Isaiah 33

1 Woe to thee that spoilest, and thou wast not spoiled; and that dealest treacherously, and they dealt not treacherously with thee! When thou shalt cease to spoil, thou shalt be spoiled; when thou shalt make an end of dealing treacherously, they shall deal treacherously with thee.

Tragedy is coming to you, you destroyer who has not experienced destruction yourself, you deceiver who has not experienced deception yourself! When you have finished with your destroying, you will be destroyed yourself. Then you are finished with your deceiving, you will be deceived yourselves.

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

Lord, please be kind to us; we put our confidence in you. Be the strength we rely on every morning; be our salvation in times of trouble.

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

When you roar, the peoples run away; when you prepare for action, the nations scatter!

4 And your spoil shall be gathered [like] the gathering of the caterpillar: as the running of locusts shall they run upon it.

You plunder defeated enemy armies like caterpillars eating up plants; like an attack of swarming locusts.

5 Jehovah is exalted; for he dwelleth on high: he hath filled Zion with justice and righteousness;

The Lord is praised for he lives in highest heaven; he has filled Zion with justice and right.

6 and he shall be the stability of thy times, the riches of salvation, wisdom and knowledge: the fear of Jehovah shall be your treasure.

He will be your constant support throughout your lives an abundant source of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge. Reverence for the Lord is what makes Zion rich.

7 Behold, their valiant ones cry without; the messengers of peace weep bitterly.

But look! Even your bravest soldiers are crying loudly in the street; the messengers you sent to ask for peace are weeping bitterly.

8 The highways are desolate, the wayfaring man ceaseth. He hath broken the covenant, he hath despised the cities, he regardeth no man.

Your highways are deserted; nobody's traveling on your roads anymore. He breaks the treaty; he despises the witnesses; he doesn't care about anybody.

9 The land mourneth, it languisheth; Lebanon is ashamed, is withered; the Sharon is become as a desert, and Bashan and Carmel are stripped.

Israel is in mourning and fades away; Lebanon withers in shame; the fields of Sharon have become a desert; the forests of Bashan and Carmel have shed their leaves.

10 Now will I arise, saith Jehovah; now will I be exalted, now will I lift up myself.

“But now I'm going to intervene!” says the Lord. “I'm prepared to act! I will show myself to be above all others!

11 Ye shall conceive dry grass, ye shall bring forth stubble: your breath shall devour you [as] fire.

All you give birth to is only dry grass, all you deliver is just stubble. Your breath is a fire that will burn you up.

12 And the peoples shall be [as] burnings of lime, [as] thorns cut up shall they be burned in the fire.

You people will be burned to ashes like thorns that are cut down and thrown into the fire.

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

Those of you who are far away, recognize what I have accomplished; those of you who are nearby, recognize how powerful I am.”

14 The sinners in Zion are afraid; trembling hath surprised the hypocrites: Who among us shall dwell with the consuming fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting flames?

The sinners who live in Zion tremble with fear; those who are irreligious are overcome with terror. They ask, “Who can live with this fire that consumes everything? Who can live among such everlasting burning?”

15 — He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from taking hold of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil:

Those who live right and speak the truth, those who refuse to profit from extortion and refuse to take bribes, who don't listen to plots to kill people, who close their eyes rather than look at evil.

16 he shall dwell on high, the fortresses of the rocks shall be his high retreat; bread shall be given him, his water shall be sure.

They will live on high; they will be protected by the mountain fortresses; they will always be provided with food and will always have water.

17 Thine eyes shall see the King in his beauty; they shall behold the land that is far off.

You will see the king in his wonderful appearance, and you will view a land that stretches into the distance.

18 Thy heart shall meditate on terror: Where is the scribe? where is the receiver? where is he that counted the towers?

In your mind you will think about the terrifying things that were expected, and then ask yourself, “Where are the enemy officials—the scribes who were to record events, the treasurers who were to weigh the looted money, the surveyors who were to count and destroy the towers?”

19 Thou shalt no more see the fierce people, a people of a deeper speech than thou canst comprehend, of a stammering tongue that cannot be understood.

You won't see these offensive people anymore with their barbaric language that sounds like someone stammering and is impossible to understand.

20 Look upon Zion, the city of our solemnities: thine eyes shall see Jerusalem a quiet habitation, a tent that shall not be removed, the stakes whereof shall never be pulled up, neither shall any of its cords be broken;

On the contrary, you'll see Zion as a festival city. You will view Jerusalem as a quiet and peaceful place. It will be like a tent that's never taken down, whose tent-pegs are never pulled up, whose guy ropes never snap.

21 but there Jehovah is unto us glorious, — a place of rivers, of broad streams: no galley with oars shall go there, neither shall gallant ship pass thereby.

Right here our majestic Lord will be like a place of broad rivers and waters that no enemy ship with oars can cross—no great ship can pass.

22 For Jehovah is our judge, Jehovah, our lawgiver, Jehovah, our king: he will save us.

For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king. He is the one who will save us.

23 Thy tacklings are loosed; they strengthen not the socket of their mast, they cannot spread the sail: then is the prey of a great spoil divided; the lame take the prey.

The rigging on your ship hangs loose so the mast isn't secure and the sail can't be spread. Then all the looted treasure you're carrying will be divided among the victors—even those who are lame will have their share.

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

Nobody in Israel will say, “I'm sick,” and those who live there will have their guilt removed.