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CHAFF
Loose hulls separated from the edible grains by threshing and winnowing. In Bible times the common sight of winnowed grain remaining when the wind blew away the lighter husks gave rise to the vivid image of good people or nations surviving judgment while the wicked do not. So, for example, sinners “are like worthless chaff scattered by the wind” (Ps 1:4, NLT).
The prophet Isaiah said of the Assyrians, “You conceive chaff, you bring forth stubble; your breath is a fire that will consume you” (Is 33:11, rsv). Likewise, in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, the nations of the world collapse and are like the chaff of the summer threshing floors before the victory of the coming kingdom of God (Dn 2:35).
In the NT it is said that the coming Messiah will “gather his wheat into the granary, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire” (Mt 3:12, rsv).