Isaiah 17:9
New International Version
In that day their strong cities, which they left because of the Israelites, will be like places abandoned to thickets and undergrowth. And all will be desolation.

New Living Translation
Their largest cities will be like a deserted forest, like the land the Hivites and Amorites abandoned when the Israelites came here so long ago. It will be utterly desolate.

English Standard Version
In that day their strong cities will be like the deserted places of the wooded heights and the hilltops, which they deserted because of the children of Israel, and there will be desolation.

Berean Standard Bible
In that day their strong cities will be like forsaken thickets and summits, abandoned to the Israelites and to utter desolation.

King James Bible
In that day shall his strong cities be as a forsaken bough, and an uppermost branch, which they left because of the children of Israel: and there shall be desolation.

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

New American Standard Bible
On that day their strong cities will be like abandoned places in the forest, Or like branches which they abandoned before the sons of Israel; And the land will be a desolation.

NASB 1995
In that day their strong cities will be like forsaken places in the forest, Or like branches which they abandoned before the sons of Israel; And the land will be a desolation.

NASB 1977
In that day their strong cities will be like forsaken places in the forest, Or like branches which they abandoned before the sons of Israel; And the land will be a desolation.

Legacy Standard Bible
In that day their strong cities will be like forsaken places in the forest, Or like branches which they forsook before the sons of Israel; And the land will be a desolation.

Amplified Bible
In that day the strong cities of Aram and Israel will be like deserted places in the forest, Or like branches which they abandoned before the children of Israel; And the land will be a desolation.

Christian Standard Bible
On that day their strong cities will be like the abandoned woods and mountaintops that were abandoned because of the Israelites; there will be desolation.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
On that day their strong cities will be like the abandoned woods and mountaintops that were abandoned because of the Israelites; there will be desolation.

American Standard Version
In that day shall their strong cities be as the forsaken places in the wood and on the mountain top, which were forsaken from before the children of Israel; and it shall be a desolation.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
In that day the cities of his strength shall be as a pit of a Sorcerer and a high place that is forsaken from before the children of Israel, and you shall be for destruction

Brenton Septuagint Translation
In that day thy cities shall be deserted, as the Amorites and the Evaeans deserted theirs, because the of children of Israel; and they shall be desolate.

Contemporary English Version
Israel captured powerful cities and chased out the people who lived there. But these cities will lie in ruins, covered over with weeds and underbrush.

Douay-Rheims Bible
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.

English Revised Version
In that day shall his strong cities be as the forsaken places in the wood and on the mountain top, which were forsaken from before the children of Israel: and it shall be a desolation.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
When that day comes, the fortified cities which other people abandoned because of the Israelites will be like abandoned woods and undergrowth. So it will become a wasteland.

Good News Translation
When that day comes, well-defended cities will be deserted and left in ruins like the cities that the Hivites and the Amorites abandoned as they fled from the people of Israel.

International Standard Version
"At that time, their fortified cities that they abandoned because of the Israelis will be like desolate places of the forests and hilltops— there will be desolation.

JPS Tanakh 1917
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.

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

Majority Standard Bible
In that day their strong cities will be like forsaken thickets and summits, abandoned to the Israelites and to utter desolation.

New American Bible
On that day his strong cities shall be like those abandoned by the Hivites and Amorites When faced with the Israelites; and there shall be desolation.

NET Bible
At that time their fortified cities will be like the abandoned summits of the Amorites, which they abandoned because of the Israelites; there will be desolation.

New Revised Standard Version
On that day their strong cities will be like the deserted places of the Hivites and the Amorites, which they deserted because of the children of Israel, and there will be desolation.

New Heart English Bible
In that day, their strong cities will be like the forsaken places of the Hivites and the Amorites, which were forsaken from before the children of Israel; and it will be a desolation.

Webster's Bible Translation
In that day shall his strong cities be as a forsaken bough, and an uppermost branch, which they left because of the children of Israel: and there shall be desolation.

World English Bible
In that day, their strong cities will be like the forsaken places in the woods and on the mountain top, which were forsaken from before the children of Israel; and it will be a desolation.

Young's Literal Translation
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.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
An Oracle Concerning Damascus
8They will not look to the altars they have fashioned with their hands or to the Asherahs and incense altars they have made with their fingers. 9In that day their strong cities will be like forsaken thickets and summits, abandoned to the Israelites and to utter desolation. 10For you have forgotten the God of your salvation and failed to remember the Rock of your refuge. Therefore, though you cultivate delightful plots and set out cuttings from exotic vines—…

Cross References
Isaiah 17:8
They will not look to the altars they have fashioned with their hands or to the Asherahs and incense altars they have made with their fingers.

Isaiah 17:10
For you have forgotten the God of your salvation and failed to remember the Rock of your refuge. Therefore, though you cultivate delightful plots and set out cuttings from exotic vines--


Treasury of Scripture

In that day shall his strong cities be as a forsaken bough, and an uppermost branch, which they left because of the children of Israel: and there shall be desolation.

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, and the land be utterly desolate, …

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

Jump to Previous
Abandoned Amorites Bough Branch Branches Children Cities Deserted Desolation Destruction Forest Forests Forsaken Heritage Hivites Israel Israelites Lofty Manner Mountain Places Strong Thickets Top Towns Tract Undergrowth Uppermost Waste Woodland Woods
Jump to Next
Abandoned Amorites Bough Branch Branches Children Cities Deserted Desolation Destruction Forest Forests Forsaken Heritage Hivites Israel Israelites Lofty Manner Mountain Places Strong Thickets Top Towns Tract Undergrowth Uppermost Waste Woodland Woods
Isaiah 17
1. Syria and Israel are threatened
6. A remnant shall forsake idolatry
9. The rest shall be plagued for their impiety
12. The woe of Israel's enemies














(9) In that day shall his strong cities be as a forsaken bough.--Better, his fortified cities shall be like a forsaken tract of forest and hill-top. These were naturally the usual sites of fortresses (2Chronicles 27:4), and the gist of the prediction is that they shall be left uninhabited and in ruins. The LXX., it may be noticed, either followed a different reading or else give a curious paraphrase, "thy cities shall be forsaken, like as the Amorites and Hivites forsook them before the face of the children of Israel." The whole verse reminds us of the "great forsaking" of Isaiah 6:12.

Verse 9. - In that day. While a remnant of the Israelites shall repent and turn to God, throwing in their lot with Judah, as it would seem the country generally shall feel the weight of God's chastening hand, on account of Israel's former sins and offences. As a forsaken bough, and an uppermost branch; rather, as the forsaken tract of woodland and mountain-crest (Kay). The reference is to the condition of the land when it passed out of the possession of the Canaanitish nations. It was then forsaken and desolate. So shall it be once more, when Israel is expelled for the same sins (see 2 Kings 17:7, 8). Which they left because of the children of Israel; rather, which men forsook before the children of Israel; i.e. from which the Canaanites fled as the children of Israel advanced and took possession. The writer ignores the long and fierce struggle which the Canaanites made, and looks only to the result - retirement from a desolated country.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
In that
הַה֜וּא (ha·hū)
Article | Pronoun - third person masculine singular
Strong's 1931: He, self, the same, this, that, as, are

day
בַּיּ֨וֹם (bay·yō·wm)
Preposition-b, Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 3117: A day

their strong
מָעֻזּ֗וֹ (mā·‘uz·zōw)
Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 4581: A place or means of safety, protection

cities
עָרֵ֣י (‘ā·rê)
Noun - feminine plural construct
Strong's 5892: Excitement

will be like
יִהְי֣וּ ׀ (yih·yū)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 1961: To fall out, come to pass, become, be

forsaken
עָזְב֔וּ (‘ā·zə·ḇū)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person common plural
Strong's 5800: To loosen, relinquish, permit

thickets
הַחֹ֙רֶשׁ֙ (ha·ḥō·reš)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 2793: Horesh -- a forest

and summits,
וְהָ֣אָמִ֔יר (wə·hā·’ā·mîr)
Conjunctive waw, Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 534: A summit (of a, tree, mountain

abandoned
מִפְּנֵ֖י (mip·pə·nê)
Preposition-m | Noun - common plural construct
Strong's 6440: The face

to the Israelites
בְּנֵ֣י (bə·nê)
Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 1121: A son

and to utter
וְהָיְתָ֖ה (wə·hā·yə·ṯāh)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - third person feminine singular
Strong's 1961: To fall out, come to pass, become, be

desolation.
שְׁמָמָֽה׃ (šə·mā·māh)
Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 8077: Devastation, astonishment


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OT Prophets: Isaiah 17:9 In that day their strong cities will (Isa Isi Is)
Isaiah 17:8
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