Isaiah 33:16
 Isaiah 33:16 
New International Version (©2011)
they are the ones who will dwell on the heights, whose refuge will be the mountain fortress. Their bread will be supplied, and water will not fail them.

New Living Translation (©2007)
these are the ones who will dwell on high. The rocks of the mountains will be their fortress. Food will be supplied to them, and they will have water in abundance.

English Standard Version (©2001)
he will dwell on the heights; his place of defense will be the fortresses of rocks; his bread will be given him; his water will be sure.

New American Standard Bible (©1995)
He will dwell on the heights, His refuge will be the impregnable rock; His bread will be given him, His water will be sure.

King James Bible (Cambridge Ed.)
He shall dwell on high: his place of defence shall be the munitions of rocks: bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure.

Holman Christian Standard Bible (©2009)
he will dwell on the heights; his refuge will be the rocky fortresses, his food provided, his water assured.

International Standard Version (©2012)
this is the one who will live on the heights; his refuge will be a mountain fortress. His food will be supplied, and his water will be guaranteed.

NET Bible (©2006)
This is the person who will live in a secure place; he will find safety in the rocky, mountain strongholds; he will have food and a constant supply of water.

GOD'S WORD® Translation (©1995)
This person will live on high. His stronghold will be a fortress made of rock. He will have plenty of food and a dependable supply of water.

King James 2000 Bible (©2003)
He shall dwell on high: his place of defense shall be the fortresses of rocks: bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure.

American King James Version
He shall dwell on high: his place of defense shall be the munitions of rocks: bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure.

American Standard Version
He shall dwell on high; his place of defence shall be the munitions of rocks; his bread shall be given him ; his waters shall be sure.

Douay-Rheims Bible
He shall dwell on high, the fortifications of rocks shall be his highness: bread is given him, his waters are sure.

Darby Bible Translation
he shall dwell on high, the fortresses of the rocks shall be his high retreat; bread shall be given him, his water shall be sure.

English Revised Version
He shall dwell on high: his place of defence shall be the munitions of rocks: his bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure.

Webster's Bible Translation
He shall dwell on high: his place of defense shall be the munitions of rocks: bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure.

World English Bible
he will dwell on high. His place of defense will be the fortress of rocks. His bread will be supplied. His waters will be sure.

Young's Literal Translation
He high places doth inhabit, Strongholds of rock are his high tower, His bread hath been given, his waters stedfast.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

33:15-24 The true believer watches against all occasions of sin. The Divine power will keep him safe, and his faith in that power will keep him easy. He shall want nothing needful for him. Every blessing of salvation is freely bestowed on all that ask with humble, believing prayer; and the believer is safe in time and for ever. Those that walk uprightly shall not only have bread given, and their water sure, but they shall, by faith, see the King of kings in his beauty, the beauty of holiness. The remembrance of the terror they were in, shall add to the pleasure of their deliverance. It is desirable to be quiet in our own houses, but much more so to be quiet in God's house; and in every age Christ will have a seed to serve him. Jerusalem had no large river running by it, but the presence and power of God make up all wants. We have all in God, all we need, or can desire. By faith we take Christ for our Prince and Saviour; he reigns over his redeemed people. All that refuse to have Him to reign over them, make shipwreck of their souls. Sickness is taken away in mercy, when the fruit of it is the taking away of sin. If iniquity be taken away, we have little reason to complain of outward affliction. This last verse leads our thoughts, not only to the most glorious state of the gospel church on earth, but to heaven, where no sickness or trouble can enter. He that blotteth out our transgressions, will heal our souls.


Pulpit Commentary

Verse 16. - He shall dwell on high; literally, inhabit heights - live, as it were, in the perpetual presence of God. His place of defense shall be the munitions of rocks; rather, strongholds of rocks (i.e. rocky strongholds) shall be his refuge. He shall fly to God, as his "Rock and his Fortress" (Psalm 18:2), not from him, as his "Enemy and Avenger" (Pc. 8:2). Bread... waters; i.e. all that is necessary for his support and sustenance. Shall be given him... shall be sure; rather, is given him... is sure. Godliness has "the promise of the life that now is," as well as that of the life "which is to come" (1 Timothy 4:8).


Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

He shall dwell on high,.... And so in safety: this is opposed to the fears of hypocrites, the grovelling life of a worldling, and the low life of many professors, and is expressive of the security of good men. It may respect the state of the saints on earth, who dwell by faith on God, as their covenant God, on his everlasting love and unchangeable grace; on Christ, as their Redeemer and Saviour; and in their thoughts and contemplations on heavenly things, where Christ is; and particularly in the spiritual reign of Christ, after the destruction of antichrist, when such shall dwell quietly and safely in God's holy hill, the church, which shall be established upon the top of the mountains: and it may also respect the state of the saints in heaven, which is a dwelling on high, and where they will be safe from everlasting burnings, and out of the reach of all enemies:

his place of defence shall be the munitions of rocks; Christ is "the place of defence" to his people, against avenging justice, the curse and condemnation of the law, the wrath of God, sin and all its dreadful consequences, Satan and all enemies: and he is "the munitions of rocks"; he is "a Rock" himself, for them to build upon, and shelter in; and like "fortresses" made out of "rocks", which can never be undermined, blown up, or broke through:

bread shall be given him: not only shall he be in safety, but shall enjoy the greatest plenty of blessings, particularly spiritual ones; above all, Christ, the bread of God from heaven, the true bread, the bread of life, which gives and supports life, and secures an eternal one; as also the word and ordinances, which are the provisions of Zion, and which all its inhabitants are favoured with; for these are all the "gifts" of divine goodness. The Targum is,

"in the house of the sanctuary his soul shall be satisfied, his food shall be sufficient:''

his waters shall be sure; Christ and his fulness, the Spirit and his grace, the Gospel doctrines, and ordinances of it; the believer may be assured of a supply from Christ's fulness; the grace of the Spirit is never failing, and is persevering; and Gospel doctrines and ordinances are not deceitful brooks, but yield comfort and refreshment: compare with this, Revelation 7:15.


Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

16. on high—heights inaccessible to the foe (Isa 26:1).

bread … waters—image from the expected siege by Sennacherib; however besieged by trials without, the godly shall have literal and spiritual food, as God sees good for them (Isa 41:17; Ps 37:25; 34:10; 132:15).


Isaiah 33:16 Parallel Commentaries

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The Lord is Exalted
15He that walks righteously, and speaks uprightly; he that despises the gain of oppressions, that shakes his hands from holding of bribes, that stops his ears from hearing of blood, and shuts his eyes from seeing evil; 16He shall dwell on high: his place of defense shall be the munitions of rocks: bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure. 17Your eyes shall see the king in his beauty: they shall behold the land that is very far off. …

Matthew 6:11 Give us today our daily bread.
Proverbs 10:9 Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but whoever takes crooked paths will be found out.
Isaiah 25:4 You have been a refuge for the poor, a refuge for the needy in their distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat. For the breath of the ruthless is like a storm driving against a wall
Isaiah 49:10 They will neither hunger nor thirst, nor will the desert heat or the sun beat down on them. He who has compassion on them will guide them and lead them beside springs of water.
Isaiah 58:14 then you will find your joy in the LORD, and I will cause you to ride in triumph on the heights of the land and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob." The mouth of the LORD has spoken.
Jeremiah 37:21 King Zedekiah then gave orders for Jeremiah to be placed in the courtyard of the guard and given a loaf of bread from the street of the bakers each day until all the bread in the city was gone. So Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guard.
Joel 3:16 The LORD will roar from Zion and thunder from Jerusalem; the earth and the heavens will tremble. But the LORD will be a refuge for his people, a stronghold for the people of Israel.