Isaiah 33

God Judges the Destroyer

1 Woe to you, destroyer, you who never been destroyed. Woe to you, betrayer, you who never been betrayed. When you stop destroying, you will get destroyed. When you stop betraying, they will betray you.

2 Lord, show us mercy. We are waiting on You. Be our strength every morning, our salvation when trouble hits.

3 At the sound of Your roar, nations scatter. When You rise up, everybody runs.

4 The enemy’s stuff gets gathered up like locusts swarming and snatching everything in sight.

5 The Lord is lifted high. He lives up in heaven. He will fill Zion with justice and righteousness.

6 He will be your solid foundation, full of salvation, wisdom, and understanding. The fear of the Lord is the key that unlocks it all.

The Land Mourns, but God Rises

7 Look, brave men are crying in the streets, and peace messengers are weeping bitter tears.

8 The roads are empty. Travelers gone. Promises broken. Treaties trashed. Nobody respects anyone anymore.

9 The land’s dried up and mourning, Lebanon’s ashamed, Sharon turned into a desert, Bashan and Carmel dropped their leaves.

10 Now the Lord says, “It is My time to rise up. It is My time to show My power.”

11 You planned all this evil, but it is going to blow up in your face. Your words are like straw catching fire, they will burn you up.

12 The people are going to be burned to ash, like thorns cut down and set on fire.

The Sinners Get Scared

13 You all who far away, listen to what I have done. And you all close by, recognize My power.

14 The sinners in Zion terrified; the hypocrites shaking. They saying, “Who can live through this consuming fire, Who can survive the heat of God’s presence?”

15 Only those walking straight, speaking truth, rejecting dirty money, staying far from violence, shutting their ears to evil, and turning their eyes from sin.

16 Those people are going to live safe on high ground. Their place of safety will be a fortress. Food will be supplied, and water will never run out.

The Beauty of the King

17 Your eyes are going to see the King in all His beauty, and the land will stretch out far and wide.

18 You will look back and think, “Where is that officer who used to tax us, Where is that one who used to count the towers?”

19 You will never see those arrogant foreigners again, people with weird speech you could not even understand.

20 Look at Zion, the city of our festivals! Your eyes will see Jerusalem, a peaceful home, a tent that will never be torn down. Its stakes will not ever be pulled up, its ropes will not snap.

21 The Lord will be there with us, like a place of wide rivers and streams, but no enemy ships will ever cross them.

22 For the Lord is our Judge, our Lawgiver, and our King. He is the One who saves us.

23 Your ropes were loose and sails weak, but now the enemy’s stuff is going to be divided as loot, even the weak and crippled will get a share.

24 No one living in Zion will say, “I am sick.” And the people there will be forgiven for all their sins.