Isaiah 33

Woe to the Destroyer

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.

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Isaiah 33 pronounces woe upon an unnamed destroyer (likely Assyria) while offering hope to God's people through divine intervention. The chapter contrasts the fate of the wicked oppressor, who will face retribution, with the righteous remnant who will dwell securely under God's protection. It culminates in a vision of restored Jerusalem where the Lord reigns as king, judge, and lawgiver over a peaceful and secure people.

Context

This chapter continues Isaiah's oracles against foreign nations while transitioning toward the hope and restoration themes that will dominate later chapters.

Key Themes

Outline

1-6
Woe to the Destroyer and Prayer for Deliverance Isaiah pronounces judgment on the betrayer while the people cry out for God's grace and strength.
7-9
Present Desolation and Mourning The land lies waste with broken covenants, empty highways, and withering vegetation.
10-13
God's Intervention and Display of Power The Lord announces His intention to arise and demonstrate His might to all nations.
14-16
The Righteous Remnant While sinners tremble before God's consuming fire, the righteous who walk blamelessly will find security.
17-24
Vision of Restored Jerusalem The people will see their king in beauty and dwell peacefully in an unshakeable Jerusalem under divine rule.

Woe to the Destroyer

33:1–33:24

prophecy solemn

A pronouncement of woe against destroyers and betrayers, with prayers for God's grace and descriptions of who can dwell safely in God's holy presence.

theme_rarity

Isaiah 33's unique pairing of salvation and holiness appears in only one other biblical passage, linking divine rescue with moral purity requirements.

Insight Rare Theme

Isaiah 33's unique pairing of salvation and holiness appears in only one other biblical passage, linking divine rescue with moral purity requirements.

Cross-References

Connected passages across Scripture

Isaiah 33:5 2 references

Lexicals 2

Isaiah 32:16 Lexical

Then justice will dwell in the wilderness; and righteousness will remain in the fruitful field.

Isaiah 33

Woe to the Destroyer

Woe to the Destroyer

Insights

Cross-References

Isaiah 33:5 2 references

Isaiah 33:6 3 references

Isaiah 33:8 3 references

Isaiah 33:9 3 references

Isaiah 33:11 2 references

Isaiah 33:14 2 references

Isaiah 33:15 4 references

Isaiah 33:16 2 references

Isaiah 33:19 2 references

Isaiah 33:20 1 reference

Isaiah 33:23 5 references

Interlinear

Historical Context