33 Ah, you destroyer,
who yourself have not been destroyed,
you traitor,
whom none has betrayed!
When you have ceased to destroy,
you will be destroyed;
and when you have finished betraying,
they will betray you.
2 O Lord, be gracious to us; we wait for you.
Be our arm every morning,
our salvation in the time of trouble.
3 At the tumultuous noise peoples flee;
when you lift yourself up, nations are scattered,
4 and your spoil is gathered as the caterpillar gathers;
as locusts leap, it is leapt upon.
5 The Lord is exalted, for he dwells on high;
he will fill Zion with justice and righteousness,
6 and he will be the stability of your times,
abundance of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge;
the fear of the Lord is Zion’s1 treasure.
7 Behold, their heroes cry in the streets;
the envoys of peace weep bitterly.
8 The highways lie waste;
the traveler ceases.
Covenants are broken;
cities2 are despised;
there is no regard for man.
9 The land mourns and languishes;
Lebanon is confounded and withers away;
Sharon is like a desert,
and Bashan and Carmel shake off their leaves.
10 “ Now I will arise,” says the Lord,
“ now I will lift myself up;
now I will be exalted.
11 You conceive chaff; you give birth to stubble;
your breath is a fire that will consume you.
12 And the peoples will be as if burned to lime,
like thorns cut down, that are burned in the fire.”
13 Hear, you who are far off, what I have done;
and you who are near, acknowledge my might.
14 The sinners in Zion are afraid;
trembling has seized the godless:
“ Who among us can dwell with the consuming fire?
Who among us can dwell with everlasting burnings?”
15 He who walks righteously and speaks uprightly,
who despises the gain of oppressions,
who shakes his hands, lest they hold a bribe,
who stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed
and shuts his eyes from looking on evil,
16 he will dwell on the heights;
his place of defense will be the fortresses of rocks;
his bread will be given him; his water will be sure.
17 Your eyes will behold the king in his beauty;
they will see a land that stretches afar.
18 Your heart will muse on the terror:
“ Where is he who counted, where is he who weighed the tribute?
Where is he who counted the towers?”
19 You will see no more the insolent people,
the people of an obscure speech that you cannot comprehend,
stammering in a tongue that you cannot understand.
20 Behold Zion, the city of our appointed feasts!
Your eyes will see Jerusalem,
an untroubled habitation, an immovable tent,
whose stakes will never be plucked up,
nor will any of its cords be broken.
21 But there the Lord in majesty will be for us
a place of broad rivers and streams,
where no galley with oars can go,
nor majestic ship can pass.
22 For the Lord is our judge; the Lord is our lawgiver;
the Lord is our king; he will save us.
23 Your cords hang loose;
they cannot hold the mast firm in its place
or keep the sail spread out.
Then prey and spoil in abundance will be divided;
even the lame will take the prey.
24 And no inhabitant will say, “I am sick”;
the people who dwell there will be forgiven their iniquity.
Section Overview: God Will Be God and the World Will Know It
The immediate context of Isaiah 33 is the Assyrian invasion, which causes devastation throughout the land as the army approaches Jerusalem. Yet this is also a chapter containing great truths about God, a chapter looking forward to the time of his eschatological triumph, when God will be God and the world will know it. Verse 13 is key: “far” and “near” refer to the entire world, whose inhabitants will one day acknowledge God.
The chapter has three main parts. The first (vv. 1–6) speaks of the treacherous and bullying attitudes of Sennacherib, but the plurals “peoples” and “nations” (v. 3) indicate a wider reference here to all liars and traitors. A believing remnant turns to prayer and calls on Yahweh to save; verses 5–6 show the rightness of that response by emphasizing God’s power, justice, and salvation.
The second section (vv. 7–16) speaks of the destruction and break-up of normal life caused by the Assyrian invaders. The “envoys” may be those who took the tribute money to Sennacherib (2 Kings 18:16) and returned bemoaning his treachery. Yet it is in this situation that Yahweh will intervene to judge the nations and show himself to be holy and a consuming fire. His fire is burning in Zion (cf. Isa. 29:1).
The final section (33:17–24) is another picture of the coming King, who will remove terror and lead his people into the wide-open spaces of his love. The festivals, which in the past had so often degenerated into meaningless ritual, will be restored to their true meaning as God is honored in Zion. Once again Isaiah offers a magnificent cluster of images showing the richness and beauty of the coming kingdom. The final affirmation of the chapter is that healing and forgiveness will overcome disease and sin.
Section Outline
III. History and Faith (28:1–39:8) . . .
E. God Will Be God and the World Will Know It (33:1–24)
1. God Is the Savior of Zion (33:1–6)
2. God Judges the Nations (33:7–16)
3. God Reigns in Zion (33:17–24)
Response
33:1 The tables are turning; the mighty Assyrian who has lived by conquest is about to die by it. The point of this verse is that Sennacherib is not only a bully but also a cheat. He receives Hezekiah’s tribute and still continues his campaign of destruction, intending to crush Jerusalem (2 Kings 18:13). Yet Sennacherib himself will suffer the ultimate betrayal when he is murdered by his own sons (Isa. 37:38). This is true not only of Assyria; human power repeatedly self-destructs when it becomes accountable to no one. Such examples abound in history, including in our own day.
33:2 In this crisis the believing remnant turns to the Lord in prayer. This is further exemplified when Hezekiah spreads Sennacherib’s insulting letter before Yahweh (37:14–20). Indeed, this verse contains a mini-theology of believing prayer, echoing ideas often seen also in the Psalms (e.g., Ps. 25:3, 5, 21). The prayer begins with a call to Yahweh, the covenant God, who is committed to his people by promises he cannot and will not break. Our hope is not in our merits but in his grace; we depend entirely on him. Patience (“We wait for you”) is necessary because the answer may not come immediately. Prayer is both for everyday and for times of crisis: his arm sustains us “every morning” and is salvation “in the time of trouble.”
33:3–4 Before Yahweh the nations are powerless. “Tumultuous noise” may refer to thunder, which is often associated with the voice of God (cf. Psalm 29). The Lord has only to stand up and the nations flee in disarray. The end of their vaunted power will be like a field devoured by locusts (cf. Joel 1:4).
33:5–6 The overall message of the powerlessness of the nations and the power of Yahweh is emphasized here; this is the God to whom the believing remnant pray, the one who can save them and destroy their enemies. He is the one who is truly exalted, before whose face earth’s empires rise and pass away. This remains true about God in—and is thus relevant for—every situation. His city will reflect his just dealings and faithful ways. He is the true rock on which his people can build their lives, the generous giver whose salvation, wisdom, and knowledge are poured out unstintingly. His fear is a blessing, not a curse, and is part of the treasure he has stored up for his people.
33:7 Here is another example of the type of contrast the prophet regularly presents as he moves between the bleak present and the glorious future, similar in the way in which he contrasted true and false Zion in chapters 2–4. The “heroes” are probably the people’s leaders, with the “envoys of peace” being those sent with tribute to Sennacherib who now weep in frustration and fear at their failure.
33:8 The infrastructure of society has broken down at the merciless Assyrian advance. Communications are disrupted and no travelers venture out, rather like the abandoned highways in Judges 5:6. Indeed, this is the situation of any nation in which an invading force wreaks havoc on ordinary life. “Covenants” here probably refer to the treaty Assyria has broken but again holds parallels in every situation in which a great power breaks promises made to smaller countries, as did Adolf Hitler in the years leading to the Second World War.
33:9 The land itself is desolate; the poignancy of the picture is increased by personifying her as a mourner. Lebanon with its magnificent cedars is in great distress. Sharon’s beauty becomes a wasteland. The fertile regions of Bashan and Carmel are stripped and bare. “Land” could also mean “earth” and thus include a wider reference to the world under the curse of Genesis 3:18.
33:10 The human and natural situation is bleak, but now, in another contrast, comes the divine response, with the emphatic “now” (Hb. ʿatta) repeated three times. The waiting time has been worth it and the decisive moment for action has come. The exalted Lord will move against his enemies. Although the immediate context is the Assyrian invasion, the ultimate stretch of this verse looks to the ultimate coming of God’s kingdom.
33:11–13 The destroyer has produced nothing but chaff (cf. Ps. 1:4). He will destroy himself by his own breath and will burn out. As in Isaiah 33:3, “peoples” applies this fate more widely to all who live arrogantly and self-sufficiently. But there is more here than simply the destructive effects of sin. The passive “burned” suggests an external agent—God, acting in a judgment that will be intense.
This is in many ways the key to the chapter, because sooner or later everyone will hear of the mighty acts of God. “Far off” and “near” express totality and point to the day in which the whole world will stand before God. A similar idea is expressed in 45:23, in which every knee will bow from all over the world and every tongue confess the true God.
33:14 When everyone sees and hears, there will be terror—for holiness always causes fear in sinful people. Yet such fear is the beginning of wisdom when followed by repentance. This, after all, was the experience of Isaiah himself when confronted by the Lord of hosts. It was fire that cleansed and commissioned him (6:6–7), and a similar experience must be had by others.
33:15 Here we have the answer to the question of verse 14 in the form of an entrance liturgy, as in Psalms 15 and 24. Fear is not simply an emotion but must be expressed in radical obedience and transformation if people are genuinely serious about approaching and living with God. The singular verbs show that each person must respond individually. Such a response involves integrity in both action and speech, refusal to benefit from the misfortunes of others, and a repudiation of being swayed to participate in dishonest gain or devious and violent conspiracies.
33:16 For such a person God will be a strong mountain fortress. Yet although such a person may live in barren places, he will also enjoy abundant provision, including security and food and drink.
33:17 In another contrast the imagery moves from a dark valley into sunny uplands. The text conveys a palpable sense of relief at the end of the Assyrian terror but also a deeper note that looks forward to the new heavens and the new earth. The beauty and radiance of the king foreshadows the risen Lord and “his face . . . like the sun shining in [its] full strength” (Rev. 1:16). People no longer are confined to tiny Judah but range freely to the far horizons of God’s kingdom. There may also be an echo here of the promise to Abraham that the land at its full extent would stretch from the Nile to the Euphrates (Gen. 15:18). This was realized during the reign of David, who conquered that whole territory (2 Sam. 8:3), and the early years of Solomon, who reigned over it (1 Kings 4:24). This is a reminder that although the King here is the Messiah, the better kings, including Hezekiah, offer genuine glimpses of the true King. The next two verses will evoke the relief at the destruction of Sennacherib’s army—this deliverance is a pointer to the day in which the Prince of Peace (Isa. 9:6) will reign forever.
33:18–19 At one moment the world seems to belong to Sennacherib, with arrogant Assyrian officials counting tribute money and counting assault towers. Their “obscure speech” echoes 28:11, 19; no doubt they mock the humiliation of those they are about to destroy. But this moment of boasting triumph will end in sudden and swift death. This event is probably echoed in Psalm 48, one of the Zion psalms. There the tables have turned and the nations have been repelled:
Walk about Zion, go around her,
number her towers,
consider well her ramparts,
go through her citadels. (Ps. 48:12–13)
Zion still stands, but the invader has gone (cf. comments on Isaiah 36–37).
33:20 The true Zion will be a place where not only will people see the king but also the “appointed feasts” will fulfill their true function of honoring the Lord rather than being the meaningless rituals condemned in 1:10–17; 29:13. It may seem odd to use a tent as a symbol of permanence, but the point is that this was the place God regularly met with his people. Hebrews 9:11 speaks of the “greater and more perfect tent,” where the Great High Priest stands at the heavenly altar. The imagery is taken up in Revelation 21:3, where the tabernacle of God is with mankind (cf. ESV mg.). On that day the pilgrimage will be over, but to all eternity we will continue to explore the wonders of God.
33:21 The emphasis here is on security and the majesty of Yahweh, who will triumph over all his enemies, not only the Assyrians. This is another of the splendid poems concerning the new creation that are so prominent in Isaiah. The abundant life of God is described as “broad rivers and streams” because it is his abundant life that sustains creation. A similar point is made in Psalm 46:4 (another psalm that may have been inspired by the rescue from Assyria), which celebrates, “There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God.” The psalmist is echoing Genesis 2:10, which describes the river of Eden, and anticipating the river in the new Jerusalem (Rev. 22:1–2). Most great cities stood, and still do stand, on rivers, valuable for trade and defense but also sometimes vulnerable to water-borne attacks. Zion’s river, however, cannot be attacked by naval forces.
33:22 This security is underlined by three affirmations about Yahweh. He is the judge who is the supreme authority on earth (Gen. 18:25). As such he promulgates laws for the right governing of the universe. He is also the king who brings salvation, and no one can stand against him.
33:23 At first sight this verse may seem odd and out of place. Some argue that the crippled ship refers to Assyria, which is in disarray and about to be plundered. But it would be odd to turn without warning to refer to Assyria. It is far more natural to see this as continuing the address to Judah. Jerusalem has been saved, but around her is a desolate land like a crippled ship. Yet, disabled as she is, Zion will take the spoils.
33:24 Fittingly, the chapter ends with an emphasis on healing and forgiveness (also associated in Isa. 53:4, 11). Plainly not all illness is associated with specific sins; much is due to life in a fallen world. In the world to come, all ailments physical and spiritual will have gone. Sin will be forgiven and broken just as Sennacherib’s army is destroyed. This is thus a pointer to the day when all will be made new.
Response
Here we have a particularly clear example of the message of a true prophet. It springs from the terror and foreboding in Judah and Jerusalem concerning the Assyrian invasion in 701 BC and the joy at the removal of that threat. Yet it is relevant to all generations who face similar threats, whether in lands where warlords tyrannize people or in other circumstances such as severe illness or death itself. It not only shows what God does in specific situations but also points to the final defeat of all God’s enemies. In this way it encourages perseverance in dark and difficult times. The message also emphasizes the need for believing prayer, which shows both our helplessness and the power of God. Such prayer requires patience as we wait on the Lord. Prayer is both a daily necessity and a help in times of crisis.
A number of verses (33:5, 10, 22) remind us of great truths about God, especially regarding his lordship over the nations, passion for justice and righteousness, and commitment to Zion. He is no absentee landlord but is totally involved in creation and history. These are truths that all the world needs to hear.
The sin and brokenness of the world cause misery to both people and the world around us. This is why the chapter ends with the healing of the body and the forgiveness of sin. Once again the immediate situation is the devastated land mauled by the Assyrians, but the ultimate message is about the establishment of true peace by the Prince of Peace, because of which the arts of war need not be studied any longer (2:4).Isaiah 33
Isaiah 34–35