Isaiah 17

1 The burden of Damascus. Beholde, Damascus is taken away from being a citie, for it shall be a ruinous heape.

[I received] this message [from Yahweh] about Damascus [the capital of Syria]: “Listen carefully! Damascus will no longer be a city; it will be [only] a heap of ruins!

2 The cities of Aroer shall be forsaken: they shall be for the flockes: for they shall lye there, and none shall make them afraide.

The towns near Aroer [city] will be abandoned. Flocks [of sheep] will [eat grass in the streets and] lie down there, and there will be no one to chase them away.

3 The munition also shall cease from Ephraim, and the kingdome from Damascus, and the remnant of Aram shall be as the glory of the children of Israel, sayeth the Lord of hostes.

The cities in Israel will not have walls around them [to protect them]. The power of the kingdom of Damascus will be ended, and the few people who will remain in Damascus will be disgraced like the people in Israel were disgraced.” [That is what] the Commander of the armies of angels says.

4 And in that day the glorie of Iaakob shall be impouerished, and the fatnes of his flesh shalbe made leane.

“At that time, Israel will become insignificant. It will be [like] [MET] a fat person who has become very thin.

5 And it shalbe as when the haruest man gathereth the corne, and reapeth the eares with his arme, and he shall be as he that gathereth the eares in the valley of Rephaim.

The entire land will be like [SIM] a field where the harvesters have cut all the grain; there will be nothing left, like [SIM] the fields in the Rephaim Valley after all the crops have been harvested.

6 Yet a gathering of grapes shall be left in it, as the shaking of an oliue tree, two or three beries are in the top of the vpmost boughes, and foure or fiue in the hie branches of the fruite thereof, sayeth the Lord God of Israel.

Only a few of the Israeli people will remain [MET], like [SIM] the few olives that remain on the top of a tree after the workers have caused all the other olives to fall [to the ground]. [There will be only] two or three olives in the top branches, [or] four or five olives on the other branches.” [That is what] the Commander of the armies of angels says.

7 At that day shall a man looke to his maker, and his eyes shall looke to the holy one of Israel.

[Then], at that time, [you] people [of Israel] will (turn for help to/look up to) God, your creator, the Holy One of Israel.

8 And hee shall not looke to the altars, the workes of his owne hands, neither shall he looke to those thinges, which his owne fingers haue made, as groues and images.

You will no [longer] seek to get help from your idols or worship the idols that you have made with your own hands [DOU]. You will never again bow down in front of the poles [where you worship the goddess] Asherah. You will never again worship at the shrines [that you have built for burning incense].

9 In that day shall the cities of their strength be as the forsaking of boughes and branches, which they did forsake, because of the children of Israel, and there shall be desolation.

The largest cities in Israel will be abandoned, like the land that the Hiv and Amor people-groups abandoned (OR, like the forests that the [Canaan people-group] abandoned) when the Israelis [attacked them long ago]. No one will live there.

10 Because thou hast forgotten the God of thy saluation, and hast not remembred the God of thy strength, therefore shalt thou set pleasant plantes, and shalt graffe strange vine branches:

[That will happen] because you have stopped worshiping God who is [like] [MET] a huge rock under which you can be safe. You have forgotten that he is the one who can hide/protect you. So, [now] you plant very nice grapevines and [even] plant very expensive ones that come from other countries.

11 In the day shalt thou make thy plant to growe, and in the morning shalt thou make thy seede to florish: but the haruest shall be gone in the day of possession, and there shalbe desperate sorrowe.

[But] even if they sprout leaves on the day that you plant them, and even if they produce blossoms on that same morning, at harvest time, there will not be any grapes for you to pick. All that you will get is a lot of agony/misery.

12 Ah, the multitude of many people, they shall make a sounde like the noyse of the sea: for the noyse of the people shall make a sounde like the noyse of mightie waters.

Listen! [The armies of] many nations will roar like the sea roars. It will sound like the noise of crashing waves.

13 The people shall make a sounde like the noise of many waters: but God shall rebuke them, and they shall flee farre off, and shalbe chased as the chaffe of the mountaines before the winde, and as a rolling thing before the whirlewinde.

But even though their loud roaring will be like the sound of crashing waves, when Yahweh rebukes them, they will run far away. They will flee like [SIM] chaff on the hills scatters when the wind [blows], like tumbleweeds scatter when a windstorm blows.

14 And loe, in the euening there is trouble: but afore the morning it is gone. This is the portion of them that spoyle vs, and the lot of them that robbe vs.

And, even though you people of Israel will be terrified, in the morning [your enemies] will all be gone/dead. That is what will happen to those who invade our land and [then] steal our possessions.