NOTES for Isa 33:1-24

Printable version

¹Woe 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.

²O LORD, be gracious unto us; we have waited for thee: be thou their arm every morning, our salvation also in the time of trouble.

³At the noise of the tumult the people fled; at the lifting up of thyself the nations were scattered.

⁴And your spoil shall be gathered like the gathering of the caterpiller: as the running to and fro of locusts shall he run upon them.

⁵The LORD is exalted; for he dwelleth on high: he hath filled Zion with judgment and righteousness.

⁶And wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of thy times, and strength of salvation: the fear of the LORD is his treasure.

⁷Behold, their valiant ones shall cry without: the ambassadors of peace shall weep bitterly.

⁸The highways lie waste, the wayfaring man ceaseth: he hath broken the covenant, he hath despised the cities, he regardeth no man.

⁹The earth mourneth and languisheth: Lebanon is ashamed and hewn down: Sharon is like a wilderness; and Bashan and Carmel shake off their fruits.

¹⁰Now will I rise, saith the LORD; now will I be exalted; now will I lift up myself.

¹¹Ye shall conceive chaff, ye shall bring forth stubble: your breath, as fire, shall devour you.

¹²And the people shall be as the burnings of lime: as thorns cut up shall they be burned in the fire.

¹³Hear, ye that are far off, what I have done; and, ye that are near, acknowledge my might.

¹⁴The 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?

¹⁵He 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;

¹⁶He shall dwell on high: his place of defence shall be the munitions of rocks: bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure.

¹⁷Thine eyes shall see the king in his beauty: they shall behold the land that is very far off.

¹⁸Thine heart shall meditate terror. Where is the scribe? where is the receiver? where is he that counted the towers?

¹⁹Thou 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.

²⁰Look 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.

²¹But 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.

²²For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our king; he will save us.

²³Thy 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.

²⁴And the inhabitant shall not say, I am sick: the people that dwell therein shall be forgiven their iniquity.

Let the invaders who plunder the lands they have conquered not rejoice; they too will have to taste retribution for all their crimes. Meanwhile, the prophet constantly alternates encouraging speeches about the coming fall of the aggressors with accusations against the Israelites themselves, who brought harsh punishments upon themselves by their own sins.

But the accusations are also interwoven with scenes of a different life for that same people, a life that will come when the people keep faith with the Lord. Here the words that in those prosperous times the fear of the Lord will be treasure sound striking. The present fear of the sinners living on Zion, as the prophet describes it, is not that kind of fear at all; it is terror before retribution on the part of those who have not yet taken the path of repentance. But now the prophet speaks of those who have nothing to fear from the flame that consumes sinners, and how simple and accessible it is: in order not to become a victim of the fire, one must not oppress anyone, must not take bribes... A similar counsel will be given several centuries later by John the Baptist to the soldiers who come to him. Once again one is struck: this is so easy, so why do we fail to act this way century after century?...

But how should we understand the counsel not to hear about bloodshed and not to see evil? Is it a recommendation to bury one's head in the sand? It is not, and besides, for those who live in the midst of real evil, that is, all of us, this would not work literally. Here the issue is the psychological danger of admitting evil into the soul by actively staring into it, the danger of becoming used to it. In that case we risk becoming bearers of what at first horrified us.

It is much better to turn one's gaze toward the One who will overcome every evil. According to the prophet's word, the Lord will be in place of rivers, and this means that, while great pagan civilizations grew up on the banks of great rivers, He gives His faithful ones the possibility of living and growing near Him. Moreover, great rivers not only feed those who have settled along their banks; the ships of invaders can also come by their waters. But the Lord is reliable protection, impassable for the forces of evil.

Other notes

For Isa 33:1-24