Isaiah 33:1
"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."
The King James Version is one of the few English translations that make a distinction between second
person singular and plural.
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| second person | singular | plural |
| subject | thou | ye |
| object | thee | you |
| possessive | thy / thine | your / yours |
The "thee" and "thou" of Isaiah 33:1 may refer to a famous individual. Notice the three stages of
fulfillment: (1) the individual spoils and deals treacherously, (2) the individual ceases to spoil or deal
treacherously, (3) the individual is spoiled and treacherously dealt with.
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THE PRESIDENT'S TREACHERY
(letter by John McDonnell in The Washington Weekly, 1998, July 20)
The polarization of the nation over a wicked President's misuse of office is not good. Yet if the
polarization did not occur, and he continued to act as an enemy to the general welfare of the nation, that
would be worse.
Up to now the President has got away with his treacherous dealings, but if Isaiah 33:1 has any application
here, his end will not be pretty. "Woe to thee [singular] 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."
Since those opposed to the President's misuse of office generally seek legal means of bringing him to
justice, the ones to deal treacherously would have to be those already skilled at it.
The President referred to in this 1998 interpretation was President Clinton. When it became obvious that I
had misapplied Isaiah 33:1, I considered removing my interpretation. But in 2009, I am wondering whether
or not my 1998 interpretation might actually apply to President Obama, who in his first 100 days in office
did more to damage the general welfare of the nation than President Clinton did in 8 years.
Isaiah 33:1 might be a general principle based on spiritual laws, or it might be, as I have suggested, a
specific prophecy to be fulfilled. If it is to be fulfilled by President Obama, then his attempts to remake
America into a socialist nation will be thwarted by patriots, causing him to cease spoiling and dealing
treacherously with America, which will motivate his thugs to spoil and deal treacherously with him.
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Isaiah 33:2
"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."
The above is the King James Version of Isaiah 33:2. In the Community of Christ Inspired Version,
Joseph Smith Jr. changed "our salvation" to "their salvation".
Here we have church leaders who trusted in the wisdom of the world, stunned by the presence of
Christ, asking that he would be gracious to them. "We have waited for thee" is typical of the mumbo
jumbo they are skilled at. Isaiah prays for them because he sees them as part of the community of faith
and knows that the ease they enjoyed is over.
Other translations seem to undermine this interpretation. I have no knowledge of the Hebrew language.
If "we have waited" is correct, that implies we are no longer waiting. The phrase "we have waited" is
also used in Isaiah 25:9: "And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him,
and he will save us: this is the Lord; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation."
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