Bible Strands
Isaiah 10:33
Behold, the Lord GOD of Hosts will lop off the branches with terrifying power. The tall trees will be cut down, the lofty ones will be felled.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The prophet Isaiah delivers this oracle to Judah as the Assyrian army halts at Nob and threatens Jerusalem. The declaration marks the precise moment God intervenes to halt the invading force.
The words — מְסָעֵף (me.sa.'Ef) means "[is] about to lop off," and פֻּארָה (pu.Rah) translates to "boughs," describing the sudden removal of exalted structures. The phrase בְּמַעֲרָצָה (be./ma.'a.ra.Tzah) specifies this act occurs "with a crash," emphasizing sudden, violent divine action.
The thread — This motif of God felling the proud appears in Amos 2:9, where He destroys the Amorite whose height matched cedars, and in Daniel 4:37, where Nebuchadnezzar acknowledges God exalts and humbles rulers. Isaiah 37:38 also records the fulfillment of this judgment against the Assyrian king.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition that no human power or structural height withstands divine judgment. It requires the reader to accept that earthly authority is subject to sudden, sovereign removal.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
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.
Cross-references
- Amos 2:9 Yet it was I who destroyed the Amorite before them, though his height was like that of the cedars, and he was as strong as the oaks. Yet I destroyed his fruit above and his roots below.
- Isaiah 37:38 One day, while he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer put him to the sword and escaped to the land of Ararat. And his son Esar-haddon reigned in his place.
- Daniel 4:37 Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, for all His works are true and all His ways are just. And He is able to humble those who walk in pride.
- 2 Kings 19:21 This is the word that the LORD has spoken against him: ‘The Virgin Daughter of Zion despises you and mocks you; the Daughter of Jerusalem shakes her head behind you.
- 2 Chronicles 32:21 and the LORD sent an angel who annihilated every mighty man of valor and every leader and commander in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he withdrew to his own land in disgrace. And when he entered the temple of his god, some of his own sons struck him down with the sword.
- Job 40:11 Unleash the fury of your wrath; look on every proud man and bring him low.
- Isaiah 2:11 The proud look of man will be humbled, and the loftiness of men brought low; the LORD alone will be exalted in that day.
- Isaiah 10:16 Therefore the Lord GOD of Hosts will send a wasting disease among Assyria’s stout warriors, and under his pomp will be kindled a fire like a burning flame.
- Isaiah 37:24 Through your servants you have taunted the Lord, and you have said: “With my many chariots I have ascended to the heights of the mountains, to the remote peaks of Lebanon. I have cut down its tallest cedars, the finest of its cypresses. I have reached its farthest heights, the densest of its forests.
- Luke 14:11 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”