Isaiah 33

A Prayer in Deep Distress

33Woe to you ^awho plunder, though you have not been plundered;

And you who deal treacherously, though they have not dealt treacherously with you!

^bWhen you cease plundering,

You will be ^cplundered;

When you make an end of dealing treacherously,

They will deal treacherously with you.

²O Lord, be gracious to us;

^dWe have waited for You.

Be ¹their arm every morning,

Our salvation also in the time of trouble.

³At the noise of the tumult the people ^eshall flee;

When You lift Yourself up, the nations shall be scattered;

⁴And Your plunder shall be gathered

Like the gathering of the caterpillar;

As the running to and fro of locusts,

He shall run upon them.

^5fThe Lord is exalted, for He dwells on high;

He has filled Zion with justice and righteousness.

⁶Wisdom and knowledge will be the stability of your times,

And the strength of salvation;

The fear of the Lord is His treasure.

⁷Surely their valiant ones shall cry outside,

^gThe ambassadors of peace shall weep bitterly.

^8hThe highways lie waste,

The traveling man ceases.

ⁱHe has broken the covenant,

²He has despised the ³cities,

He regards no man.

^9jThe earth mourns and languishes,

Lebanon is shamed and shriveled;

Sharon is like a wilderness,

And Bashan and Carmel shake off their fruits.

Impending Judgment on Zion

¹⁰“Now ^kI will rise,” says the Lord;

“Now I will be exalted,

Now I will lift Myself up.

^11lYou shall conceive chaff,

You shall bring forth stubble;

Your breath, as fire, shall devour you.

¹²And the people shall be like the burnings of lime;

^mLike thorns cut up they shall be burned in the fire.

¹³Hear, ⁿyou who are afar off, what I have done;

And you who are near, acknowledge My might.”

¹⁴The sinners in Zion are afraid;

Fearfulness has seized the hypocrites:

“Who among us shall dwell with the devouring ^ofire?

Who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?”

¹⁵He who ^pwalks righteously and speaks uprightly,

He who despises the gain of oppressions,

Who gestures with his hands, refusing bribes,

Who stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed,

And ^qshuts his eyes from seeing evil:

¹⁶He will dwell on ⁴high;

His place of defense will be the fortress of rocks;

Bread will be given him,

His water will be sure.

The Land of the Majestic King

¹⁷Your eyes will see the King in His ^rbeauty;

They will see the land that is very far off.

¹⁸Your heart will meditate on terror:

^s“Where is the scribe?

Where is he who weighs?

Where is he who counts the towers?”

^19tYou will not see a fierce people,

^uA people of obscure speech, beyond perception,

Of a ⁵stammering tongue that you cannot understand.

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

Your eyes will see ^wJerusalem, a quiet home,

A tabernacle that will not be taken down;

^xNot one of ^yits stakes will ever be removed,

Nor will any of its cords be broken.

²¹But there the majestic Lord will be for us

A place of broad rivers and streams,

In which no ⁶galley with oars will sail,

Nor majestic ships pass by

²²(For the Lord is our ^zJudge,

The Lord is our ^aLawgiver,

^bThe Lord is our King;

He will save us);

²³Your tackle is loosed,

They could not strengthen their mast,

They could not spread the sail.

Then the prey of great plunder is divided;

The lame take the prey.

²⁴And the inhabitant will not say, “I am sick”;

^cThe people who dwell in it will be forgiven their iniquity.