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
The Burden against Damascus
(Jeremiah 49:23–27)
1This is the burden against Damascus:
“Behold, Damascus is no longer a city;
it has become a heap of ruins.
2The cities of Aroer are forsaken;
they will be left to the flocks,
which will lie down with no one to fear.
3The fortress will disappear from Ephraim,#17:3 Or The fortified city will disappear from Ephraim, that is, from the northern kingdom of Israel
and the sovereignty from Damascus.
The remnant of Aram will be
like the splendor of the Israelites,”
declares the Lord of Hosts.
4“In that day the splendor of Jacob will fade,
and the fat of his body will waste away,
5as the reaper gathers the standing grain
and harvests the ears with his arm,
as one gleans heads of grain
in the Valley of Rephaim.
6Yet gleanings will remain,
like an olive tree that has been beaten—
two or three berries atop the tree,
four or five on its fruitful branches,”
declares the Lord, the God of Israel.
7In that day men will look to their Maker
and turn their eyes to the Holy One of Israel.
8They will not look to the altars
they have fashioned with their hands
or to the Asherahs and incense altars
they have made with their fingers.
9In that day their strong cities
will be like forsaken thickets and summits,
abandoned to the Israelites
and to utter desolation.
10For you have forgotten the God of your salvation
and failed to remember the Rock of your refuge.
Therefore, though you cultivate delightful plots
and set out cuttings from exotic vines—
11though on the day you plant
you make them grow,
and on that morning
you help your seed sprout—
yet the harvest will vanish
on the day of disease and incurable pain.
12Alas, the tumult of many peoples;
they rage like the roaring seas and clamoring nations;
they rumble like the crashing of mighty waters.
13The nations rage like the rush of many waters.
He rebukes them, and they flee far away,
driven before the wind like chaff on the hills,
like tumbleweeds before a gale.
14In the evening, there is sudden terror!
Before morning, they are no more!
This is the portion of those who loot us
and the lot of those who plunder us.
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