Isaiah 17

1 The burden of Damascus. Lo, Damascus is taken away from [being] a city, And it hath been a heap — a ruin.

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

2 Forsaken are the cities of Aroer, For droves they are, and they have lain down, And there is none troubling.

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

3 And ceased hath the fortress from Ephraim, And the kingdom from Damascus, And the remnant of Aram are as the honour of the sons of Israel, The affirmation of Jehovah of Hosts!

The fortress also shall cease from Ephraim, and the kingdom from Damascus; and the remnant of Aram shall be as the glory of the children of Israel, saith the LORD of hosts.

4 And it hath come to pass, in that day, Wax poor doth the honour of Jacob, And the fatness of his flesh doth wax lean.

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 wax lean.

5 And it hath come to pass, As the gathering by the reaper of the standing corn, And his arm the ears reapeth, And it hath come to pass, As the gathering of the ears in the valley of Rephaim,

And it shall be as when the harvestman gathereth the standing corn, and reapeth the ears with his arm; yea, it shall be as when one gleaneth ears in the valley of Rephaim.

6 And left in him have been gleanings, As the compassing of an olive, Two — three berries on the top of a branch, Four — five on the fruitful boughs, The affirmation of Jehovah, God of Israel!

Yet there shall be left therein gleanings, as at the beating of an olive-tree, two or three berries in the top of the uppermost bough, four or five in the branches of the fruitful tree, saith the LORD, the God of Israel.

7 In that day doth man look to His Maker, Yea, his eyes to the Holy One of Israel look,

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

8 And he looketh not unto the altars. The work of his own hands, And that which his own fingers made He seeth not — the shrines and the images.

And he shall not regard the altars, the work of his hands, neither shall he look to that which his fingers have made, either the Asherim, or the sun-images.

9 In that day are the cities of his strength As the forsaken thing of the forest, And the branch that they have left, Because of the sons of Israel, It also hath been a desolation.

In that day shall his strong cities be as the forsaken places, which were forsaken from before the children of Israel, after the manner of woods and lofty forests; and it shall be a desolation.

10 Because thou hast forgotten the God of thy salvation, And the rock of thy strength hast not remembered, Therefore thou plantest plants of pleasantness, And with a strange slip sowest it,

For thou hast forgotten the God of thy salvation, and thou hast not been mindful of the Rock of thy stronghold; therefore thou didst plant plants of pleasantness, and didst set it with slips of a stranger;

11 In the day thy plant thou causest to become great, And in the morning thy seed makest to flourish, A heap [is] the harvest in a day of overflowing, And of mortal pain.

In the day of thy planting thou didst make it to grow, and in the morning thou didst make thy seed to blossom — a heap of boughs in the day of grief and of desperate pain.

12 Woe [to] the multitude of many peoples, As the sounding of seas they sound; And [to] the wasting of nations, As the wasting of mighty waters they are wasted.

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

13 Nations as the wasting of many waters are wasted, And He hath pushed against it, And it hath fled afar off, And been pursued as chaff of hills before wind, And as a rolling thing before a hurricane.

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.

14 At even-time, lo, terror, before morning it is not, This [is] the portion of our spoilers, And the lot of our plunderers!

At eventide behold terror; and before the morning they are not. This is the portion of them that spoil us, and the lot of them that rob us.