Esias 33

1 Woe to them that afflict you; but no one makes you miserable: and he that deals perfidiously with you does not deal perfidiously: they that deal perfidiously shall be taken and given up, and as a moth on a garment, so shall they be spoiled.

Woe to you, destroyer who has not been destroyed! Woe to the betrayer whom they have not betrayed! When you stop destroying, you will be destroyed. When you stop betraying, they will betray you.

2 Lord, have mercy upon us; for we have trusted in thee: the seed of the rebellious is gone to destruction, but our deliverance was in a time of affliction.

Yahweh, be gracious to us; we wait for you; be our arm every morning, our salvation in the time of trouble.

3 By reason of the terrible sound the nations were dismayed for fear of thee, and the heathen were scattered.

At the loud noise the peoples flee; when you arise, the nations are scattered.

4 And now shall the spoils of your small and great be gathered: as if one should gather locusts, so shall they mock you.

Your spoil is gathered as the locusts gather; as locusts leap, men leap on it.

5 The God who dwells on high is holy: Sion is filled with judgment and righteousness.

Yahweh is exalted. He lives in a high place. He will fill Zion with justice and righteousness.

6 They shall be delivered up to the law: our salvation is our treasure: there are wisdom and knowledge and piety toward the Lord; these are the treasures of righteousness.

He will be the stability in your times, abundance of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge; the fear of Yahweh is his treasure.

7 Behold now, these shall be terrified with fear of you: those whom ye feared shall cry out because of you: messengers shall be sent, bitterly weeping, entreating for peace.

Look, their envoys cry in the streets; the diplomats hoping for peace weep bitterly.

8 For the ways of these shall be made desolate: the terror of the nations has been made to cease, and the covenant with these is taken away, and ye shall by no means deem them men.

The highways are deserted; there are no more travelers. Covenants are broken, witnesses are despised, and mankind is not respected.

9 The land mourns; Libanus is ashamed: Saron is become marshes; Galilee shall be laid bare, and Chermel.

The land mourns and withers away; Lebanon is ashamed and withers away; Sharon is like a desert plain; and Bashan and Carmel shake off their leaves.

10 Now will I arise, saith the Lord, now will I be glorified; now will I be exalted.

“Now will I arise,” says Yahweh; “now I will be lifted up; now I will be elevated.

11 Now shall ye see, now shall ye perceive; the strength of your breath, shall be vain; fire shall devour you.

You conceive chaff, and you give birth to stubble; your breath is a fire that will consume you.

12 And the nations shall be burnt up; as a thorn in the field cast out and burnt up.

The peoples will be burned to lime, as thornbushes are cut down and are burned.

13 They that are afar off shall hear what I have done; they that draw nigh shall know my strength.

You who are far away, hear what I have done; and, you who are near, acknowledge my might.”

14 The sinners in Sion have departed; trembling shall seize the ungodly. Who will tell you that a fire is kindled? Who will tell you of the eternal place?

The sinners in Zion are afraid; trembling has seized the godless ones. Who among us can sojourn with a raging fire? Who among us can sojourn with everlasting burnings?

15 He that walks in righteousness, speaking rightly, hating transgression and iniquity, and shaking his hands from gifts, stopping his ears that he should not hear the judgment of blood, shutting his eyes that he should not see injustice.

He who walks righteously and speaks honestly; who despises the gain of oppression, who shakes his hand so that it will not accept a bribe, who stops his ears from hearing about bloodshed, and who shuts his eyes from looking on evil—

16 he shall dwell in a high cave of a strong rock: bread shall be given him, and his water shall be sure.

this is the man who will dwell on the heights, his place of defense will be the fortress among the cliffs, his food will be given, and his water will be in steady supply.

17 Ye shall see a king with glory: your eyes shall behold a land from afar.

Your eyes will see the king in his beauty; they will see a land off in the distance.

18 Your soul shall meditate terror. Where are the scribes? where are the counsellors, where is he that numbers them that are growing up,

Your heart will recall the terror; where is the scribe, where is he who weighed the money? Where is he who counted the towers?

19 [even] the small and great people? with whom he took not counsel, neither did he understand [a people] of deep speech, so that a despised people should not hear, and there is no understanding to him that hears.

You will no longer see the defiant people, a people of a strange language that you do not understand.

20 Behold the city of Sion, our refuge: thine eyes shall behold Jerusalem, a rich city, tabernacles which shall not be shaken, neither shall the pins of her tabernacle be moved for ever, neither shall her cords be at all broken:

Look at Zion, the city of our feasts; your eyes will see Jerusalem as a quiet habitation, a tent that will not be removed, whose stakes will never be pulled up nor will any of its cords be broken.

21 for the name of the Lord is great to you: ye shall have a place, [even] rivers and wide and spacious channels: thou shalt not go this way, neither a vessel with oars go [thereby].

Instead, Yahweh in majesty will be with us, in a place of broad rivers and streams. No warship with oars will travel it, and no large ships will sail by.

22 For my God is great: the Lord our judge shall not pass me by: the Lord is our prince, the Lord is our king; the Lord, he shall save us.

For Yahweh is our judge, Yahweh is our lawgiver, Yahweh is our king; he will save us.

23 Thy cords are broken, for they had no strength: thy meat has given way, it shall not spread the sails, it shall not bear a signal, until it be given up for plunder; therefore shall many lame men take spoil.

Your riggings are slack; they cannot hold the mast in place; they cannot spread the sail; when the great spoil is divided, even the lame will drag off the spoil.

24 And the people dwelling among them shall by no means say, I am in pain: for their sin shall be forgiven them.

The inhabitants will not say, “I am sick;” the people who live there will be forgiven for their iniquity.