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For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our king; he will save us.
Isaiah 33:22 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB For Yahweh is our judge. Yahweh is our lawgiver. Yahweh is our king. He will save us.
  • BSB For the LORD is our Judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our King. It is He who will save us.
  • NKJV (For the Lord is our Judge, The Lord is our Lawgiver, The Lord is our King; He will save us);
  • NASB For the Lord is our judge, The Lord is our lawgiver, The Lord is our king; He will save us—
  • NLT For the Lord is our judge, our lawgiver, and our king. He will care for us and save us.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

Yahweh alone is judge, lawgiver, and king, and therefore he is the one who saves his people.

Overview

This verse roots Judah's hope in the threefold rule of God over justice, law, and kingship, concluding that he will save. Because the Lord holds all authority, salvation rests in him, not in human leaders or alliances. It foreshadows Christ, in whom God's role as judge, lawgiver, and king is fully revealed, and through whom salvation comes.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 28

  • Jas 4:12There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another?
  • Acts 5:31Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.
  • Zeph 3:15–17The LORD hath taken away thy judgments, he hath cast out thine enemy: the king of Israel, even the LORD, is in the midst of thee: thou shalt not see evil any more.
  • Isa 12:2Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation.
  • Isa 25:9And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the LORD; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.
  • Ps 89:18For the LORD is our defence; and the Holy One of Israel is our king.
  • Isa 35:4Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; he will come and save you.
  • Zech 9:9Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.
  • Rev 19:16And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.
  • Ps 75:7But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another.
  • Ps 50:6And the heavens shall declare his righteousness: for God is judge himself. Selah.
  • Matt 25:34Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
  • Isa 11:4But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.
  • Isa 16:5And in mercy shall the throne be established: and he shall sit upon it in truth in the tabernacle of David, judging, and seeking judgment, and hasting righteousness.
  • Deut 33:2And he said, The LORD came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto them; he shined forth from mount Paran, and he came with ten thousands of saints: from his right hand went a fiery law for them.
  • Jer 23:5–6Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.
  • Gen 18:25That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?
  • Ps 98:9Before the LORD; for he cometh to judge the earth: with righteousness shall he judge the world, and the people with equity.
  • Neh 10:14The chief of the people; Parosh, Pahathmoab, Elam, Zatthu, Bani,
  • Ps 74:12For God is my King of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth.
  • Ps 147:19–20He sheweth his word unto Jacob, his statutes and his judgments unto Israel.
  • 2 Cor 5:10For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.
  • Ps 44:4Thou art my King, O God: command deliverances for Jacob.
  • Heb 5:9And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;
  • Matt 21:5Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass.
  • Titus 3:4–6But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared,
  • Matt 1:21–23And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.
  • Luke 2:11For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (1)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Isaiah videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Isaiah 33:22YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on IsaiahMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Isaiah sees him most clearly: the virgin's son Immanuel, the child on David's throne, the shoot from Jesse, the light to the nations, and above all the Suffering Servant pierced for our transgressions (ch. 53).

How Isaiah 33:22 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.