Isaiah 33:12 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And the peoples will be as if burned to lime, like thorns cut down, that are burned in the fire."

NIV: The peoples will be burned to ashes; like cut thornbushes they will be set ablaze."

NASB: The peoples will be burned to lime, Like cut thorns which are burned in the fire.

CSB: The peoples will be burned to ashes, like thorns cut down and burned in a fire.

NLT: Your people will be burned up completely, like thornbushes cut down and tossed in a fire.

KJV: And the people shall be as the burnings of lime: as thorns cut up shall they be burned in the fire.

NKJV: And the people shall be like the burnings of lime; Like thorns cut up they shall be burned in the fire.

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 5/28/2026 4:44:10 AM