Isaiah 28:4

4 The fading flower of his beautiful splendor, which is on the summit above the rich valley, will be like a ripe fig before the summer harvest. Whoever sees it will swallow it while it is still in his hand.

Isaiah 28:4 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 28:4

And the glorious beauty which is on the head of the fat
valley
Meaning the riches and fruitfulness of the ten tribes, and especially of Samaria the head of them: shall be a fading flower;
as before declared, ( Isaiah 28:1 ) and here repeated to show the certainty of it, and to awaken their attention to it: [and] as the hasty fruit before the summer;
the first ripe fruit, that which is ripe before the summer fruits in common are. The Septuagint render it the first ripe fig; and so the Targum and Aben Ezra: which [when] he that looketh upon it seeth it;
that it is goodly and desirable, and so gathers it, ( Micah 7:1 ) : while it is yet in his hand he eateth it up;
and as soon as he has got it into his hand, he cannot keep it there to look at, or forbear eating it, but greedily devours it, and swallows it down at once; denoting what a desirable prey the ten tribes would be to the Assyrian monarch, and how swift, sudden, and inevitable, would be their destruction.

Isaiah 28:4 In-Context

2 Look, the Lord has a strong and mighty one- like a devastating hail storm, like a storm with strong flooding waters. He will bring it across the land with [His] hand.

3 The majestic crown of Ephraim's drunkards will be trampled underfoot.

4 The fading flower of his beautiful splendor, which is on the summit above the rich valley, will be like a ripe fig before the summer harvest. Whoever sees it will swallow it while it is still in his hand.

5 On that day the Lord of Hosts will become a crown of beauty and a diadem of splendor to the remnant of His people,

6 a spirit of justice to the one who sits in judgment, and strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate.