Isaiah 33:3-13

3 At the noise of the tumult the people shall flee; When You lift Yourself up, the nations shall be scattered;
4 And Your plunder shall be gathered Like the gathering of the caterpillar; As the running to and fro of locusts, He shall run upon them.
5 The Lord is exalted, for He dwells on high; He has filled Zion with justice and righteousness.
6 Wisdom and knowledge will be the stability of your times, And the strength of salvation; The fear of the Lord is His treasure.
7 Surely their valiant ones shall cry outside, The ambassadors of peace shall weep bitterly.
8 The highways lie waste, The traveling man ceases. He has broken the covenant, He has despised the cities, He regards no man.
9 The earth mourns and languishes, Lebanon is shamed and shriveled; Sharon is like a wilderness, And Bashan and Carmel shake off their fruits.
10 "Now I will rise," says the Lord; "Now I will be exalted, Now I will lift Myself up.
11 You shall conceive chaff, You shall bring forth stubble; Your breath, as fire, shall devour you.
12 And the people shall be like the burnings of lime; Like thorns cut up they shall be burned in the fire.
13 Hear, you who are afar off, what I have done; And you who are near, acknowledge My might."

Isaiah 33:3-13 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.

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. Following Masoretic Text and Vulgate; Dead Sea Scrolls read witnesses; Septuagint omits cities; Targum reads They have been removed from their cities.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.