Isaiah 17:4

4 Now in that day the ¹glory of Jacob will fade, And ²the fatness of his flesh will become lean.

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 "The cities of Aroer are forsaken; They will be for flocks to lie down in, And there will be no one to frighten them.

3 "The fortified city will disappear from Ephraim, And sovereignty from Damascus And the remnant of Aram; They will be like the glory of the sons of Israel," Declares the LORD of hosts.

4 Now in that day the glory of Jacob will fade, And the fatness of his flesh will become lean.

5 It will be even like the reaper gathering the standing grain, As his arm harvests the ears, Or it will be like one gleaning ears of grain In the valley of Rephaim.

6 Yet gleanings will be left in it like the shaking of an olive tree, Two or three olives on the topmost bough, Four or five on the branches of a fruitful tree, Declares the LORD , the God of Israel.

Cross References

• 1. Isaiah 10:3
• 2. Isaiah 10:16

Footnotes

• [a]. Lit "become thin"