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Major Prophets · WORLD ENGLISH BIBLE

Isaiah 33

Judgment and hope, God's holiness, the servant, restored Zion, and new creation.

Isaiah overview
Old Testament

Isaiah 33

1Woe to you who destroy, but you weren’t destroyed, and who betray, but nobody betrayed you! When you have finished destroying, you will be destroyed; and when you have finished betrayal, you will be betrayed.

2LORD, be gracious to us. We have waited for you. Be our strength every morning, our salvation also in the time of trouble.

3At the noise of the thunder, the peoples have fled. When you lift yourself up, the nations are scattered.

4Your plunder will be gathered as the caterpillar gathers. Men will leap on it as locusts leap.

5The LORD is exalted, for he dwells on high. He has filled Zion with justice and righteousness.

6There will be stability in your times, abundance of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge. The fear of the LORD is your treasure.

7Behold, their valiant ones cry outside; the ambassadors of peace weep bitterly.

8The highways are desolate. The traveling man ceases. The covenant is broken. He has despised the cities. He doesn’t respect man.

9The land mourns and languishes. Lebanon is confounded and withers away. Sharon is like a desert, and Bashan and Carmel are stripped bare.

10“Now I will arise,” says the LORD. “Now I will lift myself up. Now I will be exalted.

11You will conceive chaff. You will give birth to stubble. Your breath is a fire that will devour you.

12The peoples will be like the burning of lime, like thorns that are cut down and burned in the fire.

13Hear, you who are far off, what I have done; and, you who are near, acknowledge my might.”

14The sinners in Zion are afraid. Trembling has seized the godless ones. Who among us can live with the devouring fire? Who among us can live with everlasting burning?

15He who walks righteously and speaks blamelessly, he who despises the gain of oppressions, who gestures with his hands, refusing to take a bribe, who stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed, and shuts his eyes from looking at evil—

16he will dwell on high. His place of defense will be the fortress of rocks. His bread will be supplied. His waters will be sure.

17Your eyes will see the king in his beauty. They will see a distant land.

18Your heart will meditate on the terror. Where is he who counted? Where is he who weighed? Where is he who counted the towers?

19You will no longer see the fierce people, a people of a deep speech that you can’t comprehend, with a strange language that you can’t understand.

20Look at Zion, the city of our appointed festivals. Your eyes will see Jerusalem, a quiet habitation, a tent that won’t be removed. Its stakes will never be plucked up, nor will any of its cords be broken.

21But there the LORD will be with us in majesty, a place of wide rivers and streams, in which no galley with oars will go, neither will any gallant ship pass by there.

22For the LORD is our judge. The LORD is our lawgiver. The LORD is our king. He will save us.

23Your rigging is untied. They couldn’t strengthen the foot of their mast. They couldn’t spread the sail. Then the prey of a great plunder was divided. The lame took the prey.

24The inhabitant won’t say, “I am sick.” The people who dwell therein will be forgiven their iniquity.

READ IN CONTEXT

Before applying this chapter

Judgment and hope, God's holiness, the servant, restored Zion, and new creation. Read Isaiah 33 within the complete Isaiah overview, and use the contextual Bible reading guide before forming a personal application. Chapter divisions aid navigation, but the literary unit may begin earlier or continue into the next chapter.

Observe first

Mark repeated words, changes of speaker, commands, promises, contrasts, questions, and the relationship between paragraphs.

Apply responsibly

Distinguish description from command and immediate audience from later readers before forming a personal application.

TEXT-DERIVED READING NOTES

What to notice in Isaiah 33

Isaiah 33 contains 24 verses and about 545 words in this translation. These observations come from the chapter itself; they are prompts for close reading, not claims about its only possible meaning.

The opening movement

Verse 1 begins: “Woe to you who destroy, but you weren’t destroyed, and who betray, but nobody betrayed you! When you have finished destroying, you will be destroyed; and when you have…” Ask what situation, voice, image, or argument this opening establishes for everything that follows.

The closing movement

Verse 24 closes: “The inhabitant won’t say, “I am sick.” The people who dwell therein will be forgiven their iniquity.” Compare the ending with the opening and note what changed, resolved, intensified, or remained open.

Vocabulary worth tracing

Recurring or prominent content words include will, zion, like, fire, eyes, people. Follow where each word appears and whether its meaning shifts with the speaker or setting.

COMMON QUESTIONS

About Isaiah 33

Which Bible translation is shown here?+

This page reproduces the World English Bible Protestant edition (WEBP), a modern-English translation dedicated to the public domain.

How should I cite a specific verse?+

Use the book, chapter, and verse—for example, Isaiah 33:1—and name the World English Bible if the wording matters. Each verse number above is a direct anchor link.

Does the chapter number define the complete literary unit?+

Not always. Chapter and verse numbers were added for navigation. Check the paragraphs, scenes, poetic stanzas, or argument before and after this chapter.

A SMALL NEXT STEP

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