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The Book of the Prophet Isaiah

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- Chapter 33 -

1
Woe to you who plunder! Will you yourselves not also be plundered? And woe to you who despise! Will you yourselves not also be despised? When you will have completed your plundering, you will be plundered. When, out of fatigue, you will have ceased acting with contempt, you will be treated with contempt.(a)
2
O Lord, take pity on us. For we have waited for you. Be our arm in the morning and our salvation in the time of tribulation.
3
From the voice of the Angel, the people fled. And from your exultation, the nations were scattered.
4
And your spoils will be gathered together, just as the locusts are collected when the ditches have become filled with them.
5
The Lord has been magnified, because he has lived on high. He has filled Zion with judgment and justice.
6
And there will be faith in your times: the riches of salvation, wisdom and knowledge. For the fear of the Lord is his treasure.
7
Behold, outside, those who see will cry out. The Angels of peace will weep bitterly.(b)
8
The roads have become desolate. Travelers have ceased along the paths. The covenant has been nullified. He has tossed aside cities. He has disregarded men.
9
The earth has mourned and languished. Lebanon has been confounded and desecrated. And Sharon has become like a desert. And Bashan and Carmel have been struck together.
10
“Now, I will rise up!” says the Lord. “Now I will be exalted! Now I will lift myself up!”
11
You will conceive heat. You will give birth to stubble. Your own spirit will devour you like fire.
12
And the people will be like the ashes from a fire. They will be consumed by fire like a bundle of thorns.
13
“You who are far away, listen to what I have done! And you who are near, acknowledge my strength!”
14
The sinners in Zion are terrified; trembling has taken hold of the hypocrites. Who among you is able to live with a devouring fire? Who among you will live with an everlasting flame?
15
The one who walks in justice and speaks the truth, who casts out avarice with oppression and shakes all bribes from his hands, who blocks his ears so that he may not listen to blood, and closes his eyes so that he may not see evil.
16
Such a one will live on high; the fortification of rocks will be his lofty place. Bread has been given to him; his waters are reliable.
17
His eyes will see the king in his elegance; they will discern the land from far away.
18
Your heart will meditate on fear. Where are the learned? Where are those who ponder the words of the law? Where are the teachers of little ones?
19
You will not look upon a shameless people, a people of exalted words. For you are not able to understand the dissertation of a tongue in which there is no wisdom.
20
Look with favor upon Zion, the city of our solemnity. Your eyes will behold Jerusalem: an opulent habitation, a tabernacle that can never be taken away. Its stakes will not be taken away forever, nor will any of its cords be broken.(c)
21
For only in that place has our Lord been magnified. It is a place of rivers, very broad and open. No ship with oars will cross through it, nor will the great Greek ship pass through it.(d)
22
For the Lord is our judge. The Lord is our lawgiver. The Lord is our king. He himself will save us.
23
Your ropes have become loose, and they will not prevail. Your mast will be such that you will not be able to unfurl a flag. Then the spoils of much plunder will be divided. The lame will seize the spoils.(e)
24
He who is nearby will not say: “I am too weak.” The people who live in it will have their iniquity taken away from them.

Footnotes

(a)33:1 That spoilest, etc:This is particularly directed to Sennacherib.(Challoner)
(b)33:7 The angels of peace:The messengers or deputies sent to negotiate a peace.(Challoner)
(c)33:20 The tabernacle of Jerusalem is being described under the figure of a tent. Its stakes are its tent pegs, and its cords connect the tent pegs to the tent, anchoring the tent itself.(Conte)
(d)33:21 Of rivers:He speaks of the rivers of endless joys that flow from the throne of God to water the heavenly Jerusalem, where no enemy’s ship can come, etc.(Challoner)
(e)33:23 Thy tacklings:He speaks of the enemies of the church, under the allegory of a ship that is disabled.(Challoner)
1
Woe to you who destroy, but you weren’t destroyed, and who betray, but nobody betrayed you! When you have finished destroying, you will be destroyed; and when you have finished betrayal, you will be betrayed.
2
LORD, be gracious to us. We have waited for you. Be our strength every morning, our salvation also in the time of trouble.
3
At the noise of the thunder, the peoples have fled. When you lift yourself up, the nations are scattered.
4
Your plunder will be gathered as the caterpillar gathers. Men will leap on it as locusts leap.
5
The LORD is exalted, for he dwells on high. He has filled Zion with justice and righteousness.
6
There will be stability in your times, abundance of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge. The fear of the LORD is your treasure.
7
Behold, their valiant ones cry outside; the ambassadors of peace weep bitterly.
8
The highways are desolate. The traveling man ceases. The covenant is broken. He has despised the cities. He doesn’t respect man.
9
The land mourns and languishes. Lebanon is confounded and withers away. Sharon is like a desert, and Bashan and Carmel are stripped bare.
10
“Now I will arise,” says the LORD. “Now I will lift myself up. Now I will be exalted.
11
You will conceive chaff. You will give birth to stubble. Your breath is a fire that will devour you.
12
The peoples will be like the burning of lime, like thorns that are cut down and burned in the fire.
13
Hear, you who are far off, what I have done; and, you who are near, acknowledge my might.”
14
The sinners in Zion are afraid. Trembling has seized the godless ones. Who among us can live with the devouring fire? Who among us can live with everlasting burning?
15
He who walks righteously and speaks blamelessly, he who despises the gain of oppressions, who gestures with his hands, refusing to take a bribe, who stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed, and shuts his eyes from looking at evil—
16
he will dwell on high. His place of defense will be the fortress of rocks. His bread will be supplied. His waters will be sure.
17
Your eyes will see the king in his beauty. They will see a distant land.
18
Your heart will meditate on the terror. Where is he who counted? Where is he who weighed? Where is he who counted the towers?
19
You will no longer see the fierce people, a people of a deep speech that you can’t comprehend, with a strange language that you can’t understand.
20
Look at Zion, the city of our appointed festivals. Your eyes will see Jerusalem, a quiet habitation, a tent that won’t be removed. Its stakes will never be plucked up, nor will any of its cords be broken.
21
But there the LORD will be with us in majesty, a place of wide rivers and streams, in which no galley with oars will go, neither will any gallant ship pass by there.
22
For the LORD is our judge. The LORD is our lawgiver. The LORD is our king. He will save us.
23
Your rigging is untied. They couldn’t strengthen the foot of their mast. They couldn’t spread the sail. Then the prey of a great plunder was divided. The lame took the prey.
24
The inhabitant won’t say, “I am sick.” The people who dwell therein will be forgiven their iniquity.
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