Isaiah17
American Standard Version · Public Domain
1The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.
2The cities of Aroer are forsaken; they shall be for flocks, which shall lie down, and none shall make them afraid.
3And the fortress shall cease from Ephraim, and the kingdom from Damascus, and the remnant of Syria; they shall be as the glory of the children of Israel, saith Jehovah of hosts.
4And it shall come to pass in that day, that the glory of Jacob shall be made thin, and the fatness of his flesh shall wax lean.
5And it shall be as when the harvestman gathereth the standing grain, and his arm reapeth the ears; yea, it shall be as when one gleaneth ears in the valley of Rephaim.
6Yet there shall be left therein gleanings, as the shaking of an olive-tree, two or three berries in the top of the uppermost bough, four or five in the outmost branches of a fruitful tree, saith Jehovah, the God of Israel.
7In that day shall men look unto their Maker, and their eyes shall have respect to the Holy One of Israel.
8And they shall not look to the altars, the work of their hands; neither shall they have respect to that which their fingers have made, either the Asherim, or the sun-images.
9In that day shall their strong cities be as the forsaken places in the wood and on the mountain top, which were forsaken from before the children of Israel; and it shall be a desolation.
10For thou hast forgotten the God of thy salvation, and hast not been mindful of the rock of thy strength; therefore thou plantest pleasant plants, and settest it with strange slips.
11In the day of thy planting thou hedgest it in, and in the morning thou makest thy seed to blossom; but the harvest fleeth away in the day of grief and of desperate sorrow.
12Ah, the uproar of many peoples, that roar like the roaring of the seas; and the rushing of nations, that rush like the rushing of mighty waters!
13The nations shall rush like the rushing of many waters: but he shall rebuke them, and they shall flee far off, and shall be chased as the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like the whirling dust before the storm.
14At eventide, behold, terror; and before the morning they are not. This is the portion of them that despoil us, and the lot of them that rob us.
Study Guide
Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Isaiah 17.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: Syria and Israel threatened. (1-11). The woe of Israel's enemies. (12-14).
vv1-11
Sin desolates cities. It is strange that great conquerors should take pride in being enemies to mankind; but it is better that flocks should lie down there, than that they should harbour any in open rebellion against God and holiness. The strong holds of Israel, the kingdom of the ten tribes, will be brought to ruin. Those who are partakers in sin, are justly made partakers in ruin. The people had, by sins, made themselves ripe for ruin; and their glory was as quickly cut down and taken away by the enemy, as the corn is out of the field by the husbandman. Mercy is reserved in the midst of judgment, for a remnant. But very few shall be marked to be saved. Only here and there one was left behind. But they shall be a remnant made holy. The few that are saved were awakened to return to God. They shall acknowledge his hand in all events; they shall give him the glory due to his name. To bring us to this, is the design of his providence, as he is our Maker; and the work of his grace, as he is the Holy One of Israel. They shall look off from their idols, the creatures of their own fancy. We have reason to account those afflictions happy, which part between us and our sins. The God of our salvation is the Rock of our strength; and our forgetfulness and unmindfulness of him are at the bottom of all sin. The pleasant plants, and shoots from a foreign soil, are expressions for strange and idolatrous worship, and the vile practices connected therewith. Diligence would be used to promote the growth of these strange slips, but all in vain. See the evil and danger of sin, and its certain consequences.
vv12-14
The rage and force of the Assyrians resembled the mighty waters of the sea; but when the God of Israel should rebuke them, they would flee like chaff, or like a rolling thing, before the whirlwind. In the evening Jerusalem would be in trouble, because of the powerful invader, but before morning his army would be nearly cut off. Happy are those who remember God as their salvation, and rely on his power and grace. The trouble of the believers, and the prosperity of their enemies, will be equally short; while the joy of the former, and the destruction of those that hate and spoil them, shall last for ever.
Key Words
מַשָּׂא: a burden; specifically, tribute, or (abstractly) porterage; figuratively, an utterance, chiefly adoom, especially singing; mental, desire
דַּמֶּשֶׂק: Damascus, a city of Syria
הִנֵּה: lo!
סוּר: to turn off (literal or figurative)
עִיר: a city (a place guarded by waking or a watch) in the widest sense (even of a mere encampment or post)
מְעִי: a pile of rubbish (as contorted), i.e. a ruin
מַפָּלָה: something fallen, i.e. a ruin
עֲרוֹעֵר: Aroer, the name of three places in or near Palestine
עָזַב: to loosen, i.e. relinquish, permit, etc.
עֵדֶר: an arrangement, i.e. muster (of animals)
Cross References
Isaiah 17Historical fulfillment of the burden of Damascus when Tiglath-pileser slew Rezin and captured the city.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Historical fulfillment of Ephraim's demise, as Shalmaneser carried Israel captive to Assyria.
Supported by JFB
Identifies the Valley of Rephaim near Jerusalem, used here to depict the harvest of judgment.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Moses' song foretells Israel's ruin because they forgot the Rock of their salvation.
Supported by JFB
The sudden overnight destruction of Sennacherib's invading Assyrian army before Jerusalem.
Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB
Deals with the territory of Aroer, formerly possessed by Israel, now desolate and abandoned to flocks.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Parallels the lean flesh and wasting away of glory seen in both Israel and Assyria.
Supported by JFB
A remnant of Asher, Manasseh, and Zebulun humbled themselves and returned to worship in Jerusalem.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Jeremiah's subsequent prophecy concerning the ongoing judgment and burden of Damascus.
Supported by JFB
Zechariah's later post-exilic prophetic burden concerning Damascus and the land of Hadrach.
Supported by JFB
Echoes the theme of devastated, ruined cities becoming pasture lands for feeding flocks.
Supported by JFB
Parallels the predicted destruction of Israel's fortresses (Samaria) by Assyrian conquerors.
Supported by JFB
The righteous response to judgment: looking away from idols to the God of salvation.
Supported by JFB
Ephraim's eventual repentance and complete abandonment of idols, saying, 'What have I to do with idols?'
Supported by Matthew Henry