Isaiah 33

Isaiah 33

Zion Restored

1Woe to you, destroyer, you who have not been destroyed.

Woe to you, traitor, you who have not been betrayed.

When you have finished your work of destroying,

you will be destroyed,

and when you have completed your betrayal,

you will be betrayed.

2Yahweh , be gracious to us,

for we wait for you.

Be our strength every morning

and rescue us when troubles come.

3The nations retreat at the sound of your roaring voice.

The nations scatter as you arise in your majesty.

4Their spoil will be harvested,[#33:4 Or “Your.”]

carried away like locusts that strip a field bare .

And like leaping locusts, men will leap upon the spoils.

5Yahweh is high and lifted up; he dwells on high![#33:5 The Hebrew uses the word shakan , the word from which we get “shekinah [glory].” We could say, “ is shekinah’d on high.”]

He lavished his justice and righteousness on Zion!

6He will be your constant source of stability in changing times,

and out of his abundant love he gives you

the riches of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge.

Yes , the fear of the Lord is the key to this treasure!

7Listen! The valiant ones cry in the streets[#33:7 Or “the Arielites [lions of God].” Others translate it “priests.”]

and envoys of peace weep bitterly.

8The highways are deserted

and the travelers have disappeared.

Covenants are broken and witnesses rejected,

and no one is respected.

9The land mourns and languishes.

Lebanon is disgraced and withered.

The fields of Sharon are like a desert.

The lands of Bashan and Carmel are stripped bare.

10“Now I will arise,” says the Lord.

“Now I will exalt myself; now I will unveil my majesty!

11Assyria , your plans are worthless, as useless as chaff.[#33:11 Or “You conceive straw and are pregnant with chaff.”]

My breath will be a fire that consumes you.

12As a thorn bush is cut down and thrown into the fire,

your nation will be burned to ashes of lime.”

The Righteous King

13“You who are far away, listen to what I have done,

and you who draw near to me,

acknowledge my power and strength!

14Sinners in Zion are afraid,

and the godless are gripped with panic,

saying, ‘Who can dwell with such an all-consuming fire?

Who can live in the presence of the never-ending flame?’

15Only those who walk with integrity and speak what is true,[#33:15 See Ps. 15.]

who despise even the thought of cheating the poor,

and do not accept a bribe, nor plot violence,

nor contemplate doing evil —

16they will live safely on the heights

and make their safe place the mountain strongholds,

with bread in steady supply and water assured.”

17In this high place , your eyes will see

the king in his stunning beauty

and gaze upon his broad domain.

18You will look back on the fears of your past and say,

“Now, where is the scholar? Where is the adviser?

Where is the one who numbers those who are maturing?”

19You will no longer see the defiant foreigner

who speaks a strange, incomprehensible language.

20Set your gaze on Zion,

the city where we gather for Yahweh ’s feasts.

Your eyes will see Jerusalem as a quiet, pleasant place.

It is a secure dwelling, permanent and unmovable,

not like a tabernacle that must be taken down,

its pegs pulled up, and transported.

21Glorious Yahweh will be there for us

in a land with broad rivers and life-giving streams,

where the hostile, majestic ships will not sail.

22The Lord Yahweh is our Judge, our Lawgiver, and our King;[#33:22 Isaiah referred to the three forms of government in Israel’s history: the law of Moses, the judges, and the kings.]

he will save us completely !

23Your ropes hang loose,

your mast is not secure, and your sail is not unfurled.

Then there will be a great plunder,

such an abundant treasure divided

that even the lame will seize their rich share.

24No one living in Zion will say, “I am sick,”

for all who live there will have their sin forgiven.

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