Isaiah33
New Living Translation
1What sorrow awaits you Assyrians, who have destroyed others but have never been destroyed yourselves. You betray others, but you have never been betrayed. When you are done destroying, you will be destroyed. When you are done betraying, you will be betrayed.
2But Lord, be merciful to us, for we have waited for you. Be our strong arm each day and our salvation in times of trouble.
3The enemy runs at the sound of your voice. When you stand up, the nations flee!
4Just as caterpillars and locusts strip the fields and vines, so the fallen army of Assyria will be stripped!
5Though the Lord is very great and lives in heaven, he will make Jerusalem his home of justice and righteousness.
6In that day he will be your sure foundation, providing a rich store of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge. The fear of the Lord will be your treasure.
7But now your brave warriors weep in public. Your ambassadors of peace cry in bitter disappointment.
8Your roads are deserted; no one travels them anymore. The Assyrians have broken their peace treaty and care nothing for the promises they made before witnesses. They have no respect for anyone.
9The land of Israel wilts in mourning. Lebanon withers with shame. The plain of Sharon is now a wilderness. Bashan and Carmel have been plundered.
10But the Lord says: “Now I will stand up. Now I will show my power and might.
11You Assyrians produce nothing but dry grass and stubble. Your own breath will turn to fire and consume you.
12Your people will be burned up completely, like thornbushes cut down and tossed in a fire.
13Listen to what I have done, you nations far away! And you that are near, acknowledge my might!”
14The sinners in Jerusalem shake with fear. Terror seizes the godless. “Who can live with this devouring fire?” they cry. “Who can survive this all-consuming fire?”
15Those who are honest and fair, who refuse to profit by fraud, who stay far away from bribes, who refuse to listen to those who plot murder, who shut their eyes to all enticement to do wrong—
16these are the ones who will dwell on high. The rocks of the mountains will be their fortress. Food will be supplied to them, and they will have water in abundance.
17Your eyes will see the king in all his splendor, and you will see a land that stretches into the distance.
18You will think back to this time of terror, asking, “Where are the Assyrian officers who counted our towers? Where are the bookkeepers who recorded the plunder taken from our fallen city?”
19You will no longer see these fierce, violent people with their strange, unknown language.
20Instead, you will see Zion as a place of holy festivals. You will see Jerusalem, a city quiet and secure. It will be like a tent whose ropes are taut and whose stakes are firmly fixed.
21The Lord will be our Mighty One. He will be like a wide river of protection that no enemy can cross, that no enemy ship can sail upon.
22For the Lord is our judge, our lawgiver, and our king. He will care for us and save us.
23The enemies’ sails hang loose on broken masts with useless tackle. Their treasure will be divided by the people of God. Even the lame will take their share!
24The people of Israel will no longer say, “We are sick and helpless,” for the Lord will forgive their sins.
Study Guide
Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Isaiah 33.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: God's judgments against the enemies of his church. (1-14). The happiness of his people. (15-24).
vv1-14
Here we have the proud and false destroyer justly reckoned with for all his fraud and violence. The righteous God often pays sinners in their own coin. Those who by faith humbly wait for God, shall find him gracious to them; as the day, so let the strength be. If God leaves us to ourselves any morning, we are undone; we must every morning commit ourselves to him, and go forth in his strength to do the work of the day. When God arises, his enemies are scattered. True wisdom and knowledge lead to strength of salvation, which renders us stedfast in the ways of God; and true piety is the only treasure which can never be plundered or spent. The distress Jerusalem was brought into, is described. God's time to appear for his people, is, when all other helpers fail. Let all who hear what God has done, acknowledge that he can do every thing. Sinners in Zion will have much to answer for, above other sinners. And those that rebel against the commands of the word, cannot take its comforts in time of need. His wrath will burn those everlastingly who make themselves fuel for it. It is a fire that shall never be quenched, nor ever go out of itself; it is the wrath of an ever-living God preying on the conscience of a never-dying soul.
vv15-24
The true believer watches against all occasions of sin. The Divine power will keep him safe, and his faith in that power will keep him easy. He shall want nothing needful for him. Every blessing of salvation is freely bestowed on all that ask with humble, believing prayer; and the believer is safe in time and for ever. Those that walk uprightly shall not only have bread given, and their water sure, but they shall, by faith, see the King of kings in his beauty, the beauty of holiness. The remembrance of the terror they were in, shall add to the pleasure of their deliverance. It is desirable to be quiet in our own houses, but much more so to be quiet in God's house; and in every age Christ will have a seed to serve him. Jerusalem had no large river running by it, but the presence and power of God make up all wants. We have all in God, all we need, or can desire. By faith we take Christ for our Prince and Saviour; he reigns over his redeemed people. All that refuse to have Him to reign over them, make shipwreck of their souls. Sickness is taken away in mercy, when the fruit of it is the taking away of sin. If iniquity be taken away, we have little reason to complain of outward affliction. This last verse leads our thoughts, not only to the most glorious state of the gospel church on earth, but to heaven, where no sickness or trouble can enter. He that blotteth out our transgressions, will heal our souls.
Key Words
הוֹי: oh!
שָׁדַד: properly, to be burly, i.e. (figuratively) powerful (passively, impregnable); by implication, to ravage
לֹא: not (the simple or abs. negation); by implication, no; often used with other particles
בָּגַד: to cover (with a garment); figuratively, to act covertly; by implication, to pillage
תָּמַם: to complete, in a good or a bad sense, literal, or figurative, transitive or intransitive
נָלָה: to complete
חָנַן: properly, to bend or stoop in kindness to an inferior; to favor, bestow; causatively to implore (i.e. move to favor by petition)
קָוָה: to bind together (perhaps by twisting), i.e. collect; (figuratively) to expect
זְרוֹעַ: the arm (as stretched out), or (of animals) the foreleg; figuratively, force
בֹּקֶר: properly, dawn (as the break of day); generally, morning
Cross References
Isaiah 33Sennacherib breaking his covenant with Hezekiah despite the payment of tribute.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
The dramatic destruction of Sennacherib's army, fulfilling the doom of the unprovoked spoiler.
Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole, JFB
The retributive principle that those who spoil others will ultimately be spoiled themselves.
Supported by JFB
The weeping ambassadors of peace sent to Rabshakeh during the Assyrian siege.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Echoes the classic liturgical question and answer regarding who may dwell in God's holy presence.
Supported by JFB
Paul's triumphantly adapted query 'Where is the scribe?' celebrating God's defeat of worldly wisdom.
Supported by Matthew Henry
The severe image of divine wrath turning enemies into 'burnings of lime' or bone-ash.
Supported by JFB
The solemn realization of eternal burnings and unquenchable fire facing the hypocrites and wicked.
Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB
Saints defined by clean hands, pure hearts, and refusal of deceitful gain.
Supported by JFB
The terrifying threat of a fierce, invading nation whose foreign tongue cannot be understood.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Jerusalem, lacking literal rivers, is watered by the secure and quiet streams of God's presence.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Hezekiah's trust and divine deliverance, demonstrating that the fear of the Lord is stability.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Highways lying desolate and travelers ceasing, representing extreme national terror and ruin.
Supported by John Calvin
Sharon and Lebanon, here desolate under judgment, are later restored to magnificent beauty.
Supported by JFB
The linkage of physical healing and restoration to the ultimate forgiveness of iniquity.
Supported by Matthew Henry