Isaiah

CHAPTER 33

Overthrow of Assyria^*

betrayer never betrayed!

When you have finished destroying, you will be destroyed;

when you have stopped betraying, you will be betrayed.^a

Be our strength every morning,

our salvation in time of trouble!^b

when you rise in your majesty, nations are scattered.^c

an onrush like the rush of locusts.^d

he fills Zion with right and justice.^e

her wealth, salvation, wisdom, and knowledge,

is the fear of the LORD, her treasure.^f

the messengers of Shalem^* weep bitterly.

travelers have quit the paths,

Covenants are broken, witnesses spurned;

yet no one gives it a thought.^g

Lebanon withers with shame;

Sharon^* is like the Arabah,

Bashan and Carmel are stripped bare.^h

now exalt myself,

now lift myself up.ⁱ

my spirit shall consume you like fire.

thorns cut down to burn in fire.^j

you who are near, acknowledge my might.

trembling grips the impious:

“Who of us can live with consuming fire?

who of us can live with everlasting flames?”^k

who spurns what is gained by oppression,

Who waves off contact with a bribe,

who stops his ears so as not to hear of bloodshed,

who closes his eyes so as not to look on evil—^l

with fortresses of rock for stronghold,

food and drink in steady supply.

they will look upon a vast land.^m

“Where is the one who counted, where the one who weighed?

Where the one who counted the towers?”ⁿ

a people of speech too obscure to comprehend,

stammering in a tongue not understood.^o

your eyes shall see Jerusalem

as a quiet abode, a tent not to be struck,

Whose pegs will never be pulled up,

nor any of its ropes severed.^p

a place of rivers and wide streams

on which no galley may go,

where no majestic ship^* may pass.^q

the LORD is our lawgiver,

the LORD is our king;

he it is who will save us.

it cannot hold the mast in place,

nor keep the sail spread out.

Then the blind will divide great spoils

and the lame will carry off the loot.^r

the people who live there will be forgiven their guilt.^s

* [33:1–24] After an introductory address to Assyria (v. 1), there follows a prayer on behalf of Jerusalem which recalls what God had done in the past (vv. 2–6) and a description of the present situation (vv. 7–9). In response, the Lord announces a judgment on Assyria (vv. 10–12) that will lead to the purification of Jerusalem’s inhabitants (vv. 13–16). The text ends with an idealized portrait of the redeemed Jerusalem of the future (vv. 17–24).

* [33:7] Ariel…Shalem: Jerusalem; cf. 29:1; Gn 14:18; Ps 76:3. There is a play on words between “Shalem,” the city name, and shalom, Heb. for “peace.”

* [33:9] Sharon: the fertile plain near the Mediterranean.

* [33:17] King: either the ideal Davidic king or God; cf. v. 22.

* [33:21–23] Galley…majestic ship: of a foreign oppressor. Though the broad streams of the future Jerusalem will make it accessible by boat, no foreign invader will succeed in a naval attack on the city, for the Lord will protect it, the enemy fleet will be disabled, and even the weakest inhabitants will gather much plunder from the defeated enemy.

a. [33:1] Is 10:12; 16:4; 21:2; 24:16.

b. [33:2] Is 25:9; 30:18–19.

c. [33:3] Is 17:13; Nm 10:35; Ps 68:2.

d. [33:4] Is 9:2; 33:23.

e. [33:5] Is 1:26–27; 2:11, 17; 32:1; 33:16.

f. [33:6] Is 11:2; 13:22; 60:22.

g. [33:8] Is 24:5; Jgs 5:6.

h. [33:9] Na 1:4.

i. [33:10] Ps 12:6; Zep 3:8.

j. [33:12] Is 10:17.

k. [33:14] Is 30:27, 30, 32; 31:9.

l. [33:15] Ps 15:2–6; 24:4–5.

m. [33:17] Is 26:15.

n. [33:18] Ps 48:13–14.

o. [33:19] Is 28:11.

p. [33:20] Is 32:18; Ps 46:6; 122:1–4.

q. [33:21] Ez 47:1–12; Ps 46:5; 48:7.

r. [33:23] 2 Sm 8:6–7.

s. [33:24] Mi 7:18–19.

F. THE LORD, ZION’S AVENGER^*