In that day their strong cities, which they left because of the Israelites, will be like places abandoned to thickets and undergrowth.(A) And all will be desolation.

10 You have forgotten(B) God your Savior;(C)
    you have not remembered the Rock,(D) your fortress.(E)
Therefore, though you set out the finest plants
    and plant imported vines,(F)
11 though on the day you set them out, you make them grow,
    and on the morning(G) when you plant them, you bring them to bud,
yet the harvest(H) will be as nothing(I)
    in the day of disease and incurable(J) pain.(K)

12 Woe to the many nations that rage(L)
    they rage like the raging sea!(M)
Woe to the peoples who roar(N)
    they roar like the roaring of great waters!(O)
13 Although the peoples roar(P) like the roar of surging waters,
    when he rebukes(Q) them they flee(R) far away,
driven before the wind like chaff(S) on the hills,
    like tumbleweed before a gale.(T)
14 In the evening, sudden(U) terror!(V)
    Before the morning, they are gone!(W)
This is the portion of those who loot us,
    the lot of those who plunder us.

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On that day their strong cities will be
like the abandoned woods and mountaintops[a]
that were abandoned because of the Israelites;
there will be desolation.
10 For you have forgotten the God of your salvation,
and you have failed to remember
the rock of your strength;(A)
therefore you will plant beautiful plants
and set out cuttings from exotic vines.
11 On the day that you plant,
you will help them to grow,
and in the morning
you will help your seed to sprout,
but the harvest will vanish
on the day of disease and incurable pain.

Judgment against the Nations

12 Ah! The roar of many peoples—
they roar like the roaring of the seas.
The raging of the nations—
they rage like the raging of mighty waters.(B)
13 The nations rage like the raging of many waters.(C)
He rebukes them, and they flee far away,(D)
driven before the wind like chaff on the hills(E)
and like tumbleweeds before a gale.
14 In the evening—sudden terror!
Before morning—it is gone!
This is the fate of those who plunder us
and the lot of those who ravage us.

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 17:9 Some Hb mss read like the Horesh and the Amir; LXX reads like the Amorites and the Hivites