Isaiah 33 :: New King James Version (NKJV)

A Prayer in Deep Distress

Salvation for Those Who Trust in God

Isa 33:1Woe to you who plunder, though you have not been plundered;
And you who deal treacherously, though they have not dealt treacherously with you!
When you cease plundering,
You will be plundered;
When you make an end of dealing treacherously,
They will deal treacherously with you.

Isa 33:2

Isa 33:2O LORD, be gracious to us;
We have waited for You.
Be their[fn] arm every morning,
Our salvation also in the time of trouble.

Isa 33:3

Isa 33:3At the noise of the tumult the people shall flee;
When You lift Yourself up, the nations shall be scattered;

Isa 33:4

Isa 33:4And Your plunder shall be gathered
Like the gathering of the caterpillar;
As the running to and fro of locusts,
He shall run upon them.

Isa 33:5

Isa 33:5The LORD is exalted, for He dwells on high;
He has filled Zion with justice and righteousness.

Isa 33:6

Isa 33:6Wisdom and knowledge will be the stability of your times,
And the strength of salvation;
The fear of the LORD is His treasure.

Isa 33:7

Isa 33:7Surely their valiant ones shall cry outside,
The ambassadors of peace shall weep bitterly.

Isa 33:8

Isa 33:8The highways lie waste,
The traveling man ceases.
He has broken the covenant,
He has despised the cities,[fn]
He regards no man.

Isa 33:9

Isa 33:9The earth mourns and languishes,
Lebanon is shamed and shriveled;
Sharon is like a wilderness,
And Bashan and Carmel shake off their fruits.

Impending Judgment on Zion

Isa 33:10

Isa 33:10“Now I will rise,” says the LORD;
“Now I will be exalted,
Now I will lift Myself up.

Isa 33:11

Isa 33:11You shall conceive chaff,
You shall bring forth stubble;
Your breath, as fire, shall devour you.

Isa 33:12

Isa 33:12And the people shall be like the burnings of lime;
Like thorns cut up they shall be burned in the fire.

Isa 33:13

Isa 33:13Hear, you who are afar off, what I have done;
And you who are near, acknowledge My might.”

Isa 33:14

Isa 33:14The sinners in Zion are afraid;
Fearfulness has seized the hypocrites:
“Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire?
Who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?”

Isa 33:15

Isa 33:15He who walks righteously and speaks uprightly,
He who despises the gain of oppressions,
Who gestures with his hands, refusing bribes,
Who stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed,
And shuts his eyes from seeing evil:

Isa 33:16

Isa 33:16He will dwell on high;
His place of defense will be the fortress of rocks;
Bread will be given him,
His water will be sure.

The Land of the Majestic King

Isa 33:17

Isa 33:17Your eyes will see the King in His beauty;
They will see the land that is very far off.

Isa 33:18

Isa 33:18Your heart will meditate on terror:
“Where is the scribe?
Where is he who weighs?
Where is he who counts the towers?”

Isa 33:19

Isa 33:19You will not see a fierce people,
A people of obscure speech, beyond perception,
Of a stammering tongue that you cannot understand.

Isa 33:20

Isa 33:20Look upon Zion, the city of our appointed feasts;
Your eyes will see Jerusalem, a quiet home,
A tabernacle that will not be taken down;
Not one of its stakes will ever be removed,
Nor will any of its cords be broken.

Isa 33:21

Isa 33:21But there the majestic LORD will be for us
A place of broad rivers and streams,
In which no galley with oars will sail,
Nor majestic ships pass by

Isa 33:22

Isa 33:22(For the LORD is our Judge,
The LORD is our Lawgiver,
The LORD is our King;
He will save us);

Isa 33:23

Isa 33:23Your tackle is loosed,
They could not strengthen their mast,
They could not spread the sail.

Then the prey of great plunder is divided;
The lame take the prey.

Isa 33:24

Isa 33:24And the inhabitant will not say, “I am sick”;
The people who dwell in it will be forgiven their iniquity.

See the NKJV Preface (Especially for Parenthesis, Brackets, & Asterisks).

NKJV Footnotes

(33:2)

Septuagint omits their; Syriac, Targum, and Vulgate read our.

(33:8)

Following Masoretic Text and Vulgate; Dead Sea Scrolls read witnesses; Septuagint omits cities; Targum reads They have been removed from their cities.

The text of the New King James Version (NKJV) appearing on or deriving from this or any other web page is for personal use only. Any other use of the NKJV must be in conformity with the Quotation Policy for the New King James Version. For more information about the New King James Version, the Quotation Policy, and for inquiries about permission to use the New King James Version, go to Thomas Nelson, Inc..

For more information on this translation, see the NKJV Preface.