Isaiah 17
17
Concerning Damascus and Ephraim
1An oracle about Damascus.
Look! Damascus is finished as a city;
it will become a fallen ruin.
2The villages of Aroer are abandoned forever.#17.2 Cf LXX; MT The cities of Aroer are abandoned
They will be pastures for flocks,#17.2 Or For flocks they will be
which will lie down undisturbed.
3Ephraim’s security will cease,
as will Damascus’ rule.
What’s left of Aram will resemble the glory of the Israelites,
says the LORD of heavenly forces.
4On that day, Jacob’s glory will dwindle;
his sleek body will waste away.
5It will be as when harvesters gather grain.
God will harvest armfuls at a time,
like one who gathers grain
in the Rephaim Valley.
6Only remaining bits are left,
like an olive tree that has been shaken:
two or three olives on the highest branch;
four or five on a fruitful twig,
says the LORD God of Israel.
7On that day, people will have regard for their maker,
and their eyes will look to the holy one of Israel.
8They will have no regard for altars,
the work of their hands,
or look to what their fingers made:
sacred poles#17.8 Heb asherim, possibly objects devoted to the goddess Asherah and incense stands.
9On that day, their strong cities will be like those abandoned by the Hivites and the Amorites;#17.9 LXX; MT like the abandonment of the forest and the bough abandoned because of the Israelites. They will be a wasteland,
10because you forgot the God who saves you,
and didn’t remember the rock who shelters you.
Therefore, plant your pleasant plants,
and set out exotic sprouts;
11make them grow the day you plant them,
and make them bloom the morning you start them.
But the harvest will disappear on a day of sickness and incurable pain.
12Doom to the raging of many peoples;
like the thundering seas they thunder.
Doom to the roar of nations,
like the roaring of mighty waters.
13Nations roar like the roaring of rushing waters.
But God will rebuke them,
and they will flee far away,
pursued like chaff by wind in the mountains,
like tumbleweeds before a storm.
14In the evening, there is terror;
but before morning it is gone.
This is the fate of those who loot us,
the destiny of those who rob us.
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Isaiah 17: CEB
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2011 Common English Bible. All rights reserved.
Isaiah 17
17
A Pronouncement against Damascus
1A pronouncement#Is 13:1 concerning Damascus:#Gn 14:15; 15:2; 2Kg 16:9; Jr 49:23; Am 1:3–5; Zch 9:1; Ac 9:2
Look, Damascus is no longer a city.
It has become a ruined heap.
2The cities of Aroer are abandoned;
they will be places for flocks.
They will lie down without fear.
3The fortress disappears from Ephraim,#Is 7:8,16; 8:4
and a kingdom from Damascus.
The remnant of Aram will be
like the splendor of the Israelites.
This is the declaration of the Lord of Armies.
Judgment against Israel
4On that day
the splendor of Jacob will fade,
and his healthy body#17:4 Lit and the fat of his flesh will become emaciated.#Is 10:16
5It will be as if a reaper had gathered standing grain —
his arm harvesting the heads of grain —
and as if one had gleaned heads of grain
in Rephaim Valley.#2Sm 5:18,22
6Only gleanings will be left in Israel,#Dt 4:27; Is 24:13; 27:12; Ob 5; Rm 11:19
as if an olive tree had been beaten —
two or three olives at the very top of the tree,
four or five on its fruitful branches.
This is the declaration of the Lord, the God of Israel.
7On that day people will look to their Maker and will turn their eyes to the Holy One of Israel.#Is 1:4 8They will not look to the altars#2Ch 34:7; Is 27:9 they made with their hands or to the Asherahs and shrines#17:8 Or incense altars#Ex 34:13; Dt 7:5; Mc 5:14 they made with their fingers.
9On that day their strong cities will be
like the abandoned woods and mountaintops
that were abandoned because of the Israelites;
there will be desolation.
10For you have forgotten the God of your salvation,
and you have failed to remember
the rock of your strength;#Dt 6:12; 8:11,14,19; 32:18; Jdg 3:7; 1Sm 12:9; Ps 106:21; Is 8:14; 26:4; 51:13; Jr 3:21; 13:25; Ezk 22:12; 23:35; Hs 2:13
therefore you will plant beautiful plants
and set out cuttings from exotic vines.
11On 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
12Ah! The roar of many peoples —
they roar like the roaring of the seas.
The raging of the nations —
they rage like the rumble of rushing water.#Ps 2:1; 93:1–5; Is 8:9–10; Lk 21:25
13The nations rage like the rumble of a huge torrent.#Is 33:3
He rebukes them, and they flee far away,#Ps 9:5; Is 41:11
driven before the wind like chaff on the hills#Jb 21:18; Ps 1:4; 83:13; Is 29:5; 41:15–16
and like tumbleweeds before a gale.
14In 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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