Isaiah 17

1 The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.

The prophecy concerning Damascus. Behold, Damascus shall be no more a city; It shall become a heap of ruins.

2 The cities of Aroer are forsaken. They shall be for flocks, which shall lie down, and none shall make them afraid.

The cities of Aroer shall be forsaken; They shall be pastures for flocks, Which shall lie down, and none shall make them afraid.

3 And the fortress shall cease from Ephraim, and the kingdom from Damascus. And the remnant of Syria, they shall be as the glory of the sons of Israel, says Jehovah of hosts.

The fortress shall cease from Ephraim, And the kingdom from Damascus, and the rest of Syria; It shall be with them as with the glory of the children of Israel, Saith Jehovah of hosts.

4 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the glory of Jacob shall be made thin, and the fatness of his flesh shall grow lean.

In that day shall the glory of Jacob sink away, And the fatness of his flesh become leanness.

5 And it shall be as when the harvestman gathers the standing grain, and his arm reaps the ears. Yea, it shall be as when he gleans ears in the valley of Rephaim.

And it shall be as when the harvest-man gathereth the corn, And reapeth the ears with his arm; Yea, as when one gleaneth ears in the valley of Rephaim.

6 Yet there shall be gleanings left in it, 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, says Jehovah, the God of Israel.

There shall be left in it only a gleaning, as in the olive-harvest, Two or three berries on the top of the highest bough, Four or five on the fruitful branches, Saith Jehovah, the God of Israel.

7 In that day men shall look to their maker, and their eyes shall have respect for the Holy One of Israel.

In that day shall a man have regard to his Maker, And his eyes shall look to the Holy One of Israel.

8 And they shall not look to the altars, the work of their hands, nor shall they have respect for that which their fingers have made, either the Asherim, or the sun-images.

He shall not look to the altars, the work of his hands, Nor have respect to that which his fingers have made, The images of Astarte and the Sun-pillars.

9 In that day their strong cities shall be as the forsaken places in the woodland and on the mountain top, which were forsaken from before the sons of Israel, and it shall be a desolation.

In that day shall his fortified cities be like ruins in the forests, or on the mountain tops, Which the enemy left, in flight from the children of Israel; And the land shall be a desolation.

10 For thou have forgotten the God of thy salvation, and have not been mindful of the rock of thy strength. Therefore thou plant pleasant plants, and set it with foreign slips.

For thou hast forgotten the God of thy salvation, And hast not been mindful of the rock of thy strength; Therefore though thou plant beautiful plants, And set shoots from a foreign soil,

11 In the day of thy planting thou hedge it in, and in the morning thou make thy seed to blossom. But the harvest flees away in the day of grief and of desperate sorrow.

When thou hast planted them, though thou hedge them in, And in the morning bring thy plants to the blossom, Yet shall the harvest flee away, In the day of pain and desperate sorrow.

12 Ah, the uproar of many peoples, who roar like the roaring of the seas, and the rushing of nations, that rush like the rushing of mighty waters!

Alas! a tumult of many nations! They rage with the raging of the sea. Alas! a roaring of kingdoms! They roar with the roaring of mighty waters.

13 The 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.

Like the roaring of mighty waters do the nations roar; He rebuketh them, and they flee away, Driven like the chaff of the mountains before the wind, Like stubble before the whirlwind.

14 At eventide, behold, terror, and before the morning they are not. This is the portion of those who despoil us, and the lot of those who rob us.

At the time of evening, behold, terror! Before morning, behold, they are no more! This is the portion of them that spoil us, And the lot of them that plunder us.