Isaiah 33:11

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9 ^aThe earth mourns and languishes,
Lebanon is shamed and shriveled;
Sharon is like a wilderness,
And Bashan and Carmel shake off their fruits.

Impending Judgment on Zion

10 “Now^a I will rise,” says the Lord;
“Now I will be exalted,
Now I will lift Myself up.

11 ^aYou shall conceive chaff,
You shall bring forth stubble;
Your breath, as fire, shall devour you.

12 And the people shall be like the burnings of lime;
^aLike thorns cut up they shall be burned in the fire.

13 Hear, ^ayou who are afar off, what I have done;
And you who are near, acknowledge My might.”

14 The sinners in Zion are afraid;
Fearfulness has seized the hypocrites:
“Who among us shall dwell with the devouring ^afire?
Who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?”

15 He who ^awalks righteously and speaks uprightly,
He who despises the gain of oppressions,
Who gestures with his hands, refusing bribes,
Who stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed,
And ^bshuts his eyes from seeing evil:

16 He will dwell on¹ high;
His place of defense will be the fortress of rocks;
Bread will be given him,
His water will be sure.

Commentaries:

Barnes' Notes

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Isaiah 33:12 >>

Isaiah 33:11

Ye shall conceive chaff - An address of God to the Assyrians. The figure is one that denotes that their counsels would be in vain. Chaff and stubble are used in the Scriptures, in contrast with grain, to denote anything which is not solid, nutritious, or substantial; then anything which is frivolous, useless, vain. A similar image occurs in Isaiah 26:18 (see the note on that place; compare Isaiah 59:4).

Your breath as fire shall devour you - The word ' breath' here ( rûach , spirit) is evidently used in the sense of the ́ thumos , and denotes anger, as in Isaiah 30:28. It refers to the haughty and arrogant spirit of Sennacherib; the enraged and excited mind intent on victory and plunder. The sense is, that his mind, so intent on conquest - so proud, excited, and angry, would be the means of his own destruction. Lowth proposes to read ' my spirit,' but for this change there is no authority from manuscripts (see the notes at Isaiah 1:31).

**Other Barnes' Notes entries containing Isaiah 33:11:**

Job 4:9

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Isaiah 33:12 >>

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