Isaiah 33:14 - Printer Friendly

ESV: The sinners in Zion are afraid; trembling has seized the godless: "Who among us can dwell with the consuming fire? Who among us can dwell with everlasting burnings?"

NIV: The sinners in Zion are terrified; trembling grips the godless: "Who of us can dwell with the consuming fire? Who of us can dwell with everlasting burning?"

NASB: Sinners in Zion are terrified; Trembling has seized the godless. 'Who among us can live with the consuming fire? Who among us can live with everlasting burning?'

CSB: The sinners in Zion are afraid; trembling seizes the ungodly: "Who among us can dwell with a consuming fire? Who among us can dwell with ever-burning flames?"

NLT: The sinners in Jerusalem shake with fear. Terror seizes the godless. 'Who can live with this devouring fire?' they cry. 'Who can survive this all-consuming fire?'

KJV: The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?

NKJV: The sinners in Zion are afraid; Fearfulness has seized the hypocrites: “Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? Who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?”

Isaiah 33:13–24 explains that God will preserve His people through these trials. Much of this prophecy speaks about when Messiah will rule over the world in person. All that is godless and corrupt will have been purged. Jerusalem will be in perfect peace and health.

This chapter is set just before and following the Lord's destruction of Assyrian armies during the siege of Jerusalem. It begins with the Lord's "woe" against the destroyer and betrayer. Judah cries to the Lord to save them. The exalted Lord will save His people and provide for them. When all hope is lost in Jerusalem, the Lord says that He will rise. The destroyer is now just something to be disposed of and burned up in fire. Isaiah describes a future kingdom with the Lord as king. The Lord acknowledges that He will save them.

Assyria was an aggressive, hostile superpower threatening Israel. God used this nation to punish Israel, but also promised to restore His people and punish the evil invaders. In this chapter, the Assyrians are not mentioned by name but described as "the destroyer." Those in Israel who would ally with foreign nations are "the betrayer." When all seems most hopeless for Jerusalem, the king and people repent and cry out to the Lord to save them. The nation which attacked Israel will be eliminated entirely. A few decades after Assyria's attacks, the culture was entirely overrun by the Medes and Babylonians.

Isaiah is among the most important prophetic books in the entire Bible. The first segment details God's impending judgment against ancient peoples for sin and idolatry (Isaiah 1—35). The second part of Isaiah briefly explains a failed assault on Jerusalem during the rule of Hezekiah (Isaiah 36—39). The final chapters predict Israel's rescue from Babylonian captivity (Isaiah 40—48), the promised Messiah (Isaiah 49—57), and the final glory of Jerusalem and God's people (Isaiah 58—66).