Isaiah 33:1-16

How terrible it will be for you who destroy others but have not been destroyed yet. How terrible it will be for you, traitor, whom no one has turned against yet. When you stop destroying, others will destroy you. When you stop turning against others, they will turn against you. LORD, be kind to us. We have waited for your help. Give us strength every morning. Save us when we are in trouble. Your powerful voice makes people run away in fear; your greatness causes the nations to run away. Like locusts, your enemies will take away the things you stole in war. Like locusts rushing about, they will take your wealth. The LORD is very great, and he lives in a high place. He fills Jerusalem with fairness and justice. He will be your safety. He is full of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge. Respect for the LORD is the greatest treasure. See, brave people are crying out in the streets; those who tried to bring peace are weeping loudly. There is no one on the roads, no one walking in the paths. People have broken the agreements they made. They refuse to believe the proof from witnesses. No one respects other people. The land is sick and dying; Lebanon is ashamed and dying. The Plain of Sharon is dry like the desert, and the trees of Bashan and Carmel are dying. The LORD says, “Now, I will stand up and show my greatness. Now, I will become important to the people. You people do useless things that are like hay and straw. A destructive wind will burn you like fire. People will be burned until their bones become like lime; they will burn quickly like dry thornbushes.” You people in faraway lands, hear what I have done. You people who are near me, learn about my power. The sinners in Jerusalem are afraid; those who are separated from God shake with fear. They say, “Can any of us live through this fire that destroys? Who can live near this fire that burns on and on?” A person who does what is right and speaks what is right, who refuses to take money unfairly, who refuses to take money to hurt others, who does not listen to plans of murder, who refuses to think about evil— 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.