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17 This is a prophecy about Dammesek:

“Dammesek will soon stop being a city;
it will become a heap of ruins.
The cities of ‘Aro‘er will be abandoned,
given over to flocks lying down undisturbed.
Efrayim will have no defenses,
Dammesek will cease to rule,
and Aram’s survivors will share the fate
of Isra’el’s finest sons,”

says Adonai-Tzva’ot.

“When that day comes, Ya‘akov’s glory will wane,
and his full body grow thin,
as when the harvester collects the standing grain,
reaping the ears of grain with his arm;
yes, as when they glean the grain
in the Refa’im Valley.
Yet gleanings will be left,
as when beating an olive tree —
two or three olives at the very top,
four or five on its fruitful branches,”

says Adonai, the God of Isra’el.

On that day, a person will heed his Maker
and turn his eyes toward the Holy One of Isra’el.
He will pay no heed to the altars
made with his own hands,
he will not turn toward what his fingers made,
the sacred poles and standing-stones for sun-worship.
When that day comes, his strong cities,
which others abandoned when Isra’el advanced,
will be like abandoned woods and forests;
they will be laid waste.
10 For you have forgotten the God who saved you,
failed to remember the Rock of your strength;
so you plant pagan-style gardens
and set out vine-cuttings for a foreign god.
11 Though you make them grow on the day you plant them,
and in the morning your seedlings flower;
the crop will vanish the day disease comes,
a day of incurable pain.

12 Oh, the terror-stricken uproar of many peoples,
roaring like the roar of the seas,
and the rushing about of nations,
rushing and surging like wild, wild waters!
13 Yes, the nations will roar like the mighty ocean,
but he will rebuke them, and far will they flee,
driven like chaff by a mountain wind,
like whirling dust in advance of the storm.
14 As evening falls, you can see terror;
before sunrise, they have ceased to be.
This is the lot of those who plunder us,
the fate of those who prey on us.

A Prophecy Against Damascus

17 A prophecy(A) against Damascus:(B)

“See, Damascus will no longer be a city
    but will become a heap of ruins.(C)
The cities of Aroer(D) will be deserted
    and left to flocks,(E) which will lie down,(F)
    with no one to make them afraid.(G)
The fortified(H) city will disappear from Ephraim,
    and royal power from Damascus;
the remnant of Aram will be
    like the glory(I) of the Israelites,”(J)
declares the Lord Almighty.

“In that day(K) the glory(L) of Jacob will fade;
    the fat of his body will waste(M) away.
It will be as when reapers harvest the standing grain,
    gathering(N) the grain in their arms—
as when someone gleans heads of grain(O)
    in the Valley of Rephaim.(P)
Yet some gleanings will remain,(Q)
    as when an olive tree is beaten,(R)
leaving two or three olives on the topmost branches,
    four or five on the fruitful boughs,”
declares the Lord, the God of Israel.

In that day(S) people will look(T) to their Maker(U)
    and turn their eyes to the Holy One(V) of Israel.
They will not look to the altars,(W)
    the work of their hands,(X)
and they will have no regard for the Asherah poles[a](Y)
    and the incense altars their fingers(Z) have made.

In that day their strong cities, which they left because of the Israelites, will be like places abandoned to thickets and undergrowth.(AA) And all will be desolation.

10 You have forgotten(AB) God your Savior;(AC)
    you have not remembered the Rock,(AD) your fortress.(AE)
Therefore, though you set out the finest plants
    and plant imported vines,(AF)
11 though on the day you set them out, you make them grow,
    and on the morning(AG) when you plant them, you bring them to bud,
yet the harvest(AH) will be as nothing(AI)
    in the day of disease and incurable(AJ) pain.(AK)

12 Woe to the many nations that rage(AL)
    they rage like the raging sea!(AM)
Woe to the peoples who roar(AN)
    they roar like the roaring of great waters!(AO)
13 Although the peoples roar(AP) like the roar of surging waters,
    when he rebukes(AQ) them they flee(AR) far away,
driven before the wind like chaff(AS) on the hills,
    like tumbleweed before a gale.(AT)
14 In the evening, sudden(AU) terror!(AV)
    Before the morning, they are gone!(AW)
This is the portion of those who loot us,
    the lot of those who plunder us.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 17:8 That is, wooden symbols of the goddess Asherah