33:1 WOE TO you, O destroyer, you who were not yourself destroyed, who deal treacherously though they [your victims] did not deal treacherously with you! When you have ceased to destroy, you will be destroyed; and when you have stopped dealing treacherously, they will deal treacherously with you. |
33:2 O Lord, be gracious to us; we have waited [expectantly] for You. Be the arm [of Your servants--their strength and defense] every morning, our salvation in the time of trouble. |
33:3 At the noise of the tumult [caused by Your voice at which the enemy is overthrown], the peoples flee; at the lifting up of Yourself, nations are scattered. |
33:4 And the spoil [of the Assyrians] is gathered [by the inhabitants of Jerusalem] as the caterpillar gathers; as locusts leap {and} run to and fro, so [the Jews spoil the Assyrians' forsaken camp as they] leap upon it. |
33:5 The Lord is exalted, for He dwells on high; He will fill Zion with justice and righteousness (moral and spiritual rectitude in every area and relation). |
33:6 And there shall be stability in your times, an abundance of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge; the reverent fear {and} worship of the Lord is your treasure {and} His. |
33:7 Behold, their valiant ones cry without; the ambassadors of peace weep bitterly. |
33:8 The highways lie waste, the wayfaring man ceases. The enemy has broken the covenant, he has despised the cities {and} {the witnesses}, he regards no man. |
33:9 The land mourns and languishes, Lebanon is confounded and [its luxuriant verdure] withers away; Sharon [a fertile pasture region south of Mount Carmel] is like a desert, and Bashan [a broad, fertile plateau east of the Jordan River] and [Mount] Carmel shake off their leaves. |
33:10 Now will I arise, says the Lord. Now will I lift up Myself; now will I be exalted. |
33:11 You conceive chaff, you bring forth stubble; your breath is a fire that consumes you. |
33:12 And the people will be burned as if to lime, like thorns cut down that are burned in the fire. |
33:13 Hear, you who are far off [says the Lord], what I have done; and you who are near, acknowledge My might! |
33:14 The sinners in Zion are afraid; trembling seizes the godless ones. [They cry] Who among us can dwell with that devouring fire? Who among us can dwell with those everlasting burnings? |
33:15 He who walks righteously and speaks uprightly, who despises gain from fraud {and} from oppression, who shakes his hand free from the taking of bribes, who stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed and shuts his eyes to avoid looking upon evil. |
33:16 [Such a man] will dwell on the heights; his place of defense will be the fortresses of rocks; his bread will be given him; water for him will be sure. |
33:17 Your eyes will see the King in His beauty; [your eyes] will behold a land of wide distances that stretches afar. |
33:18 Your mind will meditate on the terror: [asking] Where is he who counted? Where is he who weighed the tribute? Where is he who counted the towers? |
33:19 You will see no more the fierce {and} insolent people, a people of a speech too deep {and} obscure to be comprehended, of a strange {and} stammering tongue that you cannot understand. |
33:20 Look upon Zion, the city of our set feasts {and} solemnities! Your eyes shall see Jerusalem, a quiet habitation, a tent that shall not be taken down; not one of its stakes shall ever be pulled up, neither shall any of its cords be broken. |
33:21 But there the Lord will be for us in majesty {and} splendor a place of broad rivers and streams, where no oar-propelled boat can go, and no mighty {and} stately ship can pass. |
33:22 For the Lord is our Judge, the Lord is our Lawgiver, the Lord is our King; He will save us. |
33:23 Your hoisting ropes hang loose; they cannot strengthen {and} hold firm the foot of their mast or keep the sail spread out. Then will prey and spoil in abundance be divided; even the lame will take the prey. |
33:24 And no inhabitant [of Zion] will say, I am sick; the people who dwell there will be forgiven their iniquity {and} guilt. |