation^y and wisdom and knowledge;

the fear^z of the Lord is the key to this treasure.^aa

⁷Look, their brave men^b cry aloud in the streets;

the envoys^c of peace weep bitterly.

⁸The highways are deserted,

no travelers^d are on the roads.^e

The treaty is broken,^f

its witnesses^b are despised,

no one is respected.

⁹The land dries up^g and wastes away,

Lebanon^h is ashamed and withers;ⁱ

Sharon^j is like the Arabah,

and Bashan^k and Carmel^l drop their leaves.

¹⁰“Now will I arise,^m” says the Lord.

“Now will I be exalted;ⁿ

now will I be lifted up.

¹¹You conceive^o chaff,

you give birth^p to straw;

your breath is a fire^q that consumes you.

¹²The peoples will be burned to ashes;^r

like cut thornbushes^s they will be set ablaze.^t”

¹³You who are far away,^u hear^v what I have done;

you who are near, acknowledge my power!

¹⁴The sinners^w in Zion are terrified;

trembling^x grips the godless:

“Who of us can dwell with the consuming fire?^y

Who of us can dwell with everlasting burning?”

¹⁵Those who walk righteously^z

and speak what is right,^a

who reject gain from extortion^b

and keep their hands from accepting bribes,^c

who stop their ears against plots of murder

and shut their eyes^d against contemplating evil—

¹⁶they are the ones who will dwell on the heights,^e

whose refuge^f will be the mountain fortress.^g

Their bread will be supplied,

and water will not fail^h them.

¹⁷Your eyes will see the kingⁱ in his beauty^j

and view a land that stretches afar.^k

¹⁸In your thoughts you will ponder the former terror:^l

“Where is that chief officer?

Where is the one who took the revenue?

Where is the officer in charge of the towers?^m”

¹⁹You will see those arrogant peopleⁿ no more,

people whose speech is obscure,

whose language is strange and incomprehensible.^o

²⁰Look on Zion,^p the city of our festivals;

your eyes will see Jerusalem,

a peaceful abode,^q a tent^r that will not be moved;^s

its stakes will never be pulled up,

nor any of its ropes broken.

²¹There the Lord will be our Mighty^t One.

It will be like a place of broad rivers and streams.^u

No galley with oars will ride them,

no mighty ship^v will sail them.

²²For the Lord is our judge,^w

the Lord is our lawgiver,^x

the Lord is our king;^y

it is he who will save^z us.

²³Your rigging hangs loose:

The mast is not held secure,

the sail is not spread.

Then an abundance of spoils will be divided

and even the lame^a will carry off plunder.^b

²⁴No one living in Zion will say, “I am ill”;^c

and the sins of those who dwell there will be forgiven.^d