Isa 17 | HCSB | STEP | An oracle against Damascus : Look , Damascus is no longer a city . It has become a ruined heap .

Isaiah 17

An Oracle against Damascus

1 An ^{▼▼oracle: A prophetic speech of a threatening or menacing character, often against the nations}oracle ^b against Damascus: ^c

Look, Damascus is no longer a city.
It has become a ruined heap.
2 The cities of Aroer are forsaken;
they will be places for flocks.
They will lie down without fear.
3 The fortress disappears from Ephraim, ^d
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 ^{▼▼Hosts/hosts: Military forces consisting of God's angels, sometimes including the sun, moon, and stars, and occasionally, Israel}Hosts
.

Judgment against Israel

4 On that day
the splendor of Jacob will fade,
and his healthy body ^{▼▼Lit and the fat of his flesh} will become emaciated. ^g
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. ^h
6 Only gleanings will be left in Israel, ⁱ
as if an olive tree had been beaten –
two or three berries 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. ^j 8 They will not look to the altars ^k they made with their hands or to the ^{▼▼Asherah(s): A Canaanite fertility goddess, who was the mother of the god Baal; also the wooden poles associated with the worship of her}Asherahs and incense altars ^m they made with their fingers.

9 On that day their strong cities will be
like the abandoned woods and mountaintops ^{▼▼Some Hb mss read like the Horesh and the Amir; LXX reads like the Amorites and the Hivites}
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; ^o
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 raging of mighty waters. ^p
13 The nations rage like the raging of many waters. ^q
He rebukes them, and they flee far away, ^r
driven before the wind like chaff on the hills ^s
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.