Isaiah 17:1-6 ▼

1 The [mournful, inspired] oracle (a burden to be carried) concerning Damascus [capital of Aram (Syria), and Israel’s defense against Assyria]. “Listen carefully, Damascus will cease to be a city And will become a fallen ruin.

2 “The cities of Aroer [east of the Jordan] are deserted; They will be [only a refuge] for flocks to lie down in, And there will be no one to make them afraid.

3 “The fortified city will disappear from Ephraim, And the kingdom from Damascus And the remnant of Aram (Syria); They will be like the [departed] glory of [her ally] the children of Israel,” Declares the LORD of hosts.

4 “Now in that day the [former] glory of Jacob [Israel—his might, his population, his prosperity] will fade, And the fatness of his flesh will become lean.

5 “And it will be like the reaper gathering the standing grain, As his arm harvests the ears of grain; Yes, it will be like one gleaning ears of grain In the [fertile] Valley of Rephaim.

6 “Yet gleanings will be left in the land [of Israel] like the shaking of the olive tree, Two or three olives on the topmost branch, Four or five on the [outermost] branches of the fruitful tree,” Declares the LORD, the God of Israel.