Isaiah 33:16-24
Isaiah 33:15-24 The Message (MSG)
The answer’s simple: Live right, speak the truth, despise exploitation, refuse bribes, reject violence, avoid evil amusements. This is how you raise your standard of living! A safe and stable way to live. A nourishing, satisfying way to live. GOD Oh, you’ll see the king—a beautiful sight! And you’ll take in the wide vistas of land. In your mind you’ll go over the old terrors: “What happened to that Assyrian inspector who condemned and confiscated? And the one who gouged us of taxes? And that cheating moneychanger?” Gone! Out of sight forever! Their insolence nothing now but a fading stain on the carpet! No more putting up with a language you can’t understand, no more sounds of gibberish in your ears. Just take a look at Zion, will you? Centering our worship in festival feasts! Feast your eyes on Jerusalem, a quiet and permanent place to live. No more pulling up stakes and moving on, no more patched-together lean-tos. Instead, GOD! GOD majestic, God himself the place in a country of broad rivers and streams, But rivers blocked to invading ships, off-limits to predatory pirates. For GOD makes all the decisions here. GOD is our king. GOD runs this place and he’ll keep us safe. Ha! Your sails are in shreds, your mast wobbling, your hold leaking. The plunder is free for the taking, free for all— for weak and strong, insiders and outsiders. No one in Zion will say, “I’m sick.” Best of all, they’ll all live guilt-free.
Isaiah 33:16-24 King James Version (KJV)
he shall dwell on high: his place of defence shall be the munitions of rocks: bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure. Thine eyes shall see the king in his beauty: they shall behold the land that is very far off. Thine heart shall meditate terror. Where is the scribe? where is the receiver? where is he that counted the towers? Thou 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. Look 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. But 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. For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our king; he will save us. Thy 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. And the inhabitant shall not say, I am sick: the people that dwell therein shall be forgiven their iniquity.
Isaiah 33:16-24 New American Standard Bible - NASB 1995 (NASB1995)
He will dwell on the heights, His refuge will be the impregnable rock; His bread will be given him, His water will be sure. Your eyes will see the King in His beauty; They will behold a far-distant land. Your heart will meditate on terror: “Where is he who counts? Where is he who weighs? Where is he who counts the towers?” You will no longer see a fierce people, A people of unintelligible speech which no one comprehends, Of a stammering tongue which no one understands. Look upon Zion, the city of our appointed feasts; Your eyes will see Jerusalem, an undisturbed habitation, A tent which will not be folded; Its stakes will never be pulled up, Nor any of its cords be torn apart. But there the majestic One, the LORD, will be for us A place of rivers and wide canals On which no boat with oars will go, And on which no mighty ship will pass— For the LORD is our judge, The LORD is our lawgiver, The LORD is our king; He will save us— Your tackle hangs slack; It cannot hold the base of its mast firmly, Nor spread out the sail. Then the prey of an abundant spoil will be divided; The lame will take the plunder. And no resident will say, “I am sick”; The people who dwell there will be forgiven their iniquity.
Isaiah 33:16-24 New Century Version (NCV)
this is the kind of person who will be safe. He will be protected as he would be in a high, walled city. He will always have bread, and he will not run out of water. Your eyes will see the king in his beauty. You will see the land that stretches far away. You will think about the terror of the past: “Where is that officer? Where is the one who collected the taxes? Where is the officer in charge of our defense towers?” No longer will you see those proud people from other countries, whose strange language you couldn’t understand. Look at Jerusalem, the city of our festivals. Look at Jerusalem, that beautiful place of rest. It is like a tent that will never be moved; the pegs that hold her in place will never be pulled up, and her ropes will never be broken. There the LORD will be our Mighty One. That land is a place with streams and wide rivers, but there will be no enemy boats on those rivers; no powerful ship will sail on them. This is because the LORD is our judge. The LORD makes our laws. The LORD is our king. He will save us. You sailors from other lands, hear: The ropes on your boats hang loose. The mast is not held firm. The sails are not spread open. Then your great wealth will be divided. There will be so much wealth that even the crippled people will carry off a share. No one living in Jerusalem will say, “I am sick.” The people who live there will have their sins forgiven.
Isaiah 33:16-24 American Standard Version (ASV)
He shall dwell on high; his place of defence shall be the munitions of rocks; his bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure. Thine eyes shall see the king in his beauty: they shall behold a land that reacheth afar. Thy heart shall muse on the terror: Where is he that counted, where is he that weighed the tribute? where is he that counted the towers? Thou shalt not see the fierce people, a people of a deep speech that thou canst not comprehend, of a strange tongue that thou canst not understand. Look upon Zion, the city of our solemnities: thine eyes shall see Jerusalem a quiet habitation, a tent that shall not be removed, the stakes whereof shall never be plucked up, neither shall any of the cords thereof be broken. But there Jehovah will be with us in majesty, a place of broad rivers and streams, wherein shall go no galley with oars, neither shall gallant ship pass thereby. For Jehovah is our judge, Jehovah is our lawgiver, Jehovah is our king; he will save us. Thy tacklings are loosed; they could not strengthen the foot of their mast, they could not spread the sail: then was the prey of a great spoil divided; the lame took the prey. And the inhabitant shall not say, I am sick: the people that dwell therein shall be forgiven their iniquity.
Isaiah 33:16-24 New International Version (NIV)
they are the ones who will dwell on the heights, whose refuge will be the mountain fortress. Their bread will be supplied, and water will not fail them. Your eyes will see the king in his beauty and view a land that stretches afar. In your thoughts you will ponder the former terror: “Where is that chief officer? Where is the one who took the revenue? Where is the officer in charge of the towers?” You will see those arrogant people no more, people whose speech is obscure, whose language is strange and incomprehensible. Look on Zion, the city of our festivals; your eyes will see Jerusalem, a peaceful abode, a tent that will not be moved; its stakes will never be pulled up, nor any of its ropes broken. There the LORD will be our Mighty One. It will be like a place of broad rivers and streams. No galley with oars will ride them, no mighty ship will sail them. For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our king; it is he who will save us. Your rigging hangs loose: The mast is not held secure, the sail is not spread. Then an abundance of spoils will be divided and even the lame will carry off plunder. No one living in Zion will say, “I am ill”; and the sins of those who dwell there will be forgiven.
Isaiah 33:16-24 New King James Version (NKJV)
He will dwell on high; His place of defense will be the fortress of rocks; Bread will be given him, His water will be sure. Your eyes will see the King in His beauty; They will see the land that is very far off. Your heart will meditate on terror: “Where is the scribe? Where is he who weighs? Where is he who counts the towers?” You will not see a fierce people, A people of obscure speech, beyond perception, Of a stammering tongue that you cannot understand. Look 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. But 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 (For the LORD is our Judge, The LORD is our Lawgiver, The LORD is our King; He will save us); Your 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. And the inhabitant will not say, “I am sick”; The people who dwell in it will be forgiven their iniquity.
Isaiah 33:16-24 Amplified Bible (AMP)
He will dwell on the heights, His place of defense will be the fortress of rocks, His bread will be given him; His water will be permanent. ¶Your eyes will see the King in His beauty; They will see a far-distant land. Your mind will meditate on the terror [asking]: “Where is he who counts? Where is he who weighs [the tribute]? Where is he who counts the towers?” You will no longer see the fierce and insolent people, A people of unintelligible speech which no one comprehends, Of a strange and stammering tongue which no one understands. Look upon Zion, the city of our appointed feasts and observances; Your eyes will see Jerusalem, an undisturbed settlement, A tent which will not be taken down; Not one of its stakes will ever be pulled up, Nor any of its ropes be severed. But there the mighty and magnificent LORD will be for us A place of broad rivers and streams, Where no oar-driven boat will go, And on which no mighty and stately ship will pass. For the LORD is our Judge, The LORD is our Ruler, The LORD is our King; He will save us. [Is 2:3, 4; 11:4; 32:1; James 4:12] Your ship’s ropes (tackle) hang loose; They cannot hold the base of their mast firmly, Nor spread out the sail. Then an abundance of spoil and plunder will be divided; Even the lame will take the plunder. And no inhabitant [of Zion] will say, “I am sick”; The people who dwell there will be forgiven their wickedness [their sin, their injustice, their wrongdoing].
Isaiah 33:16-24 New Living Translation (NLT)
these are the ones who will dwell on high. The rocks of the mountains will be their fortress. Food will be supplied to them, and they will have water in abundance. Your eyes will see the king in all his splendor, and you will see a land that stretches into the distance. You will think back to this time of terror, asking, “Where are the Assyrian officers who counted our towers? Where are the bookkeepers who recorded the plunder taken from our fallen city?” You will no longer see these fierce, violent people with their strange, unknown language. Instead, you will see Zion as a place of holy festivals. You will see Jerusalem, a city quiet and secure. It will be like a tent whose ropes are taut and whose stakes are firmly fixed. The LORD will be our Mighty One. He will be like a wide river of protection that no enemy can cross, that no enemy ship can sail upon. For the LORD is our judge, our lawgiver, and our king. He will care for us and save us. The enemies’ sails hang loose on broken masts with useless tackle. Their treasure will be divided by the people of God. Even the lame will take their share! The people of Israel will no longer say, “We are sick and helpless,” for the LORD will forgive their sins.
Isaiah 33:16-24 The Passion Translation (TPT)
they will live safely on the heights and make their safe place the mountain strongholds, with bread in steady supply and water assured.” In this high place, your eyes will see the king in his stunning beauty and gaze upon his broad domain. You will look back on the fears of your past and say, “Now, where is the scholar? Where is the adviser? Where is the one who numbers those who are maturing?” You will no longer see the defiant foreigner who speaks a strange, incomprehensible language. Set your gaze on Zion, the city where we gather for YAHWEH’s feasts. Your eyes will see Jerusalem as a quiet, pleasant place. It is a secure dwelling, permanent and unmovable, not like a tabernacle that must be taken down, its pegs pulled up, and transported. Glorious YAHWEH will be there for us in a land with broad rivers and life-giving streams, where the hostile, majestic ships will not sail. The Lord YAHWEH is our Judge, our Lawgiver, and our King; he will save us completely! Your ropes hang loose, your mast is not secure, and your sail is not unfurled. Then there will be a great plunder, such an abundant treasure divided that even the lame will seize their rich share. No one living in Zion will say, “I am sick,” for all who live there will have their sin forgiven.
Isaiah 33:16-24 English Standard Version Revision 2016 (ESV)
he will dwell on the heights; his place of defense will be the fortresses of rocks; his bread will be given him; his water will be sure. Your eyes will behold the king in his beauty; they will see a land that stretches afar. Your heart will muse on the terror: “Where is he who counted, where is he who weighed the tribute? Where is he who counted the towers?” You will see no more the insolent people, the people of an obscure speech that you cannot comprehend, stammering in a tongue that you cannot understand. Behold Zion, the city of our appointed feasts! Your eyes will see Jerusalem, an untroubled habitation, an immovable tent, whose stakes will never be plucked up, nor will any of its cords be broken. But there the LORD in majesty will be for us a place of broad rivers and streams, where no galley with oars can go, nor majestic ship can pass. For the LORD is our judge; the LORD is our lawgiver; the LORD is our king; he will save us. Your cords hang loose; they cannot hold the mast firm in its place or keep the sail spread out. Then prey and spoil in abundance will be divided; even the lame will take the prey. And no inhabitant will say, “I am sick”; the people who dwell there will be forgiven their iniquity.