Isaiah 17

An Oracle Concerning Damascus

1 The a burden 1 against Damascus.
"Behold, Damascus will cease from being a city,
And it will be a ruinous heap.
2 2 The cities of b Aroer are forsaken;
They will be for flocks
Which lie down, and c no one will make them afraid.
3 d The fortress also will cease from Ephraim,
The kingdom from Damascus,
And the remnant of Syria;
They will be as the glory of the children of Israel,"
Says the LORD of hosts.

4 "In that day it shall come to pass
That the glory of Jacob will 3 wane,
And e the fatness of his flesh grow lean.
5 f It shall be as when the harvester gathers the grain,
And reaps the heads with his arm;
It shall be as he who gathers heads of grain
In the Valley of Rephaim.
6 g Yet gleaning grapes will be left in it,
Like the shaking of an olive tree,
Two or three olives at the top of the uppermost bough,
Four or five in its most fruitful branches,"
Says the LORD God of Israel.

7 In that day a man will h look to his Maker,
And his eyes will have respect for the Holy One of Israel.
8 He will not look to the altars,
The work of his hands;
He will not respect what his i fingers have made,
Nor the 4 wooden images 5 nor the incense altars.

9 In that day his strong cities will be as a forsaken 6 bough
And 7 an uppermost branch,
Which they left because of the children of Israel;
And there will be desolation.

10 Because you have forgotten j the God of your salvation,
And have not been mindful of the Rock of your 8 stronghold,
Therefore you will plant pleasant plants
And set out foreign seedlings;
11 In the day you will make your plant to grow,
And in the morning you will make your seed to flourish;
But the harvest will be a heap of ruins
In the day of grief and desperate sorrow.

12 Woe to the multitude of many people
Who make a noise k like the roar of the seas,
And to the rushing of nations
That make a rushing like the rushing of mighty waters!
13 The nations will rush like the rushing of many waters;
But God will l rebuke them and they will flee far away,
And m be chased like the chaff of the mountains before the wind,
Like a rolling thing before the whirlwind.
14 Then behold, at eventide, trouble!
And before the morning, he is no more.
This is the portion of those who plunder us,
And the lot of those who rob us.

  1. Cross References
    Genesis 14:15
    He divided his forces against them by night, an...
    Genesis 15:2
    But Abram said, "Lord GOD, what will You give m...
    2 Kings 16:9
    So the king of Assyria heeded him; for the king...
    Jeremiah 49:23
    Against Damascus. "Hamath and Arpad are shamed,...
    Amos 1:3 - 5
    Thus says the LORD: "For three transgressions o...
    Zechariah 9:1
    The burden of the word of the LORD Against the ...
    Acts 9:2
    And asked letters from him to the synagogues of...
  2. Cross References
    Numbers 32:34
    And the children of Gad built Dibon and Ataroth and Aroer.
  3. Cross References
    Jeremiah 7:33
    The corpses of this people will be food for the birds of the heaven and for the beasts of the earth. And no one will frighten them away.
  4. Cross References
    Isaiah 7:16
    For before the Child shall know to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land that you dread will be forsaken by both her kings.
    Isaiah 8:4
    "for before the child shall have knowledge to cry 'My father' and 'My mother,' the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria will be taken away before the king of Assyria."
  5. Cross References
    Isaiah 10:16
    Therefore the Lord, the Lord of hosts, Will send leanness among his fat ones; And under his glory He will kindle a burning Like the burning of a fire.
  6. Cross References
    Isaiah 17:11
    In the day you will make your plant to grow, And in the morning you will make your seed to flourish; But the harvest will be a heap of ruins In the day of grief and desperate sorrow.
    Jeremiah 51:33
    For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: "The daughter of Babylon is like a threshing floor When it is time to thresh her; Yet a little while And the time of her harvest will come.
    Joel 3:13
    Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, go down; For the winepress is full, The vats overflow - For their wickedness is great.
    Matthew 13:30
    'Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, "First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn." '"
  7. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 4:27
    And the LORD will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be left few in number among the nations where the LORD will drive you.
    Isaiah 24:13
    When it shall be thus in the midst of the land among the people, It shall be like the shaking of an olive tree, Like the gleaning of grapes when the vintage is done.
  8. Cross References
    Isaiah 10:20
    And it shall come to pass in that day That the remnant of Israel, And such as have escaped of the house of Jacob, Will never again depend on him who defeated them, But will depend on the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, in truth.
    Hosea 3:5
    Afterward the children of Israel shall return and seek the LORD their God and David their king. They shall fear the LORD and His goodness in the latter days.
    Micah 7:7
    Therefore I will look to the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation; My God will hear me.
  9. Cross References
    Isaiah 2:8
    Their land is also full of idols; They worship the work of their own hands, That which their own fingers have made.
    Isaiah 31:7
    For in that day every man shall throw away his idols of silver and his idols of gold - sin, which your own hands have made for yourselves.
  10. Cross References
    Psalms 68:19
    Blessed be the Lord, Who daily loads us with benefits, The God of our salvation! Selah
    Isaiah 51:13
    And you forget the LORD your Maker, Who stretched out the heavens And laid the foundations of the earth; You have feared continually every day Because of the fury of the oppressor, When he has prepared to destroy. And where is the fury of the oppressor?
  11. Cross References
    Isaiah 5:30
    In that day they will roar against them Like the roaring of the sea. And if one looks to the land, Behold, darkness and sorrow; And the light is darkened by the clouds.
    Jeremiah 6:23
    They will lay hold on bow and spear; They are cruel and have no mercy; Their voice roars like the sea; And they ride on horses, As men of war set in array against you, O daughter of Zion.
    Ezekiel 43:2
    And behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east. His voice was like the sound of many waters; and the earth shone with His glory.
    Luke 21:25
    And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring.
  12. Cross References
    Psalms 9:5
    You have rebuked the nations, You have destroyed the wicked; You have blotted out their name forever and ever.
    Isaiah 41:11
    Behold, all those who were incensed against you Shall be ashamed and disgraced; They shall be as nothing, And those who strive with you shall perish.
  13. Cross References
    Psalms 83:13
    O my God, make them like the whirling dust, Like the chaff before the wind!
    Hosea 13:3
    Therefore they shall be like the morning cloud And like the early dew that passes away, Like chaff blown off from a threshing floor And like smoke from a chimney.
New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
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