What Does Isaiah 33:11 Mean?

Ye shall conceive chaff, ye shall bring forth stubble (תַּהֲרוּ חֲשַׁשׁ תֵּלְדוּ קַשׁ, taharu chashash teledu qash)—you conceive (הָרָה, harah) חֲשַׁשׁ (chashash, chaff, dry grass) and give birth to (יָלַד, yalad) קַשׁ (qash, stubble). Your breath, as fire, shall devour you (רוּחֲכֶם אֵשׁ תֹּאכַלְכֶם, ruchakem esh tokhalkhem)—your רוּחַ (ruach, breath, spirit) like אֵשׁ (esh, fire) will devour you.

God addresses Assyria's futile schemes—all their planning, effort, and warfare produce worthless results: chaff and stubble. The pregnancy metaphor depicts prolonged effort yielding useless fruit. Their own רוּחַ (ruach)—breath, spirit, arrogance—becomes fire consuming them. Poetic justice: their own rage destroys them. James 1:15 uses similar birth imagery: 'when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.' Psalm 7:14-16 depicts the wicked conceiving mischief and bringing forth falsehood, falling into their own pit.