Isaiah 33:6-16

6 He will be your safety. He is full of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge. Respect for the Lord is the greatest treasure.

7 See, brave men are crying out in the streets; those who tried to bring peace are crying loudly.

8 There is no one on the roads, no one walking in the paths. People have broken the agreements they made. They refuse to believe the proof from witnesses. No one respects other people.

9 The land is sick and dying; Lebanon is ashamed and dying. The Plain of Sharon is dry like the desert, and the trees of Bashan and Carmel are dying.

10 The Lord says, "Now, I will stand up and show my greatness. Now, I will become important to the people.

11 You people do useless things that are like hay and straw. A destructive wind will burn you like fire.

12 People will be burned until their bones become like lime; they will burn quickly like dry thornbushes."

13 You people in faraway lands, hear what I have done. You people who are near me, learn about my power.

14 The sinners in Jerusalem are afraid; those who are separated from God shake with fear. They say, "Can any of us live through this fire that destroys? Who can live near this fire that burns on and on?"

15 A person who does what is right and speaks what is right, who refuses to take money unfairly, who refuses to take money to hurt others, who does not listen to plans of murder, who refuses to think about evil --

16 this is the kind of person who will be safe. He will be protected as he would be in a high, walled city. He will always have bread, and he will not run out of water.

Isaiah 33:6-16 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.