1 Ho! you who make waste those who did not make you waste; acting falsely to those who were not false to you. When you have come to an end of wasting, you will be made waste, and after your false acts, they will do the same to you.
2 O Lord, have mercy on us; for we have been waiting for your help: be our strength every morning, our salvation in time of trouble.
3 At the loud noise the peoples have gone in flight; at your coming up the nations have gone in all directions.
4 And the goods taken in war will be got together like the massing of young locusts; men will be rushing on them like the rushing of locusts.
5 The Lord is lifted up; his place is on high: he has made Zion full of righteousness and true religion.
6 And she will have no more fear of change, being full of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge: the fear of the Lord is her wealth.
7 See, the men of war are sorrowing outside the town: those who came looking for peace are weeping bitterly.
8 The highways are waste, no man is journeying there: the agreement is broken, he has made sport of the towns, he has no thought for man.
9 The earth is sorrowing and wasting away; Lebanon is put to shame and has become waste; Sharon is like the Arabah; and in Bashan and Carmel the leaves are falling.
10 Now will I come forward, says the Lord; now will I be lifted up; now will my power be seen.
11 Your designs will be without profit, and their effect will be nothing: you will be burned up by the fire of my breath.
12 And the peoples will be like the burning of chalk: as thorns cut down, which are burned in the fire.
13 Give ear, you who are far off, to what I have done: see my power, you who are near.
14 The sinners in Zion are full of fear; the haters of God are shaking with wonder. Who among us may keep his place before the burning fire? who among us may see the eternal burnings?
15 He whose ways are true, and whose words are upright; he who gives no thought to the profits of false acts, whose hands have not taken rewards, who will have no part in putting men to death, and whose eyes are shut against evil;
16 He will have a place on high: he will be safely shut in by the high rocks: his bread will be given to him; his waters will be certain.
17 Your eyes will see the king in his glory: they will be looking on a far-stretching land.
18 Your heart will give thought to the cause of your fear: where is the scribe, where is he who made a record of the payments, where is he by whom the towers were numbered?
19 Never again will you see the cruel people, a people whose tongue has no sense for you; whose language is strange to you.
20 Let your eyes be resting on Zion, the town of our holy feasts: you will see Jerusalem, a quiet resting-place, a tent which will not be moved, whose tent-pins will never be pulled up, and whose cords will never be broken.
21 But there the Lord will be with us in his glory, ... wide rivers and streams; where no boat will go with blades, and no fair ship will be sailing.
22 For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our law-giver, the Lord is our king; he will be our saviour.
23 Your cords have become loose; they were not able to make strong the support of their sails, the sail was not stretched out: then the blind will take much property, the feeble-footed will make division of the goods of war.
24 And the men of Zion will not say, I am ill: for its people will have forgiveness for their sin.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Isaiah 33
Commentary on Isaiah 33 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 33
Isa 33:1-24. The Last of Isaiah's Prophecies as to Sennacherib's Overthrow.
Isa 33:1, 8, 9, describe the Assyrian spoiler; strong as he is, he shall fall before Jehovah who is stronger (Isa 33:2-6, 10-12). The time is the autumn of 713 B.C.
1. and thou—that is, though thou wast not spoiled—though thou wast not dealt treacherously with (see on Isa 24:16), thy spoiling and treachery are therefore without excuse, being unprovoked.
cease—When God has let thee do thy worst, in execution of His plans, thine own turn shall come (compare Isa 10:12; 14:2; Hab 2:8; Re 13:10).
2. us; we … their … our—He speaks interceding for His people, separating himself in thought for a moment from them, and immediately returns to his natural identification with them in the word "our."
every morning—each day as it dawns, especially during our danger, as the parallel "time of trouble" shows.
3. the tumult—the approach of Jehovah is likened to an advancing thunderstorm (Isa 29:6; 30:27), which is His voice (Re 1:15), causing the people to "flee."
nation—the Assyrian levies.
4. The invaders' "spoil" shall be left behind by them in their flight, and the Jews shall gather it.
caterpillar—rather, "the wingless locust"; as it gathers; the Hebrew word for "gathers" is properly used of the gathering of the fruits of harvest (Isa 32:10).
running to and fro—namely, in gathering harvest fruits.
he—rather, "they."
them—rather, "it," that is, the prey.
6. wisdom—sacred; that is, piety.
thy—Hezekiah's; or rather, "Judea's." "His" refers to the same; such changes from the pronoun possessive of the second person to that of the third are common in Hebrew poetry.
treasure—Not so much material wealth as piety shall constitute the riches of the nation (Pr 10:22; 15:16).
7-9. From the vision of future glory Isaiah returns to the disastrous present; the grief of "the valiant ones" (parallel to, and identical with, "the ambassadors of peace"), men of rank, sent with presents to sue for peace, but standing "without" the enemy's camp, their suit being rejected (2Ki 18:14, 18, 37). The highways deserted through fear, the cities insulted, the lands devastated.
cry—(Isa 15:4).
8. broken … covenant—When Sennacherib invaded Judea, Hezekiah paid him a large sum to leave the land; Sennacherib received the money and yet sent his army against Jerusalem (2Ki 18:14, 17).
despised—make slight of as unable to resist him (Isa 10:9; 36:19); easily captures them.
9. (Isa 24:4).
Lebanon—personified; the allusion may be to the Assyrian cutting down its choice trees (Isa 14:8; 37:24).
Sharon—south of Carmel, along the Mediterranean, proverbial for fertility (Isa 35:2).
Bashan—afterwards called Batanea (Isa 2:13).
fruits—rather, understand "leaves"; they lie as desolate as in winter.
10. The sight of His people's misery arouses Jehovah; He has let the enemy go far enough.
I—emphatic; God Himself will do what man could not.
11. Ye—the enemy.
conceive chaff—(Isa 26:18; 59:4).
your breath—rather, your own spirit of anger and ambition [Maurer], (Isa 30:28).
12. (Isa 9:19; Am 2:1). Perhaps alluding to their being about to be burnt on the funeral pyre (Isa 30:33).
thorns—the wicked (2Sa 23:6, 7).
13. far off—distant nations.
near—the Jews and adjoining peoples (Isa 49:1).
14. sinners in Zion—false professors of religion among the elect people (Mt 22:12).
hypocrites—rather, "the profane"; "the abandoned" [Horsley].
who, &c.—If Jehovah's wrath could thus consume such a host in one night, who could abide it, if continued for ever (Mr 9:46-48)? Fire is a common image for the divine judgments (Isa 29:6; 30:30).
among us—If such awful judgments have fallen on those who knew not the true God, how infinitely worse shall fall on us who, amid religious privileges and profession, sin against God, (Lu 12:47, 48; Jas 4:17)?
15. In contrast to the trembling "sinners in Zion" (Isa 33:14), the righteous shall be secure amid all judgments; they are described according to the Old Testament standpoint of righteousness (Ps 15:2; 24:4).
stoppeth … ears … eyes—"Rejoiceth not in iniquity" (1Co 13:6; contrast Isa 29:20; Ps 10:3; Ro 1:32). The senses are avenues for the entrance of sin (Ps 119:37).
16. on high—heights inaccessible to the foe (Isa 26:1).
bread … waters—image from the expected siege by Sennacherib; however besieged by trials without, the godly shall have literal and spiritual food, as God sees good for them (Isa 41:17; Ps 37:25; 34:10; 132:15).
17. Thine—the saints'.
king in … beauty—not as now, Hezekiah in sackcloth, oppressed by the enemy, but King Messiah (Isa 32:1) "in His beauty" (So 5:10, 16; Re 4:3).
land … very far off—rather, "the land in its remotest extent" (no longer pent up as Hezekiah was with the siege); see Margin. For Jerusalem is made the scene of the king's glory (Isa 33:20, &c.), and it could not be said to be "very far off," unless the far-off land be heaven, the Jerusalem above, which is to follow the earthly reign of Messiah at literal Jerusalem (Isa 65:17-19; Jer 3:17; Re 21:1, 2, 10).
18. meditate—on the "terror" caused by the enemy, but now past.
where, &c.—the language of the Jews exulting over their escape from danger.
scribe—who enrolled the army [Maurer]; or, who prescribed the tribute to be paid [Rosenmuller]; or, who kept an account of the spoil. "The principal scribe of the host" (2Ki 25:19; Jer 52:25). The Assyrian records are free from the exaggerations of Egyptian records. Two scribes are seen in every Assyrian bas-relief, writing down the various objects brought to them, the heads of the slain, prisoners, cattle, sheep, &c.
receiver—"weigher," Margin. Layard mentions, among the Assyrian inscriptions, "a pair a scales for weighing the spoils."
counted … towers—he whose duty it was to reconnoitre and report the strength of the city to be besieged.
19. fierce people—The Assyrians shall not be allowed to enter Jerusalem (2Ki 19:32). Or, thou shalt not any longer see fierce enemies threatening thee as previously; such as the Assyrians, Romans, and the last Antichristian host that is yet to assail Jerusalem (De 28:49, 50; Jer 5:15; Zec 14:2).
stammering—barbarous; so "deeper," &c., that is, unintelligible. The Assyrian tongue differed only in dialect from the Hebrew, but in the Assyrian levies were many of non-Semitic race and language, as the Medes, Elamites, &c. (see on Isa 28:11).
20. solemnities—solemn assemblies at the great feasts (see on Isa 30:29; Ps 42:4; Ps 48:12).
not … taken down … removed—image from captives "removed" from their land (Isa 36:17). There shall be no more "taking away" to an enemy's land. Or else, from nomads living in shifting tents. The saints, who sojourned once in tabernacles as pilgrims, shall have a "building of God—eternal in the heavens" (2Co 5:1; Heb 11:9, 10; compare Isa 54:2).
stakes—driven into the ground; to these the "cords" were fastened. Christ's Church shall never fall (Mt 16:18). So individual believers (Re 3:12).
21. there—namely, in Jerusalem.
will be … rivers—Jehovah will be as a broad river surrounding our city (compare Isa 19:6; Na 3:8), and this, too, a river of such a kind as no ship of war can pass (compare Isa 26:1). Jerusalem had not the advantage of a river; Jehovah will be as one to it, affording all the advantages, without any of the disadvantages of one.
galley with oars—war vessels of a long shape, and propelled by oars; merchant vessels were broader and carried sail.
gallant—same Hebrew word as for "glorious," previously; "mighty" will suit both places; a ship of war is meant. No "mighty vessel" will dare to pass where the "mighty Lord" stands as our defense.
22. Lord—thrice repeated, as often: the Trinity (Nu 6:24-26).
judge … lawgiver … king—perfect ideal of the theocracy, to be realized under Messiah alone; the judicial, legislative, and administrative functions as king to be exercised by Him in person (Isa 11:4; 32:1; Jas 4:12).
23. tacklings—Continuing the allegory in Isa 33:21, he compares the enemies' host to a war galley which is deprived of the tacklings or cords by which the mast is sustained and the sail is spread; and which therefore is sure to be wrecked on "the broad river" (Isa 33:21), and become the prey of Israel.
they—the tacklings, "hold not firm the base of the mast."
then—when the Assyrian host shall have been discomfited. Hezekiah had given Sennacherib three hundred talents of silver, and thirty of gold (2Ki 18:14-16), and had stripped the temple of its gold to give it to him; this treasure was probably part of the prey found in the foe's camp. After the invasion, Hezekiah had so much wealth that he made an improper display of it (2Ki 20:13-15); this wealth, probably, was in part got from the Assyrian.
the lame—Even the most feeble shall spoil the Assyrian camp (compare Isa 35:6; 2Sa 5:6).
24. sick—Smith thinks the allusion is to the beginning of the pestilence by which the Assyrians were destroyed, and which, while sparing the righteous, affected some within the city ("sinners in Zion"); it may have been the sickness that visited Hezekiah (Isa 38:1-22). In the Jerusalem to come there shall be no "sickness," because there will be no "iniquity," it being forgiven (Ps 103:3). The latter clause of the verse contains the cause of the former (Mr 2:5-9).