Isaiah 33:2
in Isaiah 33O LORD, be gracious to us! We wait for You. Be our strength every morning and our salvation in time of trouble.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
O Jehovah, be gracious unto us; we have waited for thee: be thou our arm every morning, our salvation also in the time of trouble.
KJV
O Lord, be gracious unto us; we have waited for thee: be thou their arm every morning, our salvation also in the time of trouble.
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This verse in Isaiah 33
Commentary
9 notes on this verseBe thou their arm every morning “Be thou our strength every morning” - For זרעם zeroam, their arm, the Syriac, Chaldee, and Vulgate read זרענו zeroenu, our arm, in the first person of the pronoun, not the third: the edition of Felix Pratensis has זרעתינו zerootheynu in the margin.
This site's exposition
O LORD, be gracious to us
on Isaiah 33:2-4
Against the destroyer the prophet sets a prayer, "O LORD, be gracious to us". The answer comes as a rout, for "The peoples flee the thunder of Your voice; the nations scatter when You rise". Albert Barnes noted that the chapter moves from woe to prayer to victory.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
The master of the church has many names: being called the Father, the way, the life, the light, the arm, the propitiation, the foundation, the door, the sinless one, the treasure, Lord, God, Son, the only begotten, the form of God, the image of God. So it is with the church itself. Does one name suffice to present the whole truth? By no means. But for this reason there are countless names, that we may learn something concerning God, though it is but a small part.
(Verse 2 and following) Lord, have mercy on us: for we have waited for you: be our strength in the morning, and our salvation in time of trouble. At the voice of the Angel, the people fled; at your exaltation the nations were scattered. And your spoil will be gathered, as the locust is gathered, as when the ditches are full of it. The Lord is magnified, for he dwells on high: he has filled Zion with judgment and justice.
The Medieval Church1 voice
717. Second, in the person of the people, he asks for confirmation of the threat from God: O Lord, have mercy on us: glorify your hand and extend your arm (Sir 36:7); give us, O Lord, help from trouble (Ps 59:13[60:11]).
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
O Lord - The prophet contemplating the judgment which was now coming upon God's people, directs his prayer to God for them. Their arm - Our arm or strength. The change of persons is frequent in prophetical writings.
If he undertake to be their Saviour, he will be their salvation; for as for God his work is perfect. Some read it thus: " Thou who wast their arm every morning, who wast the continual strength and help of our fathers before us, be thou our salvation also in time of trouble.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — odd-straight-quotes
2 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
O Lord, be gracious unto us,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
O Lord - This is a solemn prayer to Yahweh, made by the Jews in the apprehension of the invasion of the Assyrian. It is not meant that this prayer was actually offered, but it is a prophetic representation indicating the alarm of the Jews at his approach, and their disposition to throw themselves upon the mercy of God. We have waited for thee - That is, we have looked for deliverance from this threatened invasion from thy hand (compare the note at Isa 26:8). Be thou their arm - The arm is a symbol of strengh. It is used in the Scriptures as emblematic of the divine protection, or of the interposition of God in time of calamity and dancer Exo 15:16; Job 40:9; Psa 44:3; Psa 77:15; Psa 89:21; Psa 98:1. Lowth proposes to read ‘our arm instead of ‘their arm;’ and the connection would seem to demand such a reading. The Vugate and the Chaldee read it in this manner, but there is no authority from manuscripts for a change in the text. The truth seems to be, that Isaiah, impelled by prophetic inspiration, here interposes his own feelings as a Jew, and offers his own prayer that God would be the strength of the nation. The form, however, is immediately changed, and he presents the prayer of the people. Every morning - Constantly; at all times. In the time of trouble - Referring particularly to the trouble consequent on the invasion of the Assyrians.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
Woe To the enemy, that you constantly spoil, but you are not spoiled, and you constantly deal treacherously, but no man deals treacherously with you or spoils you.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 3 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
11 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| יְהוָ֥ה | yahweh | O Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| חָנֵּ֖נוּ | chanenu | show favor to us | H2603 → | 78 times |
| לְךָ֣ | lekha | for you | ||
| קִוִּ֑ינוּ | kivinu | we have waited | H6960 → | 49 times |
| הֱיֵ֤ה | heyeh | be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| זְרֹעָם֙ | zeroam | strength their | H2220 → | 91 times |
| לַבְּקָרִ֔ים | labekarim | to the mornings | H1242 → | 214 times |
| אַף־ | ʾaf- | also | H637 → | 134 times |
| יְשׁוּעָתֵ֖נוּ | yeshuatenu | salvation our | H3444 → | 78 times |
| בְּעֵ֥ת | beet | in a time of | H6256 → | 296 times |
| צָרָֽה׃ | tzarah | distress | H6869 → | 73 times |
יְהוָ֥הO Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
חָנֵּ֖נוּshow favor to us
chanenuH2603 →78 times
לְךָ֣for you
lekha
קִוִּ֑ינוּwe have waited
kivinuH6960 →49 times
הֱיֵ֤הbe
heyehH1961 →3559 times
זְרֹעָם֙strength their
zeroamH2220 →91 times
לַבְּקָרִ֔יםto the mornings
labekarimH1242 →214 times
אַף־also
ʾaf-H637 →134 times
יְשׁוּעָתֵ֖נוּsalvation our
yeshuatenuH3444 →78 times
בְּעֵ֥תin a time of
beetH6256 →296 times
צָרָֽה׃distress
tzarahH6869 →73 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Psalms 62:8Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts before Him. God is our refuge. Selah
it leads to
- Philippians 4:6
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
- Isaiah 26:4
Trust in the LORD forever, because GOD the LORD is the Rock eternal.
- Lamentations 2:19
Arise, cry out in the night from the first watch of the night. Pour out your heart like water in the presence of the Lord. Lift up your hands to Him for the lives…
- Psalms 142:2
I pour out my complaint before Him; I reveal my trouble to Him.
- 1 Samuel 1:15
“No, my lord,” Hannah replied. “I am a woman oppressed in spirit. I have not had any wine or strong drink, but I have poured out my soul before the LORD.
- Philippians 4:6
Through
Isaiah 59:16He saw that there was no man; He was amazed that there was no one to intercede. So His own arm brought salvation, and His own righteousness sustained Him.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 22:30
I searched for a man among them to repair the wall and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, so that I should not destroy it. But I found no…
- Ezekiel 22:30
Through
Psalms 60:11Give us aid against the enemy, for the help of man is worthless.
it leads to
- Psalms 146:3
Put not your trust in princes, in mortal man, who cannot save.
- Psalms 108:12
Give us aid against the enemy, for the help of man is worthless.
- Psalms 146:3
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Isaiah
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Isaiah; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Chrysostom, HOMILY ON EUTROPIUS 2:6; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.