Isaiah 33:20

The Holy Bible, Berean Study Bible

Contextual Overview

¹³You who are far off, hear what I have done; you who are near, acknowledge My might." ¹⁴The sinners in Zion are afraid; trembling grips the ungodly: "Who of us can dwell with a consuming fire? Who of us can dwell with everlasting flames?" ¹⁵He who walks righteously and speaks with sincerity, who refuses gain from extortion, whose hand never takes a bribe, who stops his ears against murderous plots and shuts his eyes tightly against evil- ¹⁶he will dwell on the heights; his refuge will be the mountain fortress; his food will be provided and his water assured. ¹⁷Your eyes will see the King in His beauty and behold a land that stretches afar. ¹⁸Your mind will ponder the former terror: "Where is he who tallies? Where is he who weighs? Where is he who counts the towers?" ¹⁹You will no longer see the insolent, a people whose speech is unintelligible, who stammer in a language that is not understood. ²⁰Look upon Zion, the city of our festivals. Your eyes will see Jerusalem, a peaceful pasture, a tent that does not wander; its tent pegs will not be pulled up, nor will any of its cords be loosened.²¹But there the Majestic One, our LORD, will be for us a place of rivers and wide canals, where no galley with oars will go, and majestic vessels will not pass. ²²For the LORD is our Judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our King. He will save us.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Look: Psalms 48:12, Psalms 48:13

the city: Deuteronomy 12:5, Psalms 78:68, Psalms 78:69

thine eyes: Psalms 46:5, Psalms 125:1, Psalms 128:5

not one: Isaiah 37:33, Isaiah 54:2, Ezekiel 48:35, Matthew 16:18, Revelation 3:12

Reciprocal: Exodus 27:19 - all the pins thereof Exodus 38:20 - the pins Leviticus 23:2 - the feasts Isaiah 4:5 - upon every Isaiah 32:18 - General Jeremiah 4:20 - suddenly Ezekiel 48:8 - the sanctuary Joel 3:20 - Judah Zechariah 2:4 - Jerusalem Zechariah 9:8 - I will

Cross-References

Genesis 8:20
Then Noah built an altar to the LORD. Taking from every kind of clean animal and clean bird, he offered burnt offerings on the altar.

Genesis 13:18
So Abram moved his tent and went to live near the oaks of Mamre in Hebron, where he built an altar to the LORD.

Genesis 21:33
And Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and there he called upon the name of the LORD, the Eternal God.

Genesis 32:28
Then the man said, "Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men, and you have prevailed."

Genesis 33:7
Leah and her children also approached and bowed down, and then Joseph and Rachel approached and bowed down.

Genesis 33:8
"What do you mean by sending this whole company to meet me?" asked Esau. "To find favor in your sight, my lord," Jacob answered.

Genesis 35:7
There Jacob built an altar, and he called that place El-bethel, because it was there that God had revealed Himself to him as he fled from his brother.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Look upon Zion,.... Instead of such terrible objects as before described, a very amiable and lovely one is presented to view; even Zion, the church of God, beloved by him, chosen for his habitation, a strong city, a perfection of beauty, and the joy of the whole earth. The Targum is,

"O Zion, thou shalt see their fall;''

the fall of her enemies before mentioned; as at this time the church will see the fall both of the eastern and western antichrist. But the words are an exhortation to the saints and people of God, to behold the safety, peace, and prosperity of the church, now freed from all its enemies:

the city of our solemnities; a "city", for its situation, foundation, walls, and building; for its number and sorts of inhabitants; for its wholesome laws and choice privileges: a city of "solemnities", where the saints solemnly assemble together for religious worship; where the word of God is, solemnly preached, and where the ordinances are solemnly administered, and the sacrifices of prayer and praise are solemnly offered up:

thine eyes shall see Jerusalem a quiet habitation; or the church of God in Gospel times, and particularly in the latter day: see

Hebrews 12:22 and by which name the church is called in its more glorious state, Revelation 21:2 which is the "habitation" of God, Father, Son, and Spirit; and of saints, where they dwell, or however will in the latter day, safely, quietly, pleasantly, and comfortably; for then will it be, and be "seen" and enjoyed, as a "quiet" one; for now will the saints live in peace one with another; there will be no more envy, vexations, animosities, and divisions; this will be the Philadelphian church state, when brotherly love shall everywhere prevail, and when they shall also be entirely free from the persecutions of enemies; none shall hurt and destroy in all the holy mountain, Isaiah 11:9. Some render it a "sheepfold" f; Christ is the shepherd, the saints are his sheep, the church is the fold where they are gathered, fed, and preserved, and lie in safety, and peace: and

a tabernacle [that] shall not be taken down; as the tabernacle of Moses was; or the tents of shepherds, soldiers, and sojourners are, to which the allusion may be; and so is expressive of the continuance of the church, which shall not now be removed from place to place, as it has been, but shall be fixed and settled all over the world, and so remain to the end of time, an immovable tabernacle; and especially so it will be when the tabernacle of God is with men, and he shall dwell with them, Revelation 21:3:

not one of the stakes thereof shall ever be removed, neither shall any of the cords thereof be broken; alluding to tents and tabernacles made of curtains, fastened by cords to stakes, by which they are supported. Not only ministers of the Gospel, but every true believer, is as a "stake" or pillar in the church of God, which shall never be removed, Revelation 3:12 never removed from the heart and love of God; nor out of the hands of Christ, and an interest in him; nor out of the family of God, or from the privileges of it; nor from Christ's body, the church, which is his fulness. The "cords" with which these are all held together, which shall never be broken, are the everlasting love of God, electing grace, the covenant and its promises, the word and ordinances, which always remain firm and sure, and secure the stability and continuance of the church of God.

f נוח "caulam", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Look upon Zion - Lowth renders this, ‘Thou shalt see Zion,’ by Changing the Hebrew text in conformity with the Chaldee. There is no doubt that this accords with the sense of the passage, but there is no authority for the change It stands in contrast with what had been said in Isaiah 33:19. There, the prophet had said that they should no more see those foreign armies that were coming to invade them. Here he directs them to look upon Zion, implying that they should be permitted to behold Zion in a situation such as he proceeds to describe it. ‘You shall not see that foreign army carrying desolation as they design through the city and the land. They shall be destroyed. But behold Zion! Her you shall see quiet, prosperous, happy, peaceful.’

The city of our solemnities - Where the religious solemnities of the nation were celebrated.

A quiet habitation - Free from invasion, and from the terrors of war.

A tabernacle - A tent; a dwelling, such as was common in the nomadic mode of life in the East. The whole city is described under the image of a tent that is fixed and undisturbed, where the family may reside in safety and comfort.

Not one of the stakes thereof - The ‘stakes’ here refer to the poles or fixtures which were driven into the ground in order to fasten the tent, to enable them to spread it, or to the small stakes or pins that were driven in the ground in order to secure the cords by which the tent was extended. The drawing in the book will give you an idea of the mode in which tents were commonly pitched, and will serve to explain this passage, as well as the similar passage in Isaiah 54:2.

Shall ever be removed - It shall be a fixed and permanent habitation. The word ‘ever’ must mean an indefinite period of duration. Sennacherib had designed to blot out the name of the people of God, and destroy their separate and independent existence. The prophet says that that should never be done. Jerusalem, the residence of his people and the emblem of his church, would be safe, and would not be destroyed. There would always be a safe and quiet abode for the friends of the Most High. In this sense it accords with the declaration of the Saviour, that the gates of hell should not prevail against his church.

Neither shall any of the cords thereof be broken - Cords were used in tents to fasten the cloth to the poles, or to fasten it to the pins which had been driven into the ground, in order to extend the cloth, and to make it firm.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Isaiah 33:20. Look upon Zion - "Thou shalt see Zion"] For חזה chazeh, "see," read תחזה techezeh, "thou shalt see," with the Chaldee. - Houbigant. At the end of this verse we find in the Masoretic Bibles this note, חצי הספר chatsi hassepher, "the middle of the book;" that is the middle of the book of Isaiah.