Isaiah 33

Isaiah 33

A Prayer in Deep Distress

1Woe to you who plunder, though you have not been plundered;[#Is. 21:2; Hab. 2:8]

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

When you cease plundering,

You will be plundered;

When you make an end of dealing treacherously,

They will deal treacherously with you.

2O Lord , be gracious to us;

We have waited for You.

Be their arm every morning,

Our salvation also in the time of trouble.

3At the noise of the tumult the people shall flee;[#Is. 17:13]

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.

5The Lord is exalted, for He dwells on high;[#Ps. 97:9]

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,

The ambassadors of peace shall weep bitterly.

8The highways lie waste,[#Judg. 5:6]

The traveling man ceases.

He has broken the covenant,

He has despised the cities,

He regards no man.

9The earth mourns and languishes,[#Is. 24:4]

Lebanon is shamed and shriveled;

Sharon is like a wilderness,

And Bashan and Carmel shake off their fruits.

Impending Judgment on Zion

10“Now I will rise,” says the Lord ;[#Ps. 12:5; Is. 2:19, 21]

“Now I will be exalted,

Now I will lift Myself up.

11You shall conceive chaff,[#(Ps. 7:14; Is. 26:18; 59:4; James 1:15)]

You shall bring forth stubble;

Your breath, as fire, shall devour you.

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

Like thorns cut up they shall be burned in the fire.

13Hear, you who are afar off, what I have done;[#Ps. 48:10; Is. 49:1]

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 fire?

Who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?”

15He who walks righteously and speaks uprightly,[#Ps. 15:2; 24:3, 4; Is. 58:6–11]

He who despises the gain of oppressions,

Who gestures with his hands, refusing bribes,

Who stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed,

And shuts his eyes from seeing evil:

16He will dwell on high;

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 beauty;[#Ps. 27:4]

They will see the land that is very far off.

18Your heart will meditate on terror:

“Where is the scribe?

Where is he who weighs?

Where is he who counts the towers?”

19You will not see a fierce people,[#2 Kin. 19:32]

A people of obscure speech, beyond perception,

Of a stammering tongue that you cannot understand.

20Look upon Zion, the city of our appointed feasts;[#Ps. 48:12]

Your eyes will see Jerusalem, a quiet home,

A tabernacle that will not be taken down;

Not one of its 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 galley with oars will sail,

Nor majestic ships pass by

22(For the Lord is our Judge,[#(Acts 10:42)]

The Lord is our Lawgiver,

The 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”;

The people who dwell in it will be forgiven their iniquity.

The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
Published by: Thomas Nelson, Inc.