Isaiah 17
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 17
Damascus
1 Oracle on Damascus:[a]
See, Damascus shall cease to be a city
and become a pile of ruins;(A)
2 Her cities shall be forever abandoned,
for flocks to lie in undisturbed.
3 The fortress shall vanish from Ephraim[b]
and dominion from Damascus;
The remnant of Aram shall become like the glory
of the Israelites—
oracle of the Lord of hosts.
4 On that day
The glory of Jacob shall fade,
and his full body shall grow thin.(B)
5 Like the reaper’s mere armful of stalks,
when he gathers the standing grain;
Or as when one gleans the ears
in the Valley of Rephaim.[c]
6 [d]Only gleanings shall be left in it,
as when an olive tree has been beaten—
Two or three olives at the very top,
four or five on its most fruitful branches—
oracle of the Lord, the God of Israel.(C)
7 On that day people shall turn to their maker,
their eyes shall look to the Holy One of Israel.(D)
8 They shall not turn to the altars, the work of their hands,
nor shall they look to what their fingers have made:
the asherahs[e] or the incense stands.
9 On that day his strong cities shall be
like those abandoned by the Hivites and Amorites
When faced with the Israelites;
and there shall be desolation.(E)
10 Truly, you have forgotten the God who saves you,
the Rock, your refuge, you have not remembered.(F)
Therefore, though you plant plants for the Pleasant One,[f]
and set out cuttings for a foreign one,(G)
11 Though you make them grow the day you plant them
and make them blossom the morning you set them out,
The harvest shall disappear on a day of sickness
and incurable pain.
12 Ah! the roaring of many peoples—[g]
a roar like the roar of the seas!
The thundering of nations—
thunder like the thundering of mighty waters!(H)
13 [h]But God shall rebuke them,
and they shall flee far away,
Driven like chaff on the mountains before a wind,
like tumbleweed before a storm.(I)
14 At evening, there is terror,
but before morning, they are gone!
Such is the portion of those who despoil us,
the lot of those who plunder us.(J)
Footnotes
- 17:1 Damascus: capital of Aram or Syria, conquered by Tiglath-pileser III at the end of the Syro-Ephraimite War in 732 B.C.
- 17:3 Ephraim: Israel, leagued with Aram against Judah in the Syro-Ephraimite War. Assyria ravaged and captured most of Israelite territory in 734–733 B.C. Like the glory of the Israelites: the remnant of Aram will be no more impressive than the pitiful remnant of the Northern Kingdom.
- 17:5 Valley of Rephaim: a fertile plain just to the southwest of Jerusalem (cf. Jos 15:8; 2 Sm 5:18). Since it was near a large population center, the fields there would be thoroughly gleaned by the poor after the harvest, leaving very few ears of grain.
- 17:6 Olives not easily picked by hand were knocked from the tree by means of a long stick; cf. 24:13.
- 17:8 Asherahs: see note on Ex 34:13. Incense stands: small altars on which incense was burned; cf. Is 27:9; Lv 26:30.
- 17:10 The Pleasant One: an epithet for a foreign god of fertility, probably Adonis, in whose honor saplings were planted.
- 17:12 Many peoples: the hordes that accompanied the invading Assyrians, whom God repels just as he vanquished the primeval waters of chaos; see notes on Jb 3:8; 7:12; Ps 89:11.
- 17:13–14 The passage seems to evoke the motif of invincibility, part of the early Zion tradition that Jerusalem could not be conquered because God protected it (Ps 48:1–8).
Isaiah 17
English Standard Version
An Oracle Concerning Damascus
17 An (A)oracle concerning (B)Damascus.
Behold, Damascus will cease to be a city
and will become a heap of ruins.
2 The cities of (C)Aroer are deserted;
they will be for flocks,
which will lie down, and (D)none will make them afraid.
3 The fortress will disappear from (E)Ephraim,
and the kingdom from (F)Damascus;
and the remnant of Syria will be
like (G)the glory of the children of Israel,
declares the Lord of hosts.
4 And in that day (H)the glory of Jacob will be brought low,
and (I)the fat of his flesh will grow lean.
5 And it shall be (J)as when the reaper gathers standing grain
and his arm harvests the ears,
and as when one gleans the ears of grain
in (K)the Valley of Rephaim.
6 (L)Gleanings will be left in it,
as when an olive tree is beaten—
two or three berries
in the top of the highest bough,
four or five
on the branches of a fruit tree,
declares the Lord God of Israel.
7 (M)In that day man will look to his Maker, and his eyes will look on the Holy One of Israel. 8 (N)He will not look to the altars, the work of his hands, and he will not look on what his own fingers have made, either the (O)Asherim or the altars of incense.
9 (P)In that day their strong cities will be like the deserted places of the wooded heights and the hilltops, which they deserted because of the children of Israel, and there will be desolation.
10 For (Q)you have forgotten the God of your salvation
and have not remembered the (R)Rock of your refuge;
therefore, though you plant pleasant plants
and sow the vine-branch of a stranger,
11 though you make them grow[a] on the day that you plant them,
and make them blossom in the morning that you sow,
yet the harvest will flee away[b]
in a day of grief and incurable pain.
12 Ah, (S)the thunder of many peoples;
they thunder like the thundering of the sea!
Ah, the roar of nations;
they roar like the roaring of mighty waters!
13 (T)The nations roar like the roaring of many waters,
(U)but he will rebuke them, and they will flee far away,
chased (V)like chaff on the mountains before the wind
and (W)whirling dust before the storm.
14 (X)At evening time, behold, terror!
Before morning, they are no more!
This is the portion of those who loot us,
and the lot of those who plunder us.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 17:11 Or though you carefully fence them
- Isaiah 17:11 Or will be a heap
Isaiah 17
New King James Version
Proclamation Against Syria and Israel
17 The (A)burden[a] against Damascus.
“Behold, Damascus will cease from being a city,
And it will be a ruinous heap.
2 [b]The cities of (B)Aroer are forsaken;
They will be for flocks
Which lie down, and (C)no one will make them afraid.
3 (D)The fortress also will cease from Ephraim,
The kingdom from Damascus,
And the remnant of Syria;
They will be as the glory of the children of Israel,”
Says the Lord of hosts.
4 “In that day it shall come to pass
That the glory of Jacob will [c]wane,
And (E)the fatness of his flesh grow lean.
5 (F)It shall be as when the harvester gathers the grain,
And reaps the heads with his arm;
It shall be as he who gathers heads of grain
In the Valley of Rephaim.
6 (G)Yet gleaning grapes will be left in it,
Like the shaking of an olive tree,
Two or three olives at the top of the uppermost bough,
Four or five in its most fruitful branches,”
Says the Lord God of Israel.
7 In that day a man will (H)look to his Maker,
And his eyes will have respect for the Holy One of Israel.
8 He will not look to the altars,
The work of his hands;
He will not respect what his (I)fingers have made,
Nor the [d]wooden images nor the incense altars.
9 In that day his strong cities will be as a forsaken [e]bough
And [f]an uppermost branch,
Which they left because of the children of Israel;
And there will be desolation.
10 Because you have forgotten (J)the God of your salvation,
And have not been mindful of the Rock of your [g]stronghold,
Therefore you will plant pleasant plants
And set out foreign seedlings;
11 In the day you will make your plant to grow,
And in the morning you will make your seed to flourish;
But the harvest will be a heap of ruins
In the day of grief and desperate sorrow.
12 Woe to the multitude of many people
Who make a noise (K)like the roar of the seas,
And to the rushing of nations
That make a rushing like the rushing of mighty waters!
13 The nations will rush like the rushing of many waters;
But God will (L)rebuke them and they will flee far away,
And (M)be chased like the chaff of the mountains before the wind,
Like a rolling thing before the whirlwind.
14 Then behold, at eventide, trouble!
And before the morning, he is no more.
This is the portion of those who plunder us,
And the lot of those who rob us.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 17:1 oracle, prophecy
- Isaiah 17:2 So with MT, Vg.; LXX It shall be forsaken forever; Tg. Its cities shall be forsaken and desolate
- Isaiah 17:4 fade
- Isaiah 17:8 Heb. Asherim, Canaanite deities
- Isaiah 17:9 LXX Hivites; Tg. laid waste; Vg. as the plows
- Isaiah 17:9 LXX Amorites; Tg. in ruins; Vg. corn
- Isaiah 17:10 refuge
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
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