A Pronouncement against Damascus
1 A pronouncement t concerning Damascus: u
Look, Damascus is no longer a city.
It has become a ruined heap.
2 The cities of Aroer are abandoned;
they will be places for flocks.
They will lie down without fear.
3 The fortress disappears from Ephraim, v
and a kingdom from Damascus.
The remnant of Aram will be
like the splendor of the Israelites.
This is the declaration of the LORD of Armies.
Judgment against Israel
4 On that day
the splendor of Jacob will fade,
and his healthy body will become emaciated. w
5 It will be as if a reaper had gathered standing grain—
his arm harvesting the heads of grain—
and as if one had gleaned heads of grain
in the Valley of Rephaim. x
6 Only gleanings will be left in Israel, y
as if an olive tree had been beaten—
two or three olives at the very top of the tree,
four or five on its fruitful branches.
This is the declaration of the LORD,
the God of Israel.
7 On that day people will look to their Maker and will turn their eyes to the Holy One of Israel. z 8 They will not look to the altars a they made with their hands or to the Asherahs and shrines ,b they made with their fingers.
9 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.
10 For you have forgotten the God of your salvation,
and you have failed to remember
the rock of your strength; c
therefore you will plant beautiful plants
and set out cuttings from exotic vines.
11 On the day that you plant,
you will help them to grow,
and in the morning
you will help your seed to sprout,
but the harvest will vanish
on the day of disease and incurable pain.
Judgment against the Nations
12 Ah! The roar of many peoples—
they roar like the roaring of the seas.
The raging of the nations—
they rage like the rumble of rushing water. d
13 The nations rage like the rumble of a huge torrent. e
He rebukes them, and they flee far away, f
driven before the wind like chaff on the hills g
and like tumbleweeds before a gale.
14 In the evening—sudden terror!
Before morning—it is gone!
This is the fate of those who plunder us
and the lot of those who ravage us.
17:1–3. The oracle against Damascus is addressed to the Aramean nation, against which the prophet has already spoken (chaps. 7–8). He portrays the city of Damascus in ruins and utter desolation (17:1). The flourishing city traces its ancestry back to a desert oasis. It developed from a caravansary to a major commercial center. The judgment reverses the progress of Damascus; it will again be a place where flocks are pastured (17:2). Since Ephraim and Aram have consolidated their strength, both nations will come to an end, and their glory will be wasted (17:3).
17:4–6. Isaiah compares Israel’s future to a grain harvest in the Valley of Rephaim (17:4–5). Twice David fought there and defeated the Philistines (2 Sm 5:17–25). The valley was important for the cultivation of grain needed for Jerusalem. The law of gleaning allowed for the poor to pick any ears of grain left after a harvest (Lv 19:9–10; 23:22; Dt 24:20–22). The future of Israel is likened to the scanty remains left to the poor for gleaning. Israel is also likened to the few olives left on an olive tree that has been shaken thoroughly during the harvest (17:6).
17:7–8. Verses 7–8 constitute a beautiful interlude in which Isaiah describes the future conversion of the remnant. The verb for their conversion is not the usual verb (“to repent” / “to return”) but rather it is “to look.” The people must recognize that the Lord is “their Maker” and “the Holy One of Israel” (17:7). Therefore, they must refrain from looking to their illegitimate altars as the source of deliverance (17:8).
17:9–11. The fall of Israel results in exile so that the countryside will be characterized by depopulation (17:9). The reason for the judgment is given in 17:10a. The people have forgotten the God of their salvation, their Rock, who could provide a refuge. As 17:10b may imply, they have instead given themselves to pagan nature cults. However, these people who would do anything to appease other deities, including cultivating ceremonial gardens, are assured that they will not be able to reap the benefits of their worship; rather, they will reap sickness and pain (17:11).
17:12–14. Isaiah uses alliterative devices to impress on his hearers that God’s judgment will affect a great multitude of the nations, which are described in terms of the raging sea and “the roaring of the seas” (17:12). It is as if the nations are going beyond the bounds set by God as they storm and foam, but God comes with a rebuke set in the language of a theophany. The Lord’s coming is associated with a wind and a gale (17:13). The power of God is so great that the nations suddenly appear like chaff or tumbleweeds. Thus it will be with the nations: one moment they are terrifying but the next moment they are no more (17:14a). Isaiah adds one final phrase to encourage the godly remnant that God will deal justly with those who have oppressed his own (17:14b).