Isaiah 33:11 - Printer Friendly

ESV: You conceive chaff; you give birth to stubble; your breath is a fire that will consume you.

NIV: You conceive chaff, you give birth to straw; your breath is a fire that consumes you.

NASB: You have conceived chaff, you will give birth to stubble; My breath will consume you like a fire.

CSB: You will conceive chaff; you will give birth to stubble. Your breath is fire that will consume you.

NLT: You Assyrians produce nothing but dry grass and stubble. Your own breath will turn to fire and consume you.

KJV: Ye shall conceive chaff, ye shall bring forth stubble: your breath, as fire, shall devour you.

NKJV: You shall conceive chaff, You shall bring forth stubble; Your breath, as fire, shall devour you.

Isaiah 33:1–12 pronounces judgments to come on the enemies of God's people. This includes "the destroyer," which is the hostile nation of Assyria (Isaiah 10:24; 36:1). "The betrayer" seems to be those within Israel who would rely on foreign alliances instead of God (Isaiah 30:1–2). Both will pay a price for their mistakes. Only once Israel has been punished will the Lord turn on the invaders.

This chapter is set just before and following the Lord's destruction of Assyrian armies during the siege of Jerusalem. It begins with the Lord's "woe" against the destroyer and betrayer. Judah cries to the Lord to save them. The exalted Lord will save His people and provide for them. When all hope is lost in Jerusalem, the Lord says that He will rise. The destroyer is now just something to be disposed of and burned up in fire. Isaiah describes a future kingdom with the Lord as king. The Lord acknowledges that He will save them.

Assyria was an aggressive, hostile superpower threatening Israel. God used this nation to punish Israel, but also promised to restore His people and punish the evil invaders. In this chapter, the Assyrians are not mentioned by name but described as "the destroyer." Those in Israel who would ally with foreign nations are "the betrayer." When all seems most hopeless for Jerusalem, the king and people repent and cry out to the Lord to save them. The nation which attacked Israel will be eliminated entirely. A few decades after Assyria's attacks, the culture was entirely overrun by the Medes and Babylonians.

Isaiah is among the most important prophetic books in the entire Bible. The first segment details God's impending judgment against ancient peoples for sin and idolatry (Isaiah 1—35). The second part of Isaiah briefly explains a failed assault on Jerusalem during the rule of Hezekiah (Isaiah 36—39). The final chapters predict Israel's rescue from Babylonian captivity (Isaiah 40—48), the promised Messiah (Isaiah 49—57), and the final glory of Jerusalem and God's people (Isaiah 58—66).

Accessed 1/14/2026 10:44:52 AM