The first turn: "Behold, Damascus must (be taken) away out of the number of the cities, and will be a heap of fallen ruins. The cities of Aroer are forsaken, they are given up to flocks, they lie there without any one scaring them away. And the fortress of Ephraim is abolished, and the kingdom of Damascus; and it happens to those that are left of Aram as to the glory of the sons of Israel, saith Jehovah of hosts." "Behold," etc.: hinnēh followed by a participle indicates here, as it does everywhere else, something very near at hand. Damascus is removed מעיר ( equals עיר מהיות, cf., 1 Kings 15:13), i.e., out of the sphere of existence as a city. It becomes מעי, a heap of ruins. The word is used intentionally instead of עי, to sound as much as possible like מעיר: a mutilated city, so to speak. It is just the same with Israel, which has made itself an appendage of Damascus. The "cities of Aroer" (gen. appos. Ges. 114, 3) represent the land to the east of the Jordan: there the judgment upon Israel (executed by Tiglath-pileser) first began. There were two Aroers: an old Amoritish city allotted to the tribe of Reuben, viz., "Aroer on the Arnon" (Deuteronomy 2:36; Deuteronomy 3:12, etc.); and an old Ammonitish one, allotted to the tribe of Gad, viz., "Aroer before Rabbah" (Rabbath, Ammon, Joshua 13:25). The ruins of the former are Arair, on the lofty northern bank of the Mugib; but the situation of the latter has not yet been determined with certainty (see Comm. on Joshua 13:25). The "cities of Aroer" are these two Aroers, and the rest of the cities similar to it on the east of the Jordan; just as "the Orions" in Isaiah 13:10 are Orion and other similar stars. We meet here again with a significant play upon the sound in the expression ‛ârē ‛Aro‛ēr (cities of Aroer): the name of Aroer was ominous, and what its name indicated would happen to the cities in its circuit. ערער means "to lay bare," to pull down (Jeremiah 51:58); and ערער, ערירי signifies a stark-naked condition, a state of desolation and solitude. After Isaiah 17:1 has threatened Damascus in particular, and Isaiah 17:2 has done the same to Israel, Isaiah 17:3 comprehends them both. Ephraim loses the fortified cities which once served it as defences, and Damascus loses its rank as a kingdom. Those that are left of Aram, who do not fall in the war, become like the proud citizens of the kingdom of Israel, i.e., they are carried away into captivity. All this was fulfilled under Tiglath-pileser. The accentuation connects ארם שׁאר (the remnant of Aram) with the first half of the verse; but the meaning remains the same, as the subject to יהיוּ is in any case the Aramaeans.

Isaiah 17:9 Parallel Commentaries

Isaiah 17:4,5 And in that day it shall come to pass, that the glory of Jacob shall be made thin, and the fatness of his flesh shall wax lean...

Isaiah 6:11-13 Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man...

Isaiah 7:16-20 For before the child shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the good, the land that you abhor shall be forsaken of both her kings...

Isaiah 9:9-12 And all the people shall know, even Ephraim and the inhabitant of Samaria, that say in the pride and stoutness of heart...

Isaiah 24:1-12 Behold, the LORD makes the earth empty, and makes it waste, and turns it upside down, and scatters abroad the inhabitants thereof...

Isaiah 27:10 Yet the defended city shall be desolate, and the habitation forsaken, and left like a wilderness: there shall the calf feed...

Isaiah 28:1-4 Woe to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim, whose glorious beauty is a fading flower...

Hosea 10:14 Therefore shall a tumult arise among your people, and all your fortresses shall be spoiled...

Hosea 13:15,16 Though he be fruitful among his brothers, an east wind shall come, the wind of the LORD shall come up from the wilderness...

Amos 3:11-15 Therefore thus said the Lord GOD; An adversary there shall be even round about the land; and he shall bring down your strength from you...

Amos 7:9 And the high places of Isaac shall be desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste...

Micah 5:11 And I will cut off the cities of your land, and throw down all your strong holds:

Micah 6:16 For the statutes of Omri are kept, and all the works of the house of Ahab, and you walk in their counsels...

Micah 7:13 Notwithstanding the land shall be desolate because of them that dwell therein, for the fruit of their doings.