Isaiah 10:33
in Isaiah 10Behold, 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.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Behold, the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, will lop the boughs with terror: and the high of stature shall be hewn down, and the lofty shall be brought low.
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.
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This verse in Isaiah 10
Commentary
9 notes on this verseBehold the Lord of hosts will break the jar in terror, and the lofty stature will be cut down, and the exalted will be brought low, and the dense forests will be destroyed by the sword, and Lebanon with its heights will fall. Some people think that this passage is still speaking of the Assyrians, and that when they are crushed, all the nations around them that were subject to their rule will be cut down and humbled, and the dense forests will be destroyed. They understand this metaphorically as referring to the people and rulers.
This site's exposition
Behold, the Lord GOD of Hosts
on Isaiah 10:33-34
The forest imagery of verses 18 and 19 returns as the chapter's last word. Assyria, stopped at the gate it reached, falls as Lebanon falls before the Mighty One. The next chapter answers with a shoot from the stump of Jesse, growing where the axe has done its worst.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
And who are these but the rich? Because they have indeed received their consolation, glory and honor, and a lofty position from their wealth.
The Medieval Church1 voice
Second, the destruction of the enemy: behold the sovereign. And first, ease on the part of the one who punishes: he shall break the earthen vessel, like what was done by Gideon (Judg 7:19–20); second, universality on the part of those who are punished: the …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Behold, the Lord, the Lord of hosts, shall lop the bough with terror,.... Cut off the king of Assyria and his army, in a most terrible manner; "the glory" of it, as in Isa 10:18 the word signifies that which is the ornament, the beauty and glory, of the tree.
Whether they were the princes and judges of Israel of Judah, or both, that the prophet denounced this woe against, is not certain: if those of Israel, these verses are to be joined with the close of the foregoing chapter, which is probable enough, because the burden of that prophecy ( for all this his anger is not turned away ) is repeated here (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
(1.) The pride of the enemy shall be humbled, the boughs that are lifted up on high shall be lopped off, the high and stately trees shall be hewn down; that is, the haughty shall be humbled.
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Shall lop the bough with terror - פארה purah; but פורה purah, wine-press, is the reading of twenty-six of Kennicott’s and twenty-three of De Rossi’s MSS., four ancient editions, with Symmachus, Theodotion, and the Chaldee.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Behold, the Lord ... - The prophet had described, in the previous verses, the march of the Assyrians toward Jerusalem, station by station. He had accompanied him in his description until he had arrived in full sight of the city, which was the object of all his preparation. He had described the consternation which was felt at his approach in all the smaller towns. Nothing had been able to stand before him; and now, flushed with success, and confident that Jerusalem would fall, he stands before the devoted city.
The words behind it
12 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הִנֵּ֤ה | hineh | there! | H2009 → | 843 times |
| הָאָדוֹן֙ | haadon | the lord | H113 → | 333 times |
| יְהוָ֣ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| צְבָא֔וֹת | tzevaot | of hosts | H6635 → | 485 times |
| מְסָעֵ֥ף | mesaef | [is] about to lop off | H5586 → | |
| פֻּארָ֖ה | purah | bough[s] | H6288 → | |
| בְּמַעֲרָצָ֑ה | bemaaratzah | with a crash | H4637 → | |
| וְרָמֵ֤י | veramei | and [the] exalted [ones] of | H7311 → | 190 times |
| הַקּוֹמָה֙ | hakomah | <the> height | H6967 → | |
| גְּדוּעִ֔ים | geduim | [will be] cut down | H1438 → | 22 times |
| וְהַגְּבֹהִ֖ים | vehagevohim | and the tall [ones] | H1364 → | 41 times |
| יִשְׁפָּֽלוּ׃ | yishpalu | they will become low | H8213 → | 31 times |
הִנֵּ֤הthere!
hinehH2009 →843 times
הָאָדוֹן֙the lord
haadonH113 →333 times
יְהוָ֣הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
צְבָא֔וֹתof hosts
tzevaotH6635 →485 times
מְסָעֵ֥ף[is] about to lop off
mesaefH5586 →
פֻּארָ֖הbough[s]
purahH6288 →
בְּמַעֲרָצָ֑הwith a crash
bemaaratzahH4637 →
וְרָמֵ֤יand [the] exalted [ones] of
verameiH7311 →190 times
הַקּוֹמָה֙<the> height
hakomahH6967 →
גְּדוּעִ֔ים[will be] cut down
geduimH1438 →22 times
וְהַגְּבֹהִ֖יםand the tall [ones]
vehagevohimH1364 →41 times
יִשְׁפָּֽלוּ׃they will become low
yishpaluH8213 →31 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Daniel 4:37Now 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…
it leads to
- James 4:6–7
But He gives us more grace. This is why it says: “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
- Psalms 33:4–5
For the word of the LORD is upright, and all His work is trustworthy.
- 1 Peter 5:5–6
Young men, in the same way, submit yourselves to your elders. And all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
- 1 Samuel 2:3
Do not boast so proudly, or let arrogance come from your mouth, for the LORD is a God who knows, and by Him actions are weighed.
- Deuteronomy 32:4
He is the Rock, His work is perfect; all His ways are just. A God of faithfulness without injustice, righteous and upright is He.
- James 4:6–7
Through
Isaiah 37:38One 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…
it leads to
- Genesis 8:4
On the seventeenth day of the seventh month, the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat.
- Jeremiah 51:27
“Raise a banner in the land! Blow the ram’s horn among the nations! Prepare the nations against her. Summon the kingdoms against her—Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz. Appoint a captain against her; bring up horses…
- Genesis 8:4
Through
Amos 2:9Yet 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…
it leads to
- Job 18:16
The roots beneath him dry up, and the branches above him wither away.
- Job 18:16
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Isaiah
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Isaiah; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Tertullian, AGAINST MARCION 4.15 and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.