Isaiah 33

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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. ✦

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Where this chapter connects

Isa 10 ·13 Isa 37 ·10 Ps 46 ·8 2 Kgs 18 ·7 Isa 32 ·6 Isa 30 ·6 Isa 26 ·5 Isa 33 ·5

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 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.

Resources, by level

Lay

★ Start hereVideoBibleProject — video overviews & word studiesBibleProject · 5–10 min · Free · evangelical
Free animated overviews of every book of the Bible, plus themes and Hebrew/Greek word studies — the best visual on-ramp to any book. (Biblical-theology, broadly evangelical, not distinctly Reformed.)
★ Start hereAudioThrough the WordThrough the Word · ~10 min/chapter · Free · evangelical
A clear ~10-minute audio teaching for every one of the Bible's 1,189 chapters — the most systematic free way to study chapter by chapter.

Pastoral

SermonChuck Smith — C2000 SeriesChuck Smith · Free · evangelical
Free verse-by-verse audio through the entire Bible from the founder of Calvary Chapel.

Seminary

★ Start hereCommentaryThe Book of Isaiah (NICOT)John N. Oswalt · Paid · evangelical
The standard evangelical commentary on Isaiah — thorough and devotionally warm.

Commentaries & study tools

VideoBibleProject — Isaiah videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
VideoWatch teaching on Isaiah 33YouTube · Lay · Free
Sermons and chapter teaching from across YouTube.
CommentaryEnduring Word — Isaiah 33David Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical
Readable, verse-by-verse exposition of the whole chapter.
CommentaryMatthew Henry on IsaiahMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
ReferenceBlue Letter Bible — Isaiah 33Blue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free
Interlinear, lexicon, and study tools across the chapter.

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