Isaiah 17:4

4 "The Day is coming when Jacob's robust splendor goes pale and his well-fed body turns skinny.

Isaiah 17:4 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 17:4

And in that day it shall come to pass
It being much about the same time that both kingdoms were destroyed by the Assyrians: [that] the glory of Jacob shall be made thin;
the same with Ephraim and Israel, the ten tribes, whose glory lay in the superior number of their tribes to Judah; in the multitude of their cities, and the inhabitants of them; but now would be thinned, by the vast numbers that should be carried captive: and the fatness of his flesh shall wax lean:
like a man in a consumption, that is become a mere skeleton, and reduced to skin and bones: the meaning is, that all their wealth and riches should be taken away; so the Targum,

``and the riches of his glory shall be carried away.''

Isaiah 17:4 In-Context

2 Her towns emptied of people. The sheep and goats will move in And take over the towns as if they owned them - which they will!
3 Not a sign of a fort is left in Ephraim, not a trace of government left in Damascus. What's left of Aram? The same as what's left of Israel - not much." Decree of God-of-the-Angel-Armies. The Day Is Coming
4 "The Day is coming when Jacob's robust splendor goes pale and his well-fed body turns skinny.
5 The country will be left empty, picked clean as a field harvested by field hands. She'll be like a few stalks of barley left standing in the lush Valley of Rephaim after harvest,
6 Or like the couple of ripe olives overlooked in the top of the olive tree, Or the four or five apples that the pickers couldn't reach in the orchard." Decree of the God of Israel.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.