Bible Strands
Isaiah 33:20
Look upon Zion, the city of our appointed feasts. 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 broken.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The prophet delivers YHWH’s oracle to Judah immediately after describing the removal of the arrogant enemy, marking a decisive shift from judgment to permanent restoration.
The words — The imperative חֲזֵה (cha.Zeh) literally commands "see," while נָוֶה (na.Veh) denotes a fixed habitation, contrasting the stable city with a mobile camp.
The thread — This imagery of an unshaken dwelling recurs in Psalms 46:5, where God’s presence ensures Zion will not be moved, and in Isaiah 32:18, which promises a secure place of rest for the people.
Why it lands — The text requires readers to abandon reliance on temporary safety and anchor their expectation in a divinely established, permanent stability.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
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.
Cross-references
- Psalms 46:5 God is within her; she will not be moved. God will help her when morning dawns.
- Isaiah 32:18 Then my people will dwell in a peaceful place, in safe and secure places of rest.
- Isaiah 54:2 “Enlarge the site of your tent, stretch out the curtains of your dwellings, do not hold back. Lengthen your ropes and drive your stakes in deep.
- Deuteronomy 12:5 Instead, you must seek the place the LORD your God will choose from among all your tribes to establish as a dwelling for His Name, and there you must go.
- Psalms 48:12 March around Zion, encircle her, count her towers,
- Psalms 78:68 But He chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion, which He loved.
- Psalms 125:1 A song of ascents. Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion. It cannot be moved; it abides forever.
- Psalms 128:5 May the LORD bless you from Zion, that you may see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life,
- Isaiah 37:33 So this is what the LORD says about the king of Assyria: ‘He will not enter this city or shoot an arrow into it. He will not come before it with a shield or build up a siege ramp against it.
- Ezekiel 48:35 The perimeter of the city will be 18,000 cubits, and from that day on the name of the city will be: THE LORD IS THERE.”