Isaiah 33:11

The language is ruthless in its clarity. What you plan is empty. What you produce is waste. Ye shall conceive chaff, ye shall bring forth stubble -- a birth image twisted into mockery. These are not barren, these are fruitful, but everything they bear is useless. The farmer winnows wheat and burns the chaff; this is the fate of the oppressors entire enterprise. And then: Your breath, as fire, shall devour you. The breath here is the hot vapor of anger, pride, the words of arrogance that come from the mouth. These do not harm God or the righteous; they turn back on the speaker. A man breathing fire at his enemies finds he has set himself alight.

This is not external punishment imposed from outside but internal consequence. The oppressor becomes his own judge. Pride goes before destruction; a haughty spirit before a fall. Jesus saw this in the Pharisees: they thought they were guarding the law; they were actually strangling truth in their own hearts. He said, Woe unto you, because He saw that their own intensity had become their prison. But He offered escape: Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.