Isaiah 33

NEW JERUSALEM	NEW AMERICAN BIBLE
1 Woe to you, destroying though not yourself destroyed, betraying though not yourself betrayed; whenyou have finished destroying, you wil be destroyed, when you have stopped betraying, you wil be betrayed.	1 Woe, O destroyer never destroyed, O traitor never betrayed! When you finish destroying, you will be destroyed; when wearied with betraying, you will be betrayed.
2 Yahweh, show us your mercy, we hope in you. Be our arm every morning and our salvation in time ofdistress.	2 O LORD, have pity on us, for you we wait. Be our strength every morning, our salvation in time of trouble!
3 At the sound of tumult the peoples flee, when you stand up the nations scatter.	3 At the roaring sound, peoples flee; when you rise in your majesty, nations are scattered.
4 Your spoil is gathered in as a grasshopper gathers in, like a swarm of locusts people descend on it.	4 Men gather spoil as caterpillars are gathered up; they rush upon it like the onrush of locusts.
5 Yahweh is exalted, for he is enthroned above, he has fil ed Zion with fair judgement and saving justice.	5 The LORD is exalted, enthroned on high; he fills Zion with right and justice.
6 You can count on this al your days: wisdom and knowledge are the riches that save, the fear ofYahweh is his treasure.	6 That which makes her seasons lasting, the riches that save her, are wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the LORD is her treasure.
7 Look, Ariel is lamenting in the streets, the ambassadors of peace are weeping bitterly.	7 See, the men of Ariel cry out in the streets, the messengers of Shalem weep bitterly.
8 The highways are deserted, no travel ers any more on the roads. Agreements are broken, witnessesheld in contempt, there is respect for no one.	8 The highways are desolate, travelers have quit the paths, Covenants are broken, their terms are spurned; yet no man gives it a thought.
9 The land pines away in mourning, the Lebanon is withering with shame, Sharon has become like thewasteland, Bashan and Carmel are shuddering.	9 The country languishes in mourning, Lebanon withers with shame; Sharon is like the steppe, Bashan and Carmel are stripped bare.
10 'Now I shal stand up,' says Yahweh, 'now I shal rise, now draw myself up.	10 Now will I rise up, says the LORD, now will I be exalted, now be lifted up.
11 You conceive chaff, you give birth to straw: like fire, my breath wil devour you.	11 You conceive dry grass, bring forth stubble; my spirit shall consume you like fire.
12 The peoples will be burnt up as though by quicklime, like cut thorns they wil be burnt on the fire.	12 The peoples shall be as in a limekiln, like brushwood cut down for burning in the fire.
13 You who are far away, listen to what I have done, and you who are near, realise my strength.'	13 Hear, you who are far off, what I have done; you who are near, acknowledge my might.
14 The sinners in Zion are panic-stricken and fear seizes on the godless, 'Which of us can survive thedevouring fire, which of us survive everlasting burning?'	14 On Zion sinners are in dread, trembling grips the impious: "Who of us can live with the consuming fire? who of us can live with the everlasting flames?"
15 The one who acts uprightly and speaks honestly, who scorns to get rich by extortion, who rejectsbribes out of hand, who refuses to listen to plans involving bloodshed and shuts his eyes rather thancountenance crime:	15 He who practices virtue and speaks honestly, who spurns what is gained by oppression, Brushing his hands free of contact with a bribe, stopping his ears lest he hear of bloodshed, closing his eyes lest he look on evil--
16 such a man wil live on the heights, the craggy rocks wil be his refuge, he wil be fed, he wil not wantfor water.	16 He shall dwell on the heights, his stronghold shall be the rocky fastness, his food and drink in steady supply.
17 Your eyes will gaze on the king in his beauty, they wil look on a country stretching far and wide.	17 Your eyes will see a king in his splendor, they will look upon a vast land.
18 Your heart wil meditate on past terrors, 'Where is the man who did the counting? Where is the manwho did the weighing? Where is the man who counted off the towers?'	18 Your mind will dwell on the terror: "Where is he who counted, where is he who weighed? Where is he who counted the towers?"
19 No more wil you see that insolent people, that people of unintel igible speech, of barbarous andmeaningless tongue.	19 To the people of alien tongue you will look no more, the people of obscure speech, stammering in a language not understood.
20 Gaze at Zion, city of our feasts; your eyes wil see Jerusalem as a home that is secure, a tent not tobe moved, none of its tent-pegs ever to be pul ed out, none of its guy-ropes ever to be broken.	20 Look to Zion, the city of our festivals; let your eyes see Jerusalem as a quiet abode, a tent not to be struck, Whose pegs will never be pulled up, nor any of its ropes severed.
21 There it is that Yahweh shows us his power, like a place of rivers and very wide canals on which willrow no galley, over which wil pass no majestic ship.	21 In a place of rivers and wide streams on which no boat is rowed, where no majestic ship passes,
22 (For Yahweh is our judge, Yahweh our lawgiver, Yahweh is our king and our Saviour.)	22 Indeed the LORD will be there with us, majestic; yes, the LORD our judge, the LORD our lawgiver, the LORD our king, he it is who will save us.
23 Your tackle has given way, it cannot support the mast, it cannot hoist the pennon. And so there ismuch booty to be shared out; the lame fal to plundering,	23 The rigging hangs slack; it cannot hold the mast in place, nor keep the sail spread out. Then the blind will divide great spoils and the lame will carry off the loot.
24 and no one living there wil say, 'I am sickly'; the people living there wil find their guilt forgiven.	24 No one who dwells there will say, "I am sick"; the people who live there will be forgiven their guilt.