Isaiah 33

¹Ho! you who make waste those who did not make you waste; acting falsely to those who were not false to you. When you have come to an end of wasting, you will be made waste, and after your false acts, they will do the same to you.

²O Lord, have mercy on us; for we have been waiting for your help: be our strength every morning, our salvation in time of trouble.

³At the loud noise the peoples have gone in flight; at your coming up the nations have gone in all directions.

⁴And the goods taken in war will be got together like the massing of young locusts; men will be rushing on them like the rushing of locusts.

⁵The Lord is lifted up; his place is on high: he has made Zion full of righteousness and true religion.

⁶And she will have no more fear of change, being full of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge: the fear of the Lord is her wealth.

⁷See, the men of war are sorrowing outside the town: those who came looking for peace are weeping bitterly.

⁸The highways are waste, no man is journeying there: the agreement is broken, he has made sport of the towns, he has no thought for man.

⁹The earth is sorrowing and wasting away; Lebanon is put to shame and has become waste; Sharon is like the Arabah; and in Bashan and Carmel the leaves are falling.

¹⁰Now will I come forward, says the Lord; now will I be lifted up; now will my power be seen.

¹¹Your designs will be without profit, and their effect will be nothing: you will be burned up by the fire of my breath.

¹²And the peoples will be like the burning of chalk: as thorns cut down, which are burned in the fire.

¹³Give ear, you who are far off, to what I have done: see my power, you who are near.

¹⁴The sinners in Zion are full of fear; the haters of God are shaking with wonder. Who among us may keep his place before the burning fire? who among us may see the eternal burnings?

¹⁵He whose ways are true, and whose words are upright; he who gives no thought to the profits of false acts, whose hands have not taken rewards, who will have no part in putting men to death, and whose eyes are shut against evil;

¹⁶He will have a place on high: he will be safely shut in by the high rocks: his bread will be given to him; his waters will be certain.

¹⁷Your eyes will see the king in his glory: they will be looking on a far-stretching land.

¹⁸Your heart will give thought to the cause of your fear: where is the scribe, where is he who made a record of the payments, where is he by whom the towers were numbered?

¹⁹Never again will you see the cruel people, a people whose tongue has no sense for you; whose language is strange to you.

²⁰Let your eyes be resting on Zion, the town of our holy feasts: you will see Jerusalem, a quiet resting-place, a tent which will not be moved, whose tent-pins will never be pulled up, and whose cords will never be broken.

²¹But there the Lord will be with us in his glory, ... wide rivers and streams; where no boat will go with blades, and no fair ship will be sailing.

²²For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our law-giver, the Lord is our king; he will be our saviour.

²³Your cords have become loose; they were not able to make strong the support of their sails, the sail was not stretched out: then the blind will take much property, the feeble-footed will make division of the goods of war.

²⁴And the men of Zion will not say, I am ill: for its people will have forgiveness for their sin.

Isaiah 33

¹Woe 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.

²O Lord, be gracious unto us; we have waited for thee: be thou their arm every morning, our salvation also in the time of trouble.

³At the noise of the tumult the people fled; at the lifting up of thyself the nations were scattered.

⁴And your spoil shall be gathered like the gathering of the caterpiller: as the running to and fro of locusts shall he run upon them.

⁵The Lord is exalted; for he dwelleth on high: he hath filled Zion with judgment and righteousness.

⁶And wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of thy times, and strength of salvation: the fear of the Lord is his treasure.

⁷Behold, their valiant ones shall cry without: the ambassadors of peace shall weep bitterly.

⁸The highways lie waste, the wayfaring man ceaseth: he hath broken the covenant, he hath despised the cities, he regardeth no man.

⁹The earth mourneth and languisheth: Lebanon is ashamed and hewn down: Sharon is like a wilderness; and Bashan and Carmel shake off their fruits.

¹⁰Now will I rise, saith the Lord; now will I be exalted; now will I lift up myself.

¹¹Ye shall conceive chaff, ye shall bring forth stubble: your breath, as fire, shall devour you.

¹²And the people shall be as the burnings of lime: as thorns cut up shall they be burned in the fire.

¹³Hear, ye that are far off, what I have done; and, ye that are near, acknowledge my might.

¹⁴The 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?

¹⁵He 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;

¹⁶He shall dwell on high: his place of defence shall be the munitions of rocks: bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure.

¹⁷Thine eyes shall see the king in his beauty: they shall behold the land that is very far off.

¹⁸Thine heart shall meditate terror. Where is the scribe? where is the receiver? where is he that counted the towers?

¹⁹Thou 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.

²⁰Look 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.

²¹But 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.

²²For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king; he will save us.

²³Thy 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.

²⁴And the inhabitant shall not say, I am sick: the people that dwell therein shall be forgiven their iniquity.