The Meaning of Isaiah 33:1 Explained

Isaiah 33:1

KJV: 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.

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.

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.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

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. 

What does Isaiah 33:1 Mean?

Verse Meaning

The destroyer and treacherous one in view is Assyria. So far Assyria had practiced destruction and treachery without having them come back on her, but eventually they would (cf. Deuteronomy 19:18-19). Sennacherib accepted a large sum of money that King Hezekiah sent to him so he would not besiege Jerusalem, but Sennacherib accepted the money and attacked Jerusalem anyway ( 2 Kings 18:13-17). That is treachery. Yahweh was the opposite of the Assyrian king. He was always true to His promises, and the Davidic kings were to follow His example as His vice-regents. To behave the opposite from how God behaves is to court divine discipline.
"As the royal annals demonstrate, Assyria took great pride in her capacity to destroy anyone who had the temerity to stand against her. By the same token, she had no qualms about breaking agreements which were not to her advantage, all the while punishing with great severity any who broke agreements with her." [1]

Context Summary

Isaiah 33:1-12 - God Exalted In Judgment
Here we have the final prediction against Sennacherib. He had dealt very treacherously by returning against Jerusalem, though he had taken a heavy ransom to leave it unmolested, 2 Kings 18:16. In Isaiah 33:2 Isaiah recalls the daily prayer offered by the priests in the Temple, when they heard of the steady advance of the foe. It was quite true that nations had fled before the dreaded Assyrian, Isaiah 33:3; but in this case those precedents would be reversed, Isaiah 33:4, because the Lord would appear for His people, Isaiah 33:5. That was a sweet assurance that the prophet gave to Hezekiah in Isaiah 33:6 -to sustain his spirit through the strain of the invasion described in Isaiah 33:7-8. God always gives us a promise on the eve of trial. He victuals His ships ere He exposes them to the storm. Though God sometimes seems to sleep yet when the hour strikes for the deliverance of His people, He will not tarry for a single moment. Be of good cheer; He will ride upon the wings of the wind to succor you! [source]

Chapter Summary: Isaiah 33

1  God's judgments against the enemies of the church
13  The consternation of sinners, and privileges of the godly

What do the individual words in Isaiah 33:1 mean?

Woe to you who plunder and though you not [have been] plundered and you who deal treacherously and though not they have dealt treacherously with you when you cease plundering You will be plundered when you make an end of dealing treacherously they will deal treacherously with you -
ה֣וֹי שׁוֹדֵ֗ד וְאַתָּה֙ לֹ֣א שָׁד֔וּד וּבוֹגֵ֖ד וְלֹא־ בָ֣גְדוּ ב֑וֹ כַּהֲתִֽמְךָ֤ שׁוֹדֵד֙ תּוּשַּׁ֔ד כַּנְּלֹתְךָ֥ לִבְגֹּ֖ד יִבְגְּדוּ־ בָֽךְ ס

ה֣וֹי  Woe  to 
Parse: Interjection
Root: הֹוי  
Sense: ah!, alas!, ha!, ho!, O!, woe!.
שׁוֹדֵ֗ד  you  who  plunder 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: שָׁדַד  
Sense: to deal violently with, despoil, devastate, ruin, destroy, spoil.
וְאַתָּה֙  and  though  you 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Pronoun, second person masculine singular
Root: אַתְּ 
Sense: you (second pers.
שָׁד֔וּד  [have  been]  plundered 
Parse: Verb, Qal, QalPassParticiple, masculine singular
Root: שָׁדַד  
Sense: to deal violently with, despoil, devastate, ruin, destroy, spoil.
וּבוֹגֵ֖ד  and  you  who  deal  treacherously 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: בָּגַד  
Sense: to act treacherously, deceitfully, deal treacherously.
וְלֹא־  and  though  not 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Adverb, Negative particle
Root: הֲלֹא 
Sense: not, no.
בָ֣גְדוּ  they  have  dealt  treacherously 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: בָּגַד  
Sense: to act treacherously, deceitfully, deal treacherously.
ב֑וֹ  with  you 
Parse: Preposition, third person masculine singular
כַּהֲתִֽמְךָ֤  when  you  cease 
Parse: Preposition-k, Verb, Hifil, Infinitive construct, second person masculine singular
Root: תָּמַם  
Sense: to be complete, be finished, be at an end.
שׁוֹדֵד֙  plundering 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: שָׁדַד  
Sense: to deal violently with, despoil, devastate, ruin, destroy, spoil.
תּוּשַּׁ֔ד  You  will  be  plundered 
Parse: Verb, QalPass, Imperfect, second person masculine singular
Root: שָׁדַד  
Sense: to deal violently with, despoil, devastate, ruin, destroy, spoil.
כַּנְּלֹתְךָ֥  when  you  make  an  end 
Parse: Preposition-k, Verb, Hifil, Infinitive construct, second person masculine singular
Root: נָלָה  
Sense: (Hiphil) to complete, bring to an end.
לִבְגֹּ֖ד  of  dealing  treacherously 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct
Root: בָּגַד  
Sense: to act treacherously, deceitfully, deal treacherously.
יִבְגְּדוּ־  they  will  deal  treacherously 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: בָּגַד  
Sense: to act treacherously, deceitfully, deal treacherously.
בָֽךְ  with  you 
Parse: Preposition, second person masculine singular
ס  - 
Parse: Punctuation