Isaiah 17:4

4 And it shall be, in that day (And it shall be, on that day), the glory of Jacob shall be made thin, and the fatness of his flesh shall fade.

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 forsaken cities of Aroer shall be to flocks; and they shall rest there, and none shall be that shall make afeared. (The deserted cities of Aroer shall be for flocks; and they shall rest there, and there shall be no one who shall make them afraid.)

3 And help shall cease from Ephraim, and a realm from Damascus; and the remnants of Syria shall be as the glory of the sons of Israel, saith the Lord of hosts. (And no longer shall there be help, or any defence, for Ephraim, and no longer shall there be a kingdom in Damascus; and the remnants of Syria shall be like the glory of the Israelites, saith the Lord of hosts.)

4 And it shall be, in that day (And it shall be, on that day), the glory of Jacob shall be made thin, and the fatness of his flesh shall fade.

5 And it shall be as (the one) gathering together that that is left in harvest, and his arm shall gather ears of corn, and it shall be as (the one) seeking ears of corn in the valley of Rephaim.

6 And there shall be left in it as (but) a raisin, that is, (but) a little bow, with a little fruit, and as the shaking down of the fruit of (an) olive tree, as of two either of three olive trees in the highness of a branch, either of four or of five (like two or three olives on the highness of a branch, or four or five); in the tops thereof shall be the fruit thereof, saith the Lord God of Israel.