Isaiah 33:20 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Isaiah 33:20
Look upon Zion, the city of our solemnities: thine eyes shall see Jerusalem a quiet habitation, a tabernacle that shall not be taken down; not one of the stakes thereof shall ever be removed, neither shall any of the cords thereof be broken.
to gaze at · verb, qal imperative, 2nd person masculine singular
Zion
צִיּ֔וֹןtzi.Yon
H6726
Tsijon (as a permanent capital) · proper noun, a place name
city
קִרְיַ֖תkir.Yat
H7151
building · noun, common feminine singular construct
solemnities
מֽוֹעֲדֵ֑נוּmo.'a.De.nu
H4150
properly · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix
eyes
עֵינֶיךָ֩'ei.nei.Kha
H5869
an eye (literally or figuratively) · noun, common feminine dual construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
see
תִרְאֶ֨ינָהtir.'Ei.nah
H7200
to see · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person feminine plural
Jerusalem
יְרוּשָׁלִַ֜םye.ru.sha.Lim
H3389
Jerushalaim or Jerushalem · proper noun, a place name
quiet
שַׁאֲנָ֗ןsha.'a.Nan
H7600
secure · adjective, masculine singular absolute
habitation
נָוֶ֣הna.Veh
H5116
(adjectively) at home · noun, common masculine singular absolute
tabernacle
אֹ֤הֶל'O.hel
H168
a tent (as clearly conspicuous from a distance) · noun, common masculine singular absolute
down
יִצְעָן֙yitz.'An
H6813
to load up (beasts) · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
stakes
יְתֵֽדֹתָיו֙ye.te.do.Tav
H3489
a peg · noun, common feminine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
ever
לָנֶ֔צַחla.Ne.tzach
H5331
properly · preposition + noun, common masculine singular absolute
removed
יִסַּ֤עyi.Sa'
H5265
properly · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
cords
חֲבָלָ֖יוcha.va.Lav
H2256
a rope (as twisted) · noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
broken
יִנָּתֵֽקוּyi.na.Te.ku
H5423
to tear off · verb, niphal imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Psalms 46:5 God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early.
Isaiah 32:18 And my people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting places;
Isaiah 54:2 Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen t…
Deuteronomy 12:5 But unto the place which the LORD your God shall choose out of all your tribes to put his name there, even unto his habitation shall ye seek…
Psalms 48:12-13 Walk about Zion, and go round about her: tell the towers thereof.
Psalms 78:68-69 But chose the tribe of Judah, the mount Zion which he loved.
Psalms 125:1-2 They that trust in the LORD shall be as mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth for ever.
Psalms 128:5 The LORD shall bless thee out of Zion: and thou shalt see the good of Jerusalem all the days of thy life.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Isaiah 33:13–end
Here is a preface that commands attention; and it is fit that all should attend, both near and afar off, to what God says and does (Isa 33:13): Hear, you that are afar off, whether in place or time. Let distant regions and future ages hear what God has done. They do so; they will do so from the scripture, with as much assurance as those that were near, the neighbouring nations and those that lived at that time. But whoever hears what God has done, whether near or afar off, let them acknowledge his might, that it is irresistible, and that he can do every thing. Those are very stupid who hear what God has done and yet will not acknowledge his might. Now what is it that God has done which we mu…
solemnities--solemn assemblies at the great feasts (see on Isa 30:29; Psa 42:4; Psa 48:12).
not . . . taken down . . . removed--image from captives "removed" from their land (Isa 36:17). There shall be no more "taking away" to an enemy's land. Or else, from nomads living in shifting tents. The saints, who sojourned once in tabernacles as pilgrims, shall have a "building of God--eternal in the heavens" (Co2 5:1; Heb 11:9-10; compare Isa 54:2).
stakes--driven into the ground; to these the "cords" were fastened. Christ's Church shall never fall (Mat 16:18). So individual believers (Rev 3:12).
John Gill on Isaiah 33:20
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 build…
(Verse 20 and following) Look upon Zion, the city of our solemnity: your eyes shall see Jerusalem, a wealthy habitation: a tabernacle that cannot be moved, and its nails shall not be taken away forever, and all its cords shall not be broken. For our Lord is only magnificent there: a place of wide and open rivers, no ship of rowers shall pass through it: nor shall any great trireme pass over it. For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king, he will save us. Your ropes are loosened, and they will not prevail; so will be your evil, that you cannot extend your sign. Then the spoils of many spoils will be divided: the lame will plunder the prey. And the neighbor will not say: I am faint: the people who dwell in it will be taken away by iniquity. LXX: Behold, Zion is a city of our salvation: your eyes will see Jerusalem. A wealthy city, immovable dwellings: its tent pegs will not be taken away forever, and its cords will not be torn apart. For the name of the Lord is great for you: your place will be wide and spacious rivers and streams: no ship propelled by oars will enter through it. For my God, the Lord, is great: the Lord our judge will not pass over me, the Lord our leader, the Lord our king, the Lord Himself will save us. Your cables have been disrupted (or plundered), because they did not prevail: your evil is bent, to let out the sails: it will not raise the sign, until it is delivered into desolation. Therefore, many will make booty of the closed goods: and the people who inhabit them will not say, I will labor, their offense will be forgiven. O just one, to whom it has been said above: your heart will meditate fear; and you will not see the unwise (or impudent) people; and those whom you have heard before, your eyes will see the king in his beauty, contemplate the city of our solemnity, see the Church of Christ, in which the true solemnity is; your eyes will behold the vision of peace, and the unexpected riches, which the eye has not seen, nor the ear heard, nor have they ascended into the heart of man, and the tabernacle that cannot be transferred. For first the tabernacle which had the people of the Jews was translated and lifted up. Neither shall the nails thereof be moved forever, and all the cords thereof shall be strong; so that the Lord may dwell in it, who is the place of all flowing rivers and running streams,…
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Nail — For fastening. (1.) Hebrew yathed, “piercing,” a peg or nail of any material (Ezek. 15:3), more especially a tent-peg (Ex. 27:19; 35:18; 38:20), with one of which Jael (q.v.) pierced the temples of…
Excellency And Glory Of The Church, The · Consist in its: Being established — Consist in its: Being established
Jerusalem · .CITY OF — .CITY OF
Zion · 3:11; — 3:11;
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
John Calvin on Isaiah 33:20
Behold Zion. Some read it in the vocative case, "Behold, O Zion;" but it is preferable to read it in the accusative case. He brings forward a promise of the restoration of the Church, which ought to have great weight with all godly persons; for when the Church shakes or falls, there can be no hope of prosperity. That the Church will be restored he shews in such a manner that he places it before our eyes as having actually taken place, though he speaks of what is future; and his object is to give greater energy to his style, as if he had said, "Again you will see Zion restored and Jerusalem flourishing." Although believers see everything destroyed and scattered, and although they despair of h…
And how will Jerusalem look when Asshur has been dashed to pieces on the strong fortress? The prophet passes over here into the tone of Psa 48:1-14 (Psa 48:13, Psa 48:14). Psa 46:1-11 and Psa 48:1-14 probably belong to the time of Jehoshaphat; but they are equally applicable to the deliverance of Jerusalem in the time of Hezekiah. "Look upon Zion, the castle of our festal meeting. Thine eyes will see Jerusalem, a pleasant place, a tent that does not wander about, whose pegs are never drawn, and none of whose cords are ever broken." Jerusalem stands there unconquered and inviolable, the fortress where the congregation of the whole land celebrates its feasts, a place full of good cheer (Isa 32…
The strange, unknown language was the tongue of Assyria and later of Babylon (see 28:11).
Rashi on Isaiah 33:20
See Zion But whom will you see in your heart to be regarded as a kingdom and a ruling power? Zion, which is the city of our meeting place.
that shall not fall (יִצְעָן) shall not be lowered. Comp. (Jud. 4:11) “Elon-bezaanannim (אֵלוֹן בְּצַעֲנַנִּים),” which is rendered as: the plain of pits (מִישׁוֹר אַגְנַיָּא), which are pits in the fields, called kombes in O.F. Comp. (Baba Kamma 61b) “The pits of the earth (אַגְנֵי דְאַרְעָא) they are considered,” where water gathers from the mountains and the hills. I believe that the ‘beth’ of the word בְּצַעֲנַנִּים is not radical, but is a prefix.
whose pegs shall never be moved (יִסַּע) The pegs with which they tie the ropes of the tent he shall n…
