Isaiah 33:1-6

Distress and Help

1 Woe to you, destroyer, you who have not been destroyed! Woe to you, betrayer, you who have not been betrayed! When you stop destroying, you will be destroyed; when you stop betraying, you will be betrayed.

2 LORD, be gracious to us; we long for you. Be our strength every morning, our salvation in time of distress.

3 At the uproar of your army, the peoples flee; when you rise up, the nations scatter.

4 Your plunder, O nations, is harvested as by young locusts; like a swarm of locusts people pounce on it.

5 The LORD is exalted, for he dwells on high; he will fill Zion with his justice and righteousness.

6 He will be the sure foundation for your times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the LORD is the key to this treasure.^[a]

Isaiah 33:1-6 Meaning and Commentary

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.

Cross References

• 1. S 2 Kings 19:21; S Isaiah 28:1
• 2. S Isaiah 31:8; Habakkuk 2:8; S Matthew 7:2
• 3. S Isaiah 21:2; Jeremiah 30:16; Ezekiel 39:10
• 4. S Genesis 43:29; S Ezra 9:8
• 5. Isaiah 40:10; Isaiah 51:9; Isaiah 59:16; Isaiah 63:5
• 6. S Psalms 13:5; S Isaiah 12:2; Isaiah 25:9
• 7. S Isaiah 5:30
• 8. S Psalms 46:6; S Psalms 68:33
• 9. S Psalms 68:1; S Isaiah 13:14
• 10. ver 10; Numbers 10:35; Psalms 12:5; Isaiah 59:16-18
• 11. S Numbers 14:3; S 2 Kings 7:16
• 12. S Isaiah 17:5; Joel 3:13
• 13. Joel 1:4
• 14. S Isaiah 5:16; Psalms 97:9
• 15. S Job 16:19
• 16. S Isaiah 9:7; S Isaiah 28:6
• 17. S Isaiah 1:26
• 18. S Isaiah 12:2; Isaiah 26:1; Isaiah 51:6; Isaiah 60:18
• 19. S Proverbs 1:7; Isaiah 11:2-3; Matthew 6:33
• 20. S Genesis 39:3; S Job 22:25

Footnotes

• [a]. Or "is a treasure from him"