Isaiah 33

1 Woe to thee that spoilest, and thou wast not spoiled; and dealest treacherously, and they dealt not treacherously with thee! when thou shalt cease to spoil, thou shalt be spoiled; and when thou shalt make an end to deal treacherously, they shall deal treacherously with thee.2 O Lord, be gracious unto us; we have waited for thee: be thou their arm every morning, our salvation also in the time of trouble.3 At the noise of the tumult the people fled; at the lifting up of thyself the nations were scattered.4 And your spoil shall be gathered like the gathering of the caterpiller: as the running to and fro of locusts shall he run upon them.5 The Lord is exalted; for he dwelleth on high: he hath filled Zion with judgment and righteousness.6 And wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of thy times, and strength of salvation: the fear of the Lord is his treasure.s7 Behold, their valiant ones shall cry without: the ambassadors of peace shall weep bitterly.s8 The highways lie waste, the wayfaring man ceaseth: he hath broken the covenant, he hath despised the cities, he regardeth no man.9 The earth mourneth and languisheth: Lebanon is ashamed and hewn down: Sharon is like a wilderness; and Bashan and Carmel shake off their fruits.s10 Now will I rise, saith the Lord; now will I be exalted; now will I lift up myself.11 Ye shall conceive chaff, ye shall bring forth stubble: your breath, as fire, shall devour you.12 And the people shall be as the burnings of lime: as thorns cut up shall they be burned in the fire.

13 Hear, ye that are far off, what I have done; and, ye that are near, acknowledge my might.14 The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?15 He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil;ssss16 He shall dwell on high: his place of defence shall be the munitions of rocks: bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure.s17 Thine eyes shall see the king in his beauty: they shall behold the land that is very far off.s18 Thine heart shall meditate terror. Where is the scribe? where is the receiver? where is he that counted the towers?s19 Thou shalt not see a fierce people, a people of a deeper speech than thou canst perceive; of a stammering tongue, that thou canst not understand.s20 Look upon Zion, the city of our solemnities: thine eyes shall see Jerusalem a quiet habitation, a tabernacle that shall not be taken down; not one of the stakes thereof shall ever be removed, neither shall any of the cords thereof be broken.21 But there the glorious Lord will be unto us a place of broad rivers and streams; wherein shall go no galley with oars, neither shall gallant ship pass thereby.s22 For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king; he will save us.s23 Thy tacklings are loosed; they could not well strengthen their mast, they could not spread the sail: then is the prey of a great spoil divided; the lame take the prey.s24 And the inhabitant shall not say, I am sick: the people that dwell therein shall be forgiven their iniquity.

Isaiah 33

The Ground Under Our Feet Mourns

1 Doom to you, Destroyer, not yet destroyed; And doom to you, Betrayer, not yet betrayed. When you finish destroying, your turn will come—destroyed! When you quit betraying, your turn will come—betrayed!

2-4 God, treat us kindly. You're our only hope. First thing in the morning, be there for us! When things go bad, help us out! You spoke in thunder and everyone ran. You showed up and nations scattered. Your people, for a change, got in on the loot, picking the field clean of the enemy spoils.

5-6 God is supremely esteemed. His center holds. Zion brims over with all that is just and right. God keeps your days stable and secure— salvation, wisdom, and knowledge in surplus, and best of all, Zion's treasure, Fear-of-God.

7-9 But look! Listen! Tough men weep openly. Peacemaking diplomats are in bitter tears. The roads are empty— not a soul out on the streets. The peace treaty is broken, its conditions violated, its signers reviled. The very ground under our feet mourns, the Lebanon mountains hang their heads, Flowering Sharon is a weed-choked gully, and the forests of Bashan and Carmel? Bare branches.

10-12 "Now I'm stepping in," God says. "From now on, I'm taking over. The gloves come off. Now see how mighty I am. There's nothing to you. Pregnant with chaff, you produce straw babies; full of hot air, you self-destruct. You're good for nothing but fertilizer and fuel. Earth to earth—and the sooner the better.

13-14 "If you're far away, get the reports on what I've done, And if you're in the neighborhood, pay attention to my record. The sinners in Zion are rightly terrified; the godless are at their wit's end: 'Who among us can survive this firestorm? Who of us can get out of this purge with our lives?'"

15-16 The answer's simple: Live right, speak the truth, despise exploitation, refuse bribes, reject violence, avoid evil amusements. This is how you raise your standard of living! A safe and stable way to live. A nourishing, satisfying way to live.

God Makes All the Decisions Here

17-19 Oh, you'll see the king—a beautiful sight! And you'll take in the wide vistas of land. In your mind you'll go over the old terrors: "What happened to that Assyrian inspector who condemned and confiscated? And the one who gouged us of taxes? And that cheating moneychanger?" Gone! Out of sight forever! Their insolence nothing now but a fading stain on the carpet! No more putting up with a language you can't understand, no more sounds of gibberish in your ears.

20-22 Just take a look at Zion, will you? Centering our worship in festival feasts! Feast your eyes on Jerusalem, a quiet and permanent place to live. No more pulling up stakes and moving on, no more patched-together lean-tos. Instead, God! God majestic, God himself the place in a country of broad rivers and streams, But rivers blocked to invading ships, off-limits to predatory pirates. For God makes all the decisions here. God is our king. God runs this place and he'll keep us safe.

23 Ha! Your sails are in shreds, your mast wobbling, your hold leaking. The plunder is free for the taking, free for all— for weak and strong, insiders and outsiders.

24 No one in Zion will say, "I'm sick." Best of all, they'll all live guilt-free.