Isaiah 33:12-22

12 "The peoples will be burned to lime, ¹Like cut thorns which are burned in the fire.

13 "You who are far away, ²hear what I have done; And you who are near, acknowledge My might."

14 ³Sinners in Zion are terrified; ⁴Trembling has seized the godless. "Who among us can live with ⁵the consuming fire? Who among us can live with continual ⁶burning?"

15 He who ⁷walks righteously and speaks with sincerity, He who rejects unjust * gain And shakes his hands so that they hold no bribe; He who stops his ears from hearing about bloodshed And ⁸shuts his eyes from looking upon evil;

16 He will dwell on the heights, ⁹His refuge will be the impregnable rock; ¹⁰His bread will be given him, His water will be sure.

17 Your eyes will see ¹¹the King in His beauty; They will behold ¹²a far-distant land.

18 Your heart will meditate on ¹³terror: "Where is ¹⁴he who counts? Where is he who weighs? Where is he who counts the towers?"

19 You will no longer see a fierce people, A people of ¹⁵unintelligible speech which no one comprehends, Of a stammering tongue which no one understands.

20 ¹⁶Look upon Zion, the city of our appointed feasts; Your eyes will see Jerusalem, an ¹⁷undisturbed habitation, ¹⁸A tent which will not be folded; Its stakes will never * be pulled up, Nor any of its cords be torn apart.

21 But there the majestic One, the LORD, will be for us A place of ¹⁹rivers and wide canals On which no boat with oars will go, And on which no mighty ship will pass -

22 For the LORD is our ²⁰judge, The LORD is ²¹our lawgiver, The LORD is ²²our king; ²³He will save us-

Isaiah 33:12-22 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. 2 Samuel 23:6, 7; Isaiah 10:17; Isaiah 27:4
• 2. Psalms 48:10; Isaiah 49:1
• 3. Isaiah 1:28
• 4. Isaiah 32:11
• 5. Isaiah 30:27, 30; Hebrews 12:29
• 6. Isaiah 9:18, 19; Isaiah 10:16; Isaiah 47:14
• 7. Psalms 15:2; Psalms 24:4; Isaiah 58:6-11
• 8. Psalms 119:37
• 9. Isaiah 25:4
• 10. Isaiah 49:10
• 11. Isaiah 6:5; Isaiah 24:23; Isaiah 33:21, 22
• 12. Isaiah 26:15
• 13. Isaiah 17:14
• 14. 1 Corinthians 1:20
• 15. Deuteronomy 28:49, 50; Isaiah 28:11; Jeremiah 5:15
• 16. Psalms 48:12
• 17. Psalms 46:5; Psalms 125:1, 2; Isaiah 32:18
• 18. Isaiah 54:2
• 19. Isaiah 41:18; Isaiah 43:19, 20; Isaiah 48:18; Isaiah 66:12
• 20. Isaiah 2:4; Isaiah 11:4; Isaiah 16:5; Isaiah 51:5
• 21. Isaiah 1:10; Isaiah 51:4, 7; James 4:12
• 22. Psalms 89:18; Isaiah 33:17; Zechariah 9:9
• 23. Isaiah 25:9; Isaiah 35:4; Isaiah 49:25, 26; Isaiah 60:16

Footnotes

• [a] Lit "know"
• [b] Lit "everlasting"
• [c] Lit "gain of extortioners"
• [d] Lit "stronghold of rock"
• [e] Lit "deepness of lip"
• [f] Lit "from hearing"
• [g] Lit "there is no understanding"