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
Isaiah 17
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 17
Damascus
1 An oracle concerning Damascus:
Before long Damascus will cease to be a city,
and she will be reduced to a heap of ruins.
2 Her towns will be abandoned forever;
they will serve as pastures for flocks
who will lie there undisturbed.
3 No longer will Ephraim have a fortress
or Damascus a kingdom.
The glory of the remnant of Aram
will be like that of the children of Israel,
says the Lord of hosts.
4 On that day
the glory of Jacob will grow dim
and the flesh of his body will grow lean,
5 as when the reaper gathers the standing grain,
harvesting the ears with his arms,
or as when one gleans the ears of grain
in the Valley of Rephaim.[a]
6 Nothing will remain except the scattered remnant,
as when an olive tree is beaten:
two or three olives on the highest bough,
four or five on each of its fruitful branches,
says the Lord, the God of Israel.
7 On that day,
men will look to their Creator,
and they will turn their eyes
to the Holy One of Israel.
8 They will not gaze upon the altars, their handiwork,
nor shall they regard what their fingers have made
the sacred poles and the altars of incense.
9 On that day their strong cities will be
like those abandoned by the Hivites and the Amorites
which they deserted because of the Israelites’ advance;
their cities will be left desolate.
10 You have forgotten the God of your salvation
and have not kept in mind the Rock, your refuge.
Therefore, you plant your pagan gardens
and sow exotic seeds for a foreign god.
11 Even though you cause them to sprout
on the day that you plant them,
and make them sprout blossoms
on the following morning,
yet the harvest will disappear
when struck by a wasting disease and incurable blight.
12 Listen to the thunder of vast hordes,
its volume like that of the roaring sea.
Listen to the roar of nations,
its volume like that of mighty waves.
13 But when God rebukes them
they flee far away,
driven like chaff on the mountains before the wind
and like whirling dust before the storm.
14 In the evening terror has spread,
but by the morning it has disappeared.
Such is the fate of those who plunder us,
the lot of those who despoil us.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 17:5 Valley of Rephaim: west of Jerusalem.
Isaiah 17
New International Version
A Prophecy Against Damascus
17 A prophecy(A) against Damascus:(B)
“See, Damascus will no longer be a city
but will become a heap of ruins.(C)
2 The cities of Aroer(D) will be deserted
and left to flocks,(E) which will lie down,(F)
with no one to make them afraid.(G)
3 The fortified(H) city will disappear from Ephraim,
and royal power from Damascus;
the remnant of Aram will be
like the glory(I) of the Israelites,”(J)
declares the Lord Almighty.
4 “In that day(K) the glory(L) of Jacob will fade;
the fat of his body will waste(M) away.
5 It will be as when reapers harvest the standing grain,
gathering(N) the grain in their arms—
as when someone gleans heads of grain(O)
in the Valley of Rephaim.(P)
6 Yet some gleanings will remain,(Q)
as when an olive tree is beaten,(R)
leaving two or three olives on the topmost branches,
four or five on the fruitful boughs,”
declares the Lord, the God of Israel.
7 In that day(S) people will look(T) to their Maker(U)
and turn their eyes to the Holy One(V) of Israel.
8 They will not look to the altars,(W)
the work of their hands,(X)
and they will have no regard for the Asherah poles[a](Y)
and the incense altars their fingers(Z) have made.
9 In that day their strong cities, which they left because of the Israelites, will be like places abandoned to thickets and undergrowth.(AA) And all will be desolation.
10 You have forgotten(AB) God your Savior;(AC)
you have not remembered the Rock,(AD) your fortress.(AE)
Therefore, though you set out the finest plants
and plant imported vines,(AF)
11 though on the day you set them out, you make them grow,
and on the morning(AG) when you plant them, you bring them to bud,
yet the harvest(AH) will be as nothing(AI)
in the day of disease and incurable(AJ) pain.(AK)
12 Woe to the many nations that rage(AL)—
they rage like the raging sea!(AM)
Woe to the peoples who roar(AN)—
they roar like the roaring of great waters!(AO)
13 Although the peoples roar(AP) like the roar of surging waters,
when he rebukes(AQ) them they flee(AR) far away,
driven before the wind like chaff(AS) on the hills,
like tumbleweed before a gale.(AT)
14 In the evening, sudden(AU) terror!(AV)
Before the morning, they are gone!(AW)
This is the portion of those who loot us,
the lot of those who plunder us.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 17:8 That is, wooden symbols of the goddess Asherah
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.


