The Judgment of God
1Woe (judgment is coming) to you, O destroyer,
You who were not destroyed,
And he who is treacherous, while others did not deal treacherously with him.
As soon as you finish destroying, you will be destroyed;
As soon as you stop dealing treacherously, others will deal treacherously with you.
2
O Lord, be gracious to us; we have waited [expectantly] for You.
Be the arm of Your servants every morning [that is, their strength and their defense],
Our salvation also in the time of trouble.
3
At the sound of the tumult, the peoples flee;
At the lifting up of Yourself nations scatter.
4
Your spoil [of Israel’s foe] is gathered [by the people of Jerusalem] as the caterpillar gathers;
As locusts swarming so people swarm on it.
5
The Lord is exalted, for He dwells on high;
He has filled Zion with justice and righteousness.
6
And He will be the security and stability of your times,
A treasure of salvation, wisdom and knowledge;
The fear of the Lord is your treasure.
7
Now look, their brave men shout outside;
The ambassadors [seeking a treaty] of peace weep bitterly.
8
The highways are deserted, the traveler has ceased [to appear].
The enemy has broken the covenant, he has rejected the [a]cities,
He has no regard for [any] man.
9
The land mourns and dries out,
Lebanon is shamed and [its lush foliage] withers;
[b]Sharon is like a desert plain,
And [c]Bashan and [Mount] Carmel shake off their leaves.
10
“Now I will arise,” says the Lord.
“Now I will be exalted; now I will be lifted up.
11
“You have conceived dried grass, you will give birth to stubble;
My breath is a fire that will consume you.
12
“The peoples will be burned to lime,
Like thorns cut down which are burned in the fire.
13
“You who are far away, hear what I have done;
And you who are near, acknowledge My might.”
14
The sinners in Zion are terrified;
Trembling has seized the godless.
[They cry] “Who among us can live with the consuming fire?
Who among us can live with everlasting burning?”
15
He who walks righteously and speaks with integrity,
Who rejects gain from fraud and from oppression,
Who shakes his hand free from the taking of bribes,
Who stops his ears from hearing about bloodshed
And shuts his eyes to avoid looking upon evil;
16
He will dwell on the heights,
His place of defense will be the fortress of rocks,
His bread will be given him;
His water will be permanent.
17
Your eyes will see the King in His beauty;
They will see a far-distant land.
18
Your mind will meditate on the terror [asking]:
“Where is he who counts?
Where is he who weighs [the tribute]?
Where is he who counts the towers?”
19
You will no longer see the fierce and insolent people,
A people of unintelligible speech which no one comprehends,
Of a strange and stammering tongue which no one understands.
20
Look upon Zion, the city of our appointed feasts and observances;
Your eyes will see Jerusalem, a undisturbed settlement,
A tent which will not be taken down;
Not one of its stakes will ever be pulled up,
Nor any of its ropes be severed.
21
But there the mighty and magnificent Lord will be for us
A place of broad rivers and streams,
Where no oar-driven boat will go,
And on which no mighty and stately ship will pass.
22
For the Lord is our Judge,
The Lord is our Ruler,
The Lord is our King;
He will save us.
23
Your ship’s ropes (tackle) hang loose;
They cannot hold the base of their mast firmly,
Nor spread out the sail.
Then an abundance of spoil and plunder will be divided;
Even the lame will take the plunder.
24
And no inhabitant [of Zion] will say, “I am sick”;
The people who dwell there will be forgiven their wickedness [their sin, their injustice, their wrongdoing].
Footnotes
- Isaiah 33:8 The DSS read witnesses.
- Isaiah 33:9 The fertile pasture region south of Mt. Carmel.
- Isaiah 33:9 The fertile plateau east of the Jordan River.