Isaiah 17

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

The prophecy concerning Damascus. Behold, Damascus shall be no more a city; It shall become a heap of ruins.

2 The cities of Aroer are forsaken: they shall be for flocks; and they shall lie down and there shall be none to make them afraid.

The cities of Aroer shall be forsaken; They shall be pastures for flocks, Which shall lie down, and none shall make them afraid.

3 The fortress also shall cease from Ephraim, and the kingdom from Damascus, and the remnant of Syria: they shall be as the glory of the children of Israel, saith Jehovah of hosts.

The fortress shall cease from Ephraim, And the kingdom from Damascus, and the rest of Syria; It shall be with them as with the glory of the children of Israel, Saith Jehovah of hosts.

4 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 become lean.

In that day shall the glory of Jacob sink away, And the fatness of his flesh become leanness.

5 And it shall be as when the reaper gathereth the corn, and reapeth the ears with his arm; yea, it shall be as he that gathereth ears in the valley of Rephaim.

And it shall be as when the harvest-man gathereth the corn, And reapeth the ears with his arm; Yea, as when one gleaneth ears in the valley of Rephaim.

6 And a gleaning shall be left in it, as at the shaking of an olive-tree: two, three berries above, in the tree-top; four, five in its fruitful boughs, saith Jehovah, the God of Israel.

There shall be left in it only a gleaning, as in the olive-harvest, Two or three berries on the top of the highest bough, Four or five on the fruitful branches, Saith Jehovah, the God of Israel.

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

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

8 And he will not look to the altars, the work of his hands, nor have regard to what his fingers have made, neither the Asherahs nor the sun-images.

He shall not look to the altars, the work of his hands, Nor have respect to that which his fingers have made, The images of Astarte and the Sun-pillars.

9 In that day shall his strong cities be as the forsaken tract in the woodland, and the mountain-top which they forsook before the children of Israel; and there shall be desolation.

In that day shall his fortified cities be like ruins in the forests, or on the mountain tops, Which the enemy left, in flight from the children of Israel; And the land shall be a desolation.

10 For thou hast forgotten the God of thy salvation, and hast not been mindful of the rock of thy strength; therefore shalt thou plant pleasant plantations, and shalt set them with foreign slips:

For thou hast forgotten the God of thy salvation, And hast not been mindful of the rock of thy strength; Therefore though thou plant beautiful plants, And set shoots from a foreign soil,

11 in the day of thy planting wilt thou make [them] to grow, and on the morrow wilt thou make thy seed to flourish; [but] the harvest will flee in the day of taking possession, and the sorrow will be incurable.

When thou hast planted them, though thou hedge them in, And in the morning bring thy plants to the blossom, Yet shall the harvest flee away, In the day of pain and desperate sorrow.

12 Ha! a tumult of many peoples! they make a noise as the noise of the seas; — and the rushing of nations! they rush as the rushing of mighty waters.

Alas! a tumult of many nations! They rage with the raging of the sea. Alas! a roaring of kingdoms! They roar with the roaring of mighty waters.

13 The nations rush as the rushing of many waters; but he will rebuke them, and they shall flee far away, and shall be chased as the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like a whirling [of dust] before the whirlwind:

Like the roaring of mighty waters do the nations roar; He rebuketh them, and they flee away, Driven like the chaff of the mountains before the wind, Like stubble before the whirlwind.

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

At the time of evening, behold, terror! Before morning, behold, they are no more! This is the portion of them that spoil us, And the lot of them that plunder us.