Isaiah 33:1
Woe to thee that spoilest, and thou wast not spoiled; and dealest treacherously, and they dealt not treacherously with thee! when thou shalt cease to spoil, thou shalt be spoiled; and when thou shalt make an end to deal treacherously, they shall deal treacherously with thee.
Isaiah 33:1 in other translations
| BSB | Woe to you, O destroyer never destroyed, O traitor never betrayed! When you have finished destroying, you will be destroyed. When you have finished betraying, you will be betrayed. |
|---|---|
| WEB | Woe 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. |
| ASV | Woe to thee that destroyest, and thou wast not destroyed; and dealest treacherously, and they dealt not treacherously with thee! When thou hast ceased to destroy, thou shalt be destroyed; and when thou hast made an end of dealing treacherously, they shall deal treacherously with thee. |
| YLT | Woe, spoiler! and thou not spoiled, And treacherous! and they dealt not treacherously with thee, When thou dost finish, O spoiler, thou art spoiled, When thou dost finish dealing treacherously, They deal treacherously with thee. |
| DARBY | Woe to thee that spoilest, and thou wast not spoiled; and that dealest treacherously, and they dealt not treacherously with thee! When thou shalt cease to spoil, thou shalt be spoiled; when thou shalt make an end of dealing treacherously, they shall deal treacherously with thee. |
| BBE | 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. |
| Webster | Woe to thee that layest waste, and thou wast not laid waste; and dealest treacherously, and they dealt not treacherously with thee! when thou shalt cease to lay waste, thou shalt be wasted; and when thou shalt make an end to deal treacherously, they shall deal treacherously with thee. |
What does Isaiah 33:1 mean?
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
Is 33:1-24. The Last of Isaiah's Prophecies as to Sennacherib's Overthrow.
Is 33:1, 8, 9, describe the Assyrian spoiler; strong as he is, he shall fall before Jehovah who is stronger (Is 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 Is 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 Is 10:12; 14:2; Ha 2:8; Re 13:10).Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain
Adam Clarke's Commentary
Introduction
This chapter contains the sequel of the prophecy respecting Sennacherib. The prophet addresses himself to the Assyrian monarch, Isa 33:1-4. The mercy and power of God acknowledged by the Jews, Isa 33:5, Isa 33:6. Distress and despair of the Jews at the approach of Sennacherib, Isa 33:7-9. Gracious promise of deliverance, Isa 33:10-13. Dreadful apprehensions of the wicked, and security of the righteous, Isa 33:14-17. The security of the Jews under the reign of Hezekiah, and the wretched condition of Sennacherib and his army, Isa 33:18-24. The plan of the prophecy continued in this chapter, and which is manifestly distinct from the foregoing, is peculiarly elegant. To set it in a proper light, it will be necessary to mark the transitions from one part of it to another. In Isa 33:1, the prophet addresses himself to Sennacherib, briefly, but strongly and elegantly, expressing the injustice of his ambitious designs, and the sudden disappointments of them. In Isa 33:2, the Jews are introduced offering up their earnest supplications to God in their present distressful condition; with expressions of their trust and confidence in his protection. In Isa 33:3 and Isa 33:4 the prophet in the name of God, or rather God himself, is introduced addressing himself to Sennacherib, and threatening him that, notwithstanding the terror which he had occasioned in the invaded countries, yet he should fall, and become an easy prey to those whom he had intended to subdue. In Isa 33:5 and Isa 33:6, a chorus of Jews is introduced, acknowledging the mercy and power of God, who had undertaken to protect them; extolling it with direct opposition to the boasted power of their enemies, and celebrating the wisdom and piety of their king Hezekiah, who had placed his confidence in the favor of God. Then follows, in Isa 33:7, Isa 33:8, and Isa 33:9, a description of the distress and despair of the Jews, upon the king of Assyria's marching against Jerusalem, and sending his summons to them to surrender, after the treaty he had made with Hezekiah on the conditions of his paying, as he actually did pay to him, three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold. 2Kgs 18:14-16. In Isa 33:10, God himself is again introduced, declaring that he will interpose in this critical situation of affairs, and disappoint the vain designs of the enemies of his people, by discomfiting and utterly consuming them. Then follows, Isa 33:11-22, still in the person of God, which however falls at last into that of the prophet, a description of the dreadful apprehensions of the wicked in those times of distress and imminent danger; finely contrasted with the confidence and security of the righteous, and their trust in the promises of God that he will be their never-failing strength and protector. The whole concludes, in the person of the prophet, with a description of the security of the Jews under the protection of God, and of the wretched state of Sennacherib and his army, wholly discomfited, and exposed to be plundered even by the weakest of the enemy. Much of the beauty of this passage depends on the explanation above given of Isa 33:3 and Isa 33:4, as addressed by the prophet, or by God himself, to Sennacherib; not as it is usually taken, as addressed by the Jews to God, Isa 33:3, and then Isa 33:4, as addressed to the Assyrians. To set this in a clear light, it may be of use to compare it with a passage of the Prophet Joel; where, speaking of the destruction caused by the locusts, he sets in the same strong light of opposition as Isaiah does here, the power of the enemy, and the power of Jehovah, who would destroy that enemy. Thus Isaiah to Sennacherib: - "When thou didst raise thyself up, the nations were dispersed" - Isa 33:3. "But now will I arise, saith Jehovah; Now will I be exalted." Isa 33:10. And thus Joel, Joe 2:20, Joe 2:21 : - "His stink shall come up, and his ill savor shall ascend; Though he hath done great things. Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice; For Jehovah will do great things." - L. Verse 1 And deadest treacherously "Thou plunderer" - See note on Isa 21:2 (note). When thou shalt make an end to deal treacherously "When thou art weary of plundering" - "כנלתך cannelothecha, alibi non extat in s. s. nisi f. Job 15:29 - simplicius est legere ככלתך kechallothecha. Vid. Capell.; nec repugnat Vitringa. Vid. Dan 9:24. כלה calah התים hatim." - Secker.Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Isaiah 33:1-14
Matthew Henry, 1706 · public domain
Isaiah 33:1 in the original Hebrew
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Cross references for Isaiah 33:1
- Matthew 7:2
For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.
- Isaiah 24:16
From the uttermost part of the earth have we heard songs, even glory to the righteous. But I said, My leanness, my leanness, woe unto me! the treacherous dealers have dealt treacherously; yea, the treacherous dealers have dealt very treacherously.
- Isaiah 10:12
Wherefore it shall come to pass, that when the Lord hath performed his whole work upon mount Zion and on Jerusalem, I will punish the fruit of the stout heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his high looks.
- Revelation 17:17
For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.
- Obadiah 1:10-16
For thy violence against thy brother Jacob shame shall cover thee, and thou shalt be cut off for ever. In the day that thou stoodest on the other side, in the day that the strangers carried away captive his forces, and foreigners entered into his gates, and cast lots upon Jerusalem, even thou wast as one of them. But thou shouldest not have looked on the day of thy brother in the day that he became a stranger; neither shouldest thou have rejoiced over the children of Judah in the day of their destruction; neither shouldest thou have spoken proudly in the day of distress. Thou shouldest not have entered into the gate of my people in the day of their calamity; yea, thou shouldest not have looked on their affliction in the day of their calamity, nor have laid hands on their substance in the day of their calamity; …
- Jeremiah 25:12-14
And it shall come to pass, when seventy years are accomplished, that I will punish the king of Babylon, and that nation, saith the Lord, for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans, and will make it perpetual desolations. And I will bring upon that land all my words which I have pronounced against it, even all that is written in this book, which Jeremiah hath prophesied against all the nations. For many nations and great kings shall serve themselves of them also: and I will recompense them according to their deeds, and according to the works of their own hands.
- Isaiah 21:2
A grievous vision is declared unto me; the treacherous dealer dealeth treacherously, and the spoiler spoileth. Go up, O Elam: besiege, O Media; all the sighing thereof have I made to cease.
- Revelation 13:10
He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.
- 2 Kings 18:13-17
Now in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah did Sennacherib king of Assyria come up against all the fenced cities of Judah, and took them. And Hezekiah king of Judah sent to the king of Assyria to Lachish, saying, I have offended; return from me: that which thou puttest on me will I bear. And the king of Assyria appointed unto Hezekiah king of Judah three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold. And Hezekiah gave him all the silver that was found in the house of the Lord, and in the treasures of the king’s house. At that time did Hezekiah cut off the gold from the doors of the temple of the Lord, and from the pillars which Hezekiah king of Judah had overlaid, and gave it to the king of Assyria. …
- Isaiah 37:36-38
Then the angel of the Lord went forth, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses. So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, and went and returned, and dwelt at Nineveh. And it came to pass, as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons smote him with the sword; and they escaped into the land of Armenia: and Esar–haddon his son reigned in his stead.
- 2 Chronicles 28:16-21
At that time did king Ahaz send unto the kings of Assyria to help him. For again the Edomites had come and smitten Judah, and carried away captives. The Philistines also had invaded the cities of the low country, and of the south of Judah, and had taken Beth–shemesh, and Ajalon, and Gederoth, and Shocho with the villages thereof, and Timnah with the villages thereof, Gimzo also and the villages thereof: and they dwelt there. For the Lord brought Judah low because of Ahaz king of Israel; for he made Judah naked, and transgressed sore against the Lord. …
- Isaiah 17:14
And behold at eveningtide trouble; and before the morning he is not. This is the portion of them that spoil us, and the lot of them that rob us.
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Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
13 The consternation of sinners, and privileges of the godly.
thee that.
10:5,6; 17:14; 24:16; 2Ki 18:13-17; 2Ch 28:16-21; Hab 2:5-8
when thou shalt cease.
10:12; 21:2; 37:36-38; Jud 1:7; Jer 25:12-14; Ob 1:10-16; Zec 14:1-3
Mt 7:2; Re 13:10; 16:6; 17:12-14,17
Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain
Context
- Isaiah 33:1
Woe to thee that spoilest, and thou wast not spoiled; and dealest treacherously, and they dealt not treacherously with thee! when thou shalt cease to spoil, thou shalt be spoiled; and when thou shalt make an end to deal treacherously, they shall deal treacherously with thee.
- Isaiah 33:2
O Lord, be gracious unto us; we have waited for thee: be thou their arm every morning, our salvation also in the time of trouble.
Isaiah 33:1 in other languages
| Spanish Reina-Valera 1909 | ¡AY de ti, el que saqueas, y nunca fuiste saqueado; el que haces deslealtad, bien que nadie contra ti la hizo! Cuando acabares de saquear, serás tú saqueado; y cuando acabares de hacer deslealtad, haráse contra ti. |
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| French Bible J.N. Darby 1885 | *Malheur à toi qui détruis, et tu n’as pas été détruit, et à toi qui agis perfidement, et on n’a pas agi perfidement envers toi! Quand tu auras fini de détruire, tu seras détruit; quand tu auras complété la perfidie, on agira perfidement envers toi. |
| German Elberfelder 1871 | Wehe dir, Verwüster, und du selbst wurdest nicht verwüstet; und dir, Räuber, und man hat dich nicht beraubt! Sobald du das Verwüsten vollendet hast, wirst du verwüstet werden; sobald du mit dem Rauben fertig bist, wirst du beraubt werden. - |
| Latin Clementine Vulgate | Væ qui prædaris! nonne et ipse prædaberis? et qui spernis, nonne et ipse sperneris? Cum consummaveris deprædationem, deprædaberis; cum fatigatus desieris contemnere, contemneris. |