Verse

Isaiah 10:33

ESV Behold, the Lord God of hosts will lop the boughs with terrifying power; the great in height will be hewn down, and the lofty will be brought low.
NIV See, the Lord, the Lord Almighty, will lop off the boughs with great power. The lofty trees will be felled, the tall ones will be brought low.
NASB Behold, the Lord, the God of armies, will lop off the branches with terrifying power; Those also who are tall in stature will be cut down, And those who are lofty will be brought low.
CSB Look, the Lord God of Armies will chop off the branches with terrifying power, and the tall trees will be cut down, the high trees felled.
NLT But look! The Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, will chop down the mighty tree of Assyria with great power! He will cut down the proud. That lofty tree will be brought down.
KJV Behold, the Lord, the Lord of hosts, shall lop the bough with terror: and the high ones of stature shall be hewn down, and the haughty shall be humbled.
NKJV Behold, the Lord, The Lord of hosts, Will lop off the bough with terror; Those of high stature will be hewn down, And the haughty will be humbled.

What does Isaiah 10:33 mean?

The prophet Isaiah has been describing the progress of a fast-moving invading army toward Jerusalem (Isaiah 10:28–32). Since the route is different, scholars insist this is not the Assyrian army led by Sennacherib in 701 BC. It could be Isaiah's word picture of what an attack on Jerusalem might look like. It would feel to the people as if the Assyrians were unstoppable as they rolled through the nation, arriving quickly at a hill above the city of Jerusalem.

Now, the scene completely changes. Isaiah leaves the invaders standing nearby as an undeniable threat looming down on the city. He now turns to direct his attention at a metaphor about the Lord., who is bringing down the tallest and the mightiest of the trees. In other words, the Lord is not intimidated by the might of Assyria. Regardless of how close this army gets to Jerusalem, the Lord will cut them down to size according to His perfect timing.
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