Tyndale Open Study NotesIsaiah 33

• This was the sixth warning of woe (see study note on Isaiah 28:1–33:24).

• Although the Hebrew text does not specifically name Assyria as the object of the prophecy in this chapter, Isaiah likely referred to Assyria. They were the destroyer closest at the time the prophecy was written. The prophecy applies to anyone who tries to destroy God's people, including the Babylonians (see Isaiah 13–14).

• When you have finished betraying: Wicked nations often break political agreements when these deals no longer benefit them.

The faithful community prayed for God to be merciful in response to the promise of Isaiah 30:18.

Sharon, Bashan, and Carmel were all fertile areas. Their desolation represents the destruction Assyria had caused in Israel.

In most passages, the Assyrians reduced other nations to worthless dry grass and stubble (see Isaiah 17:13; 29:5; 40:24; 41:2). Here, ironically, they experience the same fate.

• The godless were people who lived without considering God and his laws.

• The image of a consuming fire comes from God’s judgment of wrongdoers during the wilderness journey (Exodus 24:17; Deuteronomy 4:24). God still expects people to worship him with respect and awe (Hebrews 12:29).

Living a righteous life shows that a person truly knows God (see Colossians 3:5–17; James 2:14–18; 1 Peter 1:14–16; 1 John 1:5–6).

This vision is about God’s reign in Zion.

• The king is the human representative (32:1) of the Great King, God himself (33:22).

• The land belonging to God’s people would appear to be without borders because the foreign enemies had been judged (54:3).

Assyrian officers brought great terror to Judah when the Assyrians defeated various cities around Jerusalem (2 Kings 18:13).

The strange, unknown language was the language spoken in Assyria and later in Babylon (see Isaiah 28:11).

• The people of Israel were the people of Zion (compare Isaiah 33:20).

• sick … will be forgiven of iniquity: See Isaiah 43:25.