Isaiah / Chapter 33

Isaiah 33

24 verses • Westminster Leningrad Codex 2 traditions available

Translator's Introduction

What This Chapter Is About

Isaiah 33 opens with a woe oracle against the destroyer and pivots into one of the most exalted portraits of the LORD as judge, lawgiver, king, and savior. The chapter moves from crisis to confidence: envoys weep, highways lie waste, the land mourns, yet the LORD rises in majesty. The faithful behold a king in his beauty, see a land that stretches far, and dwell in Zion — the unmovable tent whose stakes will never be pulled up. Sickness itself is forgiven in the final verse.

What Makes This Chapter Remarkable

Verse 22 compresses four titles into a single declaration — the LORD is judge, lawgiver, king, and savior. No human institution can claim all four roles; they belong to God alone. The vision of Zion as an immovable tent (v.20) reverses exile imagery and anchors hope in divine permanence rather than human fortification.

Translation Friction

We have maintained "Woe" for hoi in verse 1 as a covenant-lawsuit interjection rather than softening it. The phrase "your eyes shall behold the king in his beauty" (v.17) is rendered with messianic resonance, as the context transcends any earthly monarch.

Connections

The destroyer-destroyed pattern of verse 1 echoes the lex talionis principle. The king in his beauty (v.17) anticipates the suffering servant who "had no beauty that we should desire him" (53:2) — the contrast is deliberate within the book. The forgiveness of sickness in verse 24 foreshadows Matthew 9:2-6 where Jesus links forgiveness and healing. **Tradition comparisons:** The Dead Sea Scrolls (1QIsaiah-a) preserve this chapter with notable variants: Verse 6 has a variant in the treasure/wisdom passage. Verse 14 has the 'sinners in Zion' passage with the everlasting fire question. Verse 22 has the triple designation of the LORD as judge, lawgiver, and king.. See the [DSS Isaiah comparison](/dss-isaiah/33). Targum Jonathan provides interpretive renderings: The triple-office formula (judge, lawgiver/commander, king) is rendered literally. These titles require no anti-anthropomorphic adjustment — they are relational roles, not physical descriptions. See [Targum Jonathan on Isaiah](/targum/isaiah).

Isaiah 33:1

הוֹי שׁוֹדֵד וְאַתָּה לֹא שָׁדוּד וּבוֹגֵד וְלֹא־בָגְדוּ בוֹ כַּהֲתִמְךָ שׁוֹדֵד תּוּשַּׁד כַּנְּלֹתְךָ לִבְגֹד יִבְגְּדוּ־בָךְ׃

Woe to you, destroyer, you who have not been destroyed! You treacherous one, whom none has betrayed! When you finish destroying, you shall be destroyed; when you cease your treachery, they shall deal treacherously with you.

KJV Woe to thee that spoilest, and thou wast not spoiled; and dealest treacherously, and they dealt not treacherously with thee! when thou shalt cease to spoil, thou shalt be spoiled; and when thou shalt make an end to deal treacherously, they shall deal treacherously with thee.

Notes & Key Terms 1 term

Key Terms

הוֹי hoi

"Woe" — woe, alas, ah

Hoi introduces a prophetic judgment oracle — both a cry of grief and a legal indictment.

Translator Notes

The woe oracle targets a destroyer who has escaped destruction — almost certainly Assyria. The divine justice principle is clear: the measure you give will be the measure you receive.

Isaiah 33:2

יְהוָה חָנֵּנוּ לְךָ קִוִּינוּ הֱיֵה זְרֹעָם לַבְּקָרִים אַף־יְשׁוּעָתֵנוּ בְּעֵת צָרָה׃

O LORD, be gracious to us; we have waited for you. Be our arm every morning, our salvation in the time of distress.

KJV O LORD, be gracious unto us; we have waited for thee: be thou their arm every morning, our salvation also in the time of trouble.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

The community responds with prayer. "Be our arm" (zeroa) asks God to be their strength — the same divine arm that delivered Israel from Egypt (Exodus 6:6).

Isaiah 33:3

מִקּוֹל הָמוֹן נָדְדוּ עַמִּים מֵרוֹמְמֻתֶךָ נָפְצוּ גּוֹיִם׃

At the thunderous noise, peoples flee; when you rise up, nations scatter.

KJV At the noise of the tumult the people fled; at the lifting up of thyself the nations were scattered.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

The subject shifts to the LORD. His rising (romemut) produces the same effect as a roaring army — nations scatter before theophanic power.

Dead Sea Scrolls (1QIsaᵃ, 125 BCE)minor

"your exaltation"

1QIsaiah-a writes רוממותכה with a fuller suffix form. No impact on meaning.

Isaiah 33:4

וְאֻסַּף שְׁלַלְכֶם אֹסֶף הֶחָסִיל כְּמַשַּׁק גֵּבִים שׁוֹקֵק בּוֹ׃

Your spoil shall be gathered as the caterpillar gathers; as locusts leap upon it, so shall they leap upon your plunder.

KJV And your spoil shall be gathered like the gathering of the caterpiller: as the running to and fro of locusts shall he run upon them.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

The plunder of the destroyed enemy will be gathered as thoroughly as locusts strip a field — the destroyer's own tactics turned against him.

Isaiah 33:5

נִשְׂגָּב יְהוָה כִּי שֹׁכֵן מָרוֹם מִלֵּא צִיּוֹן מִשְׁפָּט וּצְדָקָה׃

The LORD is exalted, for he dwells on high; he has filled Zion with justice and righteousness.

KJV The LORD is exalted; for he dwelleth on high: he hath filled Zion with judgment and righteousness.

Notes & Key Terms 1 term

Key Terms

נִשְׂגָּב nisgav

"exalted" — exalted, set on high, inaccessibly high, secure

Nisgav conveys both elevation and impregnability — the LORD is not merely high but unassailably so.

Translator Notes

The LORD's exaltation is not abstract transcendence but active governance — he fills Zion with justice and righteousness, the very things human rulers have withheld.

Isaiah 33:6

וְהָיָה אֱמוּנַת עִתֶּיךָ חֹסֶן יְשׁוּעֹת חָכְמַת וָדָעַת יִרְאַת יְהוָה הִיא אוֹצָרוֹ׃

And he shall be the stability of your times, a wealth of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge; the fear of the LORD — this is his treasure.

KJV And wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of thy times, and strength of salvation: the fear of the LORD is his treasure.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

The fear of the LORD (yir'at YHWH) is called his "treasure" (otsar). In a chapter about plundered wealth, the true treasure is covenantal reverence.

Dead Sea Scrolls (1QIsaᵃ, 125 BCE)moderate

"faithfulness of"

1QIsaiah-a reads אמונת identically. The treasure of salvation is 'wisdom and knowledge — the fear of the LORD is his treasure.' The DSS and MT agree that emunah (faithfulness/stability) characterizes this divine provision. No impact on meaning, but the passage's emphasis on wisdom and fear of the LORD as 'treasure' (otsar) is theologically rich.

Isaiah 33:7

הֵן אֶרְאֶלָּם צָעֲקוּ חֻצָה מַלְאֲכֵי שָׁלוֹם מַר יִבְכָּיוּן׃

Behold, their valiant ones cry out in the streets; the envoys of peace weep bitterly.

KJV Behold, their valiant ones shall cry without: the ambassadors of peace shall weep bitterly.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

The er'elam ("valiant ones") are likely Jerusalem's warriors or diplomats. Even the bravest weep — the diplomatic situation is hopeless by human measure.

Isaiah 33:8

נָשַׁמּוּ מְסִלּוֹת שָׁבַת עֹבֵר אֹרַח הֵפֵר בְּרִית מָאַס עָרִים לֹא חָשַׁב אֱנוֹשׁ׃

The highways lie desolate, the traveler has ceased. He has broken the covenant, he has despised the cities, he regards no one.

KJV The highways lie waste, the wayfaring man ceaseth: he hath broken the covenant, he hath despised the cities, he regardeth no man.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

Desolate highways signal collapsed commerce and communication. The covenant-breaker treats treaties, cities, and human life with equal contempt.

Isaiah 33:9

אָבַל אֻמְלְלָה אָרֶץ הֶחְפִּיר לְבָנוֹן קָמַל הָיָה הַשָּׁרוֹן כָּעֲרָבָה וְנֹעֵר בָּשָׁן וְכַרְמֶל׃

The land mourns and languishes; Lebanon is ashamed and withers. Sharon has become like a desert, and Bashan and Carmel shake off their leaves.

KJV The earth mourneth and languisheth: Lebanon is ashamed and hewn down: Sharon is like a wilderness; and Bashan and Carmel shake off their fruits.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

Four of Israel's most fertile regions — Lebanon, Sharon, Bashan, Carmel — are devastated. The land itself participates in the mourning (see Hosea 4:3).

Isaiah 33:10

עַתָּה אָקוּם יֹאמַר יְהוָה עַתָּה אֵרוֹמָם עַתָּה אֶנָּשֵׂא׃

"Now I will arise," says the LORD. "Now I will be exalted; now I will lift myself up."

KJV Now will I rise, saith the LORD; now will I be exalted; now will I lift up myself.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

The triple "now" (attah) marks dramatic divine intervention. After patient waiting through human crisis, the LORD announces his own rising.

Isaiah 33:11

תַּהֲרוּ חֲשַׁשׁ תֵּלְדוּ קַשׁ רוּחֲכֶם אֵשׁ תֹּאכַלְכֶם׃

You conceive chaff, you bring forth stubble; your own breath is a fire that shall consume you.

KJV Ye shall conceive chaff, ye shall bring forth stubble: your breath, as fire, shall devour you.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

Addressed to the enemies: their schemes produce only worthless material, and their own breath (ruach) becomes the fire of their destruction.

Dead Sea Scrolls (1QIsaᵃ, 125 BCE)minor

"justice"

Identical consonantal text. The LORD fills Zion with justice and righteousness. No impact on meaning.

Isaiah 33:12

וְהָיוּ עַמִּים מִשְׂרְפוֹת שִׂיד קוֹצִים כְּסוּחִים בָּאֵשׁ יִצַּתּוּ׃

And the peoples shall be as if burned to lime, like cut thorns consumed in the fire.

KJV And the people shall be as the burnings of lime: as thorns cut up shall they be burned in the fire.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

The imagery is of complete combustion — lime-burning requires intense, sustained heat. The thorns echo the curse imagery of 32:13, now applied to God's enemies.

Isaiah 33:13

שִׁמְעוּ רְחוֹקִים אֲשֶׁר עָשִׂיתִי וּדְעוּ קְרוֹבִים גְּבוּרָתִי׃

"Hear, you who are far off, what I have done; and you who are near, acknowledge my might."

KJV Hear, ye that are far off, what I have done; and, ye that are near, acknowledge my might.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

The LORD addresses both distant nations and nearby peoples. His acts of judgment are a universal proclamation meant to be known by all.

Isaiah 33:14

פָּחֲדוּ בְצִיּוֹן חַטָּאִים אָחֲזָה רְעָדָה חֲנֵפִים מִי יָגוּר לָנוּ אֵשׁ אוֹכֵלָה מִי יָגוּר לָנוּ מוֹקְדֵי עוֹלָם׃

The sinners in Zion are terrified; trembling has seized the godless: "Who among us can dwell with consuming fire? Who among us can dwell with everlasting flames?"

KJV The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

The question is about surviving the presence of a holy God. The sinners within the covenant community recognize that God's holiness is itself the consuming fire (see Hebrews 12:29).

Dead Sea Scrolls (1QIsaᵃ, 125 BCE)moderate

"everlasting fire"

1QIsaiah-a reads אש עולם identically. The question 'Who among us can dwell with everlasting fire? Who among us can dwell with everlasting burnings?' is one of the most dramatic in Isaiah. The answer (v. 15) is not escape from fire but righteousness within it — the one who walks righteously can dwell with God's consuming holiness. Both traditions preserve this startling redefinition of who can endure divine presence.

Isaiah 33:15

הֹלֵךְ צְדָקוֹת וְדֹבֵר מֵישָׁרִים מֹאֵס בְּבֶצַע מַעֲשַׁקּוֹת נֹעֵר כַּפָּיו מִתְּמֹךְ בַּשֹּׁחַד אֹטֵם אָזְנוֹ מִשְּׁמֹעַ דָּמִים וְעֹצֵם עֵינָיו מֵרְאוֹת בְּרָע׃

He who walks in righteousness and speaks what is upright, who despises the gain of oppression, who shakes his hands free from holding a bribe, who stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed, and shuts his eyes from looking upon evil —

KJV He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil;

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

Isaiah's answer to verse 14, structured like an entrance liturgy (compare Psalm 15 and Psalm 24:3-4). Five ethical qualifications describe who can dwell in God's holy presence.

Isaiah 33:16

הוּא מְרוֹמִים יִשְׁכֹּן מְצָדוֹת סְלָעִים מִשְׂגַּבּוֹ לַחְמוֹ נִתָּן מֵימָיו נֶאֱמָנִים׃

he shall dwell on the heights; his refuge shall be the fortress of rocks. His bread shall be given him; his water shall be sure.

KJV He shall dwell on high: his place of defence shall be the munitions of rocks: bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

The righteous receives three provisions: elevated dwelling (safety), bread (sustenance), and reliable water (ongoing life) — covenant blessings where God becomes fortress, provider, and sustainer.

Isaiah 33:17

מֶלֶךְ בְּיָפְיוֹ תֶּחֱזֶינָה עֵינֶיךָ תִּרְאֶינָה אֶרֶץ מַרְחַקִּים׃

Your eyes shall behold the king in his beauty; they shall see a land that stretches far away.

KJV Thine eyes shall see the king in his beauty: they shall behold the land that is very far off.

Notes & Key Terms 1 term

Key Terms

יֹפִי yofi

"beauty" — beauty, splendor, comeliness

The king's beauty is the visible radiance of righteous rule, standing in deliberate tension with Isaiah 53:2 where the servant has "no beauty that we should desire him."

Translator Notes

Those who shut their eyes from evil (v.15) are given eyes to see the king in glory. The movement from moral discipline to beatific vision is profoundly theological.

Dead Sea Scrolls (1QIsaᵃ, 125 BCE)minor

"king"

Identical consonantal text. 'Your eyes will see the king in his beauty' — the promise of beholding the divine king in eschatological splendor. No impact on meaning.

Isaiah 33:18

לִבְּךָ יֶהְגֶּה אֵימָה אַיֵּה סֹפֵר אַיֵּה שֹׁקֵל אַיֵּה סֹפֵר אֶת־הַמִּגְדָּלִים׃

Your heart shall muse on the former terror: "Where is the one who counted? Where is the one who weighed? Where is the one who counted the towers?"

KJV Thine heart shall meditate terror. Where is the scribe? where is the receiver? where is he that counted the towers?

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

The rhetorical questions recall Assyrian officials who tallied tribute, weighed silver, and surveyed fortifications. In the age of the king's beauty, these oppressors are simply gone.

Isaiah 33:19

אֶת־עַם נוֹעָז לֹא תִרְאֶה עַם עִמְקֵי שָׂפָה מִשְּׁמוֹעַ נִלְעַג לָשׁוֹן אֵין בִּינָה׃

You shall no longer see the fierce people, the people of obscure speech that you cannot comprehend, of a stammering tongue that you cannot understand.

KJV Thou shalt not see a fierce people, a people of a deeper speech than thou canst perceive; of a stammering tongue, that thou canst not understand.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

The Assyrians spoke Akkadian — foreign and terrifying to Hebrew speakers. In the new Zion, the threatening foreigner with incomprehensible speech is gone.

Isaiah 33:20

חֲזֵה צִיּוֹן קִרְיַת מוֹעֲדֵנוּ עֵינֶיךָ תִרְאֶינָה יְרוּשָׁלַ͏ִם נָוֶה שַׁאֲנָן אֹהֶל בַּל־יִצְעָן בַּל־יִסַּע יְתֵדֹתָיו לָנֶצַח וְכָל־חֲבָלָיו בַּל־יִנָּתֵקוּ׃

Gaze upon Zion, the city of our appointed feasts! Your eyes shall see Jerusalem — a quiet habitation, a tent that shall not be moved: its stakes shall never be pulled up, nor any of its cords be broken.

KJV Look upon Zion, the city of our solemnities: thine eyes shall see Jerusalem a quiet habitation, a tabernacle that shall not be taken down; not one of the stakes thereof shall ever be removed, neither shall any of the cords thereof be broken.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

The command to "gaze" (chazeh) uses the same root as the prophetic word for vision (chazon). Jerusalem is both the city of appointed feasts (mo'adenu) and an immovable tent — worship calendar and divine presence converge.

Dead Sea Scrolls (1QIsaᵃ, 125 BCE)minor

"majestic/mighty"

Identical consonantal text. The LORD as 'a place of broad rivers and streams' where no galley or mighty ship passes — divine protection described in maritime metaphor. No impact on meaning.

Isaiah 33:21

כִּי אִם־שָׁם אַדִּיר יְהוָה לָנוּ מְקוֹם־נְהָרִים יְאֹרִים רַחֲבֵי יָדָיִם בַּל־תֵּלֶךְ בּוֹ אֳנִי־שַׁיִט וְצִי אַדִּיר לֹא יַעַבְרֶנּוּ׃

But there the LORD in majesty shall be for us a place of broad rivers and streams, where no galley with oars shall go, and no mighty ship shall pass.

KJV But there the glorious LORD will be unto us a place of broad rivers and streams; wherein shall go no galley with oars, neither shall gallant ship pass thereby.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

Jerusalem lacked a great river unlike Babylon, Egypt, or Nineveh. The LORD himself becomes Zion's river — providing what geography denied, yet admitting no warships.

Isaiah 33:22

כִּי יְהוָה שֹׁפְטֵנוּ יְהוָה מְחֹקְקֵנוּ יְהוָה מַלְכֵּנוּ הוּא יוֹשִׁיעֵנוּ׃

For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our king — he will save us.

KJV For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our king; he will save us.

Notes & Key Terms 1 term

Key Terms

מְחֹקֵק mechoqeq

"lawgiver" — lawgiver, statute-maker, one who inscribes, ruler

From choq (statute). The LORD is the source and inscriber of law itself — legislative, judicial, executive, and salvific authority all reside in one person.

Translator Notes

One of the most theologically compressed verses in Isaiah. It anticipates the understanding of Christ as prophet, priest, and king while adding the legislative function.

Dead Sea Scrolls (1QIsaᵃ, 125 BCE)minor

"our judge...our lawgiver...our king"

1QIsaiah-a writes the triple designation with plene spellings. The LORD is identified as judge, lawgiver, and king — three functions of governance concentrated in the divine sovereign. This threefold designation influenced later discussions of divine sovereignty and the separation of powers. Both traditions preserve the same triadic formula.

Targum Jonathan (Aramaic, 1st-5th c. CE)literal

"For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our commander, the LORD is our king."

The triple-office formula (judge, lawgiver/commander, king) is rendered literally. These titles require no anti-anthropomorphic adjustment — they are relational roles, not physical descriptions.

Isaiah 33:23

נִטְּשׁוּ חֲבָלָיִךְ בַּל־יְחַזְּקוּ כֵן־תָּרְנָם בַּל־פָּרְשׂוּ נֵס אָז חֻלַּק עַד־שָׁלָל מַרְבָּה פִּסְחִים בָּזְזוּ בַז׃

Your rigging hangs loose; it cannot hold the mast firm or spread the sail. Then an abundance of spoil shall be divided — even the lame shall carry off plunder.

KJV Thy tacklings are loosed; they could not well strengthen their mast, they could not spread the sail: then is the prey of a great spoil divided; the lame take the prey.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

The ship metaphor from verse 21 is applied to the enemy: their vessel is crippled. The spoil is so vast that even the lame (pisechim) take their share, echoing 1 Samuel 30:24.

Isaiah 33:24

וּבַל־יֹאמַר שָׁכֵן חָלִיתִי הָעָם הַיֹּשֵׁב בָּהּ נְשֻׂא עָוֺן׃

And no inhabitant shall say, "I am sick"; the people who dwell there shall be forgiven their iniquity.

KJV And the inhabitant shall not say, I am sick: the people that dwell therein shall be forgiven their iniquity.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

The chapter's final verse links physical healing to spiritual forgiveness — a connection Jesus explicitly claims in Mark 2:5-12. The word nesu ("forgiven," literally "lifted, carried away") uses the same root as the scapegoat bearing sin in Leviticus 16:22.

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