Isaiah 17:4

4 And in that day it shall come to pass that the glory of Jacob shall be made thin, and the fatness of his flesh shall wax 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 shall be for flocks, which shall lie down, and none shall make them afraid.

3 The succour of Ephraim shall cease, and the kingdom from Damascus and the remnant of Syria; they shall be as the glory of the sons of Israel, saith the LORD of the hosts.

4 And in that day it shall come to pass that the glory of Jacob shall be made thin, and the fatness of his flesh shall wax lean.

5 And it shall be as when the harvestman gathers the sheaves and reaps the grain with his arm; and it shall be as he that gathers grain in the valley of Rephaim.

6 Yet gleaning shall be left in it as when the olive tree is shaken; two or three berries are left in the top of the uppermost bough, four or five in the outmost fruitful branches thereof, saith the LORD God of Israel.