John Calvin Commentary Isaiah 33:1

"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." — Isaiah 33:1 (ASV)

Woe to thee that spoilest. If these words are to be interpreted as relating to the Babylonians, the interpretation will flow easily enough. After having promised freedom to the prisoners (Isaiah 32:15), he now appropriately taunts the conquerors.

They particularly needed this confirmation to believe a prediction that seemed incredible, for they could not consider it probable that such vast power would be destroyed and overthrown. Nor could they easily imagine that the wretched prisoners, now in a state of despair, would quickly be permitted to return to their native country.

Amid such distresses, therefore, they might have fainted and given up all hope of safety if the Prophet had not met them with these exhortations. Accordingly, he anticipates the doubts that could have tormented their minds and tempted them to despair after being carried away by the Babylonians and reduced to slavery, because they saw none of the things promised here but experienced everything entirely opposite.

Yet, as it is almost universally agreed that this is the beginning of a new discourse and is addressed to Sennacherib and his army, I am inclined to believe that the Prophet pronounces against the Assyrians—who unjustly oppressed all their neighbors—a threat intended to alleviate the distresses and anxieties of the people. He therefore means that there will be a remarkable turn of events that will overthrow the flourishing condition of Nineveh, even though it seems invincible. For the Babylonians will come as enemies to punish them for the cruelty they inflicted on other nations.

To give greater energy to this discourse, he addresses the Assyrians themselves: “Woe to thee that plunderest; you may now ravage with impunity; no one has power to resist you; but one day there will be those who in their turn will plunder you, as you have plundered others.” He speaks to them in the singular but in a collective sense, which is very common.

Others read it as a question: “Will you not be spoiled? Do you think that you will never be punished for that violence? One day there will be those who will repay you in kind.” But we may follow the common interpretation, according to which the Prophet clearly shows the injustice of enemies, who were so eager for plunder that they spared no one, not even the innocent who had never injured them; for that demonstrates the utmost cruelty.

I am therefore more inclined to adopt this interpretation, according to which he describes in this first clause what the Assyrians are, shows them to be base and cruel robbers, and strongly shows their cruelty in harassing and pillaging harmless and inoffensive persons; so that, when the Jews witnessed such unrestrained injustice, they might realize that God is just and that such actions will not always go unpunished.

When thou shalt have ceased to plunder. This is the second clause of the sentence, by which the Prophet declares that the Assyrians now plunder because God has given them free rein, but that He will one day stop them, so that they will have no power to do harm.

If we were to understand him to mean, “when they would no longer wish to plunder,” that would be a weak interpretation. Instead, the Prophet goes further and declares that the time will come “when they will make an end of plundering,” because the Lord will restrain and subdue them.

The meaning is therefore the same as if he had said, “When you will have reached the height.” For we see that tyrants have boundaries assigned to them that they cannot cross. Their career is rapid as long as they keep their course, but as soon as the goal—their utmost limit—has been reached, they must stop.

Let us take heart from this consolation when we see tyrants insolently and fiercely attack the Church of God. For the Lord will eventually compel them to stop, and the more cruel they have been, the more severely will they be punished. The Lord will destroy them in a moment, for He will raise up enemies against them who will instantly ruin and punish them for their iniquities.

Here we should also acknowledge the providence of God in the overthrow of kingdoms. For wicked men imagine that everything moves at random and by the blind violence of fortune. But we should take quite another view, for the Lord will repay them what they deserve, so that they will be made to know that the cruelty they inflicted on harmless people does not go unavenged.

And the event showed the truth of this prediction. Not long afterward, Nineveh was conquered by the Babylonians, lost the monarchy, and was even so completely destroyed that it lost its name.

But as Babylon, which took her place, was no less a “spoiler,” the Prophet justly foretells that other robbers will rob her. He predicts that the Babylonians, when their monarchy is overthrown, will themselves be plundered of those things they seized and pillaged from others.