Isaiah 17

1 The burden of Damascus. Behold Damascus shall cease to be a city, and shall be as a ruinous heap of stones.

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

2 The cities of Aroer shall be left for flocks, and they shall rest there, and there shall be none to 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 aid shall cease from Ephraim, and the kingdom from Damascus: and the remnant of Syria shall be as the glory of the children of Israel: saith the Lord 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 one gathereth in the harvest that which remaineth, and his arm shall gather the ears of corn: and it shall be as he that seeketh ears in the vale of Raphaim.

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 And the fruit thereof that shall be left upon it, shall be as one cluster of grapes, and as the shaking of the olive tree, two or three berries in the top of a bough, or four or five upon the top of the tree, saith the Lord 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 man shall bow down himself to his Maker, and his eyes shall look to 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 he shall not look to the altars which his hands made: and he shall not have respect to the things that his fingers wrought, such as groves and temples.

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 his strong cities shall be forsaken, as the ploughs, and the corn that were left before the face of the children of Israel, and thou shalt be desolate.

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 Because thou hast forgotten God thy saviour, and hast not remembered thy strong helper: therefore shalt thou plant good plants, and shalt sow strange seed.

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 shall be the wild grape, and in the morning thy seed shall flourish: the harvest is taken away in the day of inheritance, and shall grieve thee much.

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 Woe to the multitude of many people, like the multitude of the roaring sea: and the tumult of crowds, like the noise of many 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 Nations shall make a noise like the noise of waters overflowing, but he shall rebuke him, and he shall flee far off: and he shall be carried away as the dust of the mountains before the wind, and as a whirlwind before a tempest.

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 In the time of the evening, behold there shall be trouble: the morning shall come, and he shall not be: this is the portion of them that have wasted us, and the lot of them that spoiled 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.