Yeshayah 33

1 3 Hoy (woe, doom) to thee that destroyest, and thou wast not destroyed; and dealest treacherously, and they dealt not treacherously as a boged (traitor, treacherous person) with thee! When thou shalt cease to destroy, thou shalt be destroyed; and when thou shalt make an end to deal treacherously, they shall deal treacherously as a boged with thee.

2 Hashem, be gracious unto us; we have waited for Thee; be Thou their zero’a in the bekarim (mornings), our Yeshuah (salvation) also in the time of tzoros.

3 At the noise of the tumult the peoples fled; at the lifting up of Thyself the Goyim were scattered.

4 And your shalal (booty, plunder, gain) shall be gathered like the gathering of the locusts; as the swarm of grasshoppers shall men pounce upon them.

5 Hashem is exalted; for He dwelleth on high; He hath filled Tziyon with mishpat and tzedakah.

6 And He shall be the emunah (faithfulness, stability) of thy times, a rich store of Yeshuah (salvation), chochmah, and da’as; the yirat Hashem is his otzar (treasure).

7 Behold, their valiant ones shall cry in the street; the malachei shalom shall weep bitterly.

8 The mesillot (highways) lie in ruins, the wayfaring man ceaseth; he hath annulled the brit (covenant), he hath despised the towns, he regardeth no enosh (humankind).

9 Ha’aretz mourneth and languisheth; Levanon is ashamed and shriveled; Sharon is like an aravah; and Bashan and Carmel shake off their foliage.

10 Now will I arise, saith Hashem; now will I be exalted; now will I lift up Myself.

11 Ye shall conceive chaff, ye shall bring forth straw; your ruach (breath), as eish, shall devour you.

12 And the peoples shall be as the burnings of lime; as thorns cut up shall they be burned in the eish.

13 Hear, ye that are far off, what I have done; and, ye that are near, acknowledge My gevurah (might).

14 The chatta’im (sinners) in Tziyon are terrified; trembling hath seized the khanafim (hypocrites). Who among us can dwell with the devouring eish? Who among us can dwell with mokedei olam (everlasting burnings, see Dan 12:2)?

15 He that walketh in tzedakot, and speaketh meisharim (right things), he that despiseth the gain of extortions, that guards his palms from accepting shochad (bribe[s]), that stoppeth his ozen from hearing of dahm, and shutteth his eynayim from seeing rah;

16 He shall dwell on high; his metzadot shall be the rocky fortress; his lechem shall be given him; his mayim shall be unfailing.

17 Thine eynayim shall see Melech in His yafeh (beauty); they shall behold eretz that is very far off.

18 Thine lev shall ponder terror. Where is the sofer (scribe)? Where is he who weighs [for Assyrian tax collection]? Where is he that counts the migdalim (towers)?

19 Thou shalt no longer see a fierce people, a people of unfathomable language that is incomprehensible, of a stammering lashon, that thou canst not understand.

20 Look upon Tziyon, the city of mo’adenu (our appointed times, festivals); thine eynayim shall see Yerushalayim a quiet naveh, an ohel that shall not be taken down; not one stake thereof shall ever be pulled up, neither shall any of the ropes thereof be broken.

21 But there Adir Hashem will be unto us a makom (place) of broad rivers and streams; wherein shall go no galley with oars, neither shall a mighty ship pass thereby.

22 For Hashem is our Shofet, Hashem is Mechokkeinu (our Lawgiver), Hashem is Malkeinu; Hu yoshieinu (He will save us).

23 Thy riggings are loosed; they could not well strengthen their mast, they could not spread the nes (sail); then is the shalal (spoil, plunder) of a great plunder divided; the pisechim (lame ones) take the plunder.

24 And the inhabitant [of Yerushalayim] shall not say, I am ill; the people that dwell therein shall be forgiven their avon.

Yeshayah 33 Commentary

Chapter 33

God's judgments against the enemies of his church. (1-14) The happiness of his people. (15-24)

Verses 1-14 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.

Verses 15-24 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.

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO ISAIAH 33

This chapter contains an account of God's judgments upon the enemies of his people, and of the peaceable, comfortable, and happy state of the church in the latter day. The judgment denounced, Isa 33:1 a prayer of the church for safety and protection, which it promises itself from what God had heretofore done, Isa 33:2,3 an answer to it, declaring the spoil of the enemy, and the happy times the people of God should enjoy through his appearance for them, Isa 33:4-6 though previous thereunto there would be very distressing ones, Isa 33:7-9 when the Lord resolves to arise and exert his power in the destruction of the people, who should be burnt up like stubble, thorns, and lime, Isa 33:10-12 persons far and near are called upon to take notice of this, Isa 33:13 which would issue in a different manner, in the surprise and terror of hypocrites, and in the safety and plenty of provisions for good men, who are described, Isa 33:14-16 and then follow promises to them, of seeing the King in his beauty, and beholding a distant country of reflecting on past terror with pleasure, being freed from it, and in no danger of a foreign enemy, Isa 33:17-19 and the chapter is concluded with a famous prophecy of the peace, prosperity, and safety of the church, and of the healthfulness of its inhabitants, under the protection of Christ, its King and Lawgiver, its enemies being also an easy prey to it, Isa 33:20-24.