Berean Standard Bible
Isaiah 17:9
9In that day their strong cities will be like forsaken thickets and summits, abandoned to the Israelites and to utter desolation.
Isaiah 17:9 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)In that day shall his strong cities be as a forsaken bough, and an uppermost branch, which they left because of the children of Israel: and there shall be desolation.
- New International Version (NIV)In that day their strong cities, which they left because of the Israelites, will be like places abandoned to thickets and undergrowth. And all will be desolation.
- English Standard Version (ESV)In that day their strong cities will be like the deserted places of the wooded heights and the hilltops, which they deserted because of the children of Israel, and there will be desolation.
- New King James Version (NKJV)In that day his strong cities will be as a forsaken bough And an uppermost branch, Which they left because of the children of Israel; And there will be desolation.
Context of Isaiah 17:9
7In that day men will look to their Maker and turn their eyes to the Holy One of Israel. 8They will not look to the altars they have fashioned with their hands or to the Asherahs and incense altars they have made with their fingers. In that day their strong cities will be like forsaken thickets and summits, abandoned to the Israelites and to utter desolation. 10For you have forgotten the God of your salvation and failed to remember the Rock of your refuge. Therefore, though you cultivate delightful plots and set out cuttings from exotic vines— 11though on the day you plant you make them grow, and on that morning you help your seed sprout— yet the harvest will vanish on the day of disease and incurable pain.
Read all of Isaiah 17Isaiah 17:9 word by word
בַּיּ֨וֹם הַה֜וּא יִהְי֣וּ׀ עָרֵ֣י מָעֻזּ֗וֹ כַּעֲזוּבַ֤ת הַחֹ֙רֶשׁ֙ וְהָ֣אָמִ֔יר אֲשֶׁ֣ר עָזְב֔וּ מִפְּנֵ֖י בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל וְהָיְתָ֖ה שְׁמָמָֽה׃Read the interlinear
- In thatהוּאhû' hîy' · he/she/itH1931
- dayיוֹםyôm · dayH3117
- their strongמָעוֹזmâ‛ôz mâ‛ûz mâ‛ôz mâ‛ûz · securityH4581
- citiesעִיר‛îyr ‛âr ‛âyar · cityH5892
- will be likeהָיָהhâyâh · to beH1961
- forsakenעָזַב‛âzab · to leave: forsakeH5800
- thicketsחֹ֫רֶשׁchôresh · woodH2793
- and summitsאָמִיר'âmîyr · topH534
- ·אֲשֶׁר'ăsher · whichH834
- ·פָּנֶהpânîym · face: becauseH6440
- to the Israelitesבֵּןbên · son: descendant/peopleH1121
- to the Israelitesיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
- desolationשְׁמָמָהshemâmâh shimâmâh · devastationH8077
Cross-references for Isaiah 17:9
- Isaiah 17:4“In that day the splendor of Jacob will fade, and the fat of his body will waste away,
- Isaiah 6:11Then I asked: “How long, O Lord?” And He replied: “Until the cities lie ruined and without inhabitant, until the houses are left unoccupied and the land is desolate and ravaged,
- Isaiah 7:16For before the boy knows enough to reject evil and choose good, the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste.
- Isaiah 9:9All the people will know it— Ephraim and the dwellers of Samaria. With pride and arrogance of heart they will say:
- Isaiah 24:1Behold, the LORD lays waste the earth and leaves it in ruins. He will twist its surface and scatter its inhabitants—
- Isaiah 27:10For the fortified city lies deserted— a homestead abandoned, a wilderness forsaken. There the calves graze, and there they lie down; they strip its branches bare.
- Isaiah 28:1Woe to the majestic crown of Ephraim’s drunkards, to the fading flower of his glorious splendor, set on the summit above the fertile valley, the pride of those overcome by wine.
- Hosea 10:14the roar of battle will rise against your people, so that all your fortresses will be demolished as Shalman devastated Beth-arbel in the day of battle, when mothers were dashed to pieces along with their children.
- Hosea 13:15Although he flourishes among his brothers, an east wind will come— a wind from the LORD rising up from the desert. His fountain will fail, and his spring will run dry. The wind will plunder his treasury of every precious article.
- Amos 3:11Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: “An enemy will surround the land; he will pull down your strongholds and plunder your citadels.”
- Amos 7:9The high places of Isaac will be deserted, and the sanctuaries of Israel will be laid waste; and I will rise up against the house of Jeroboam with My sword.”
- Micah 5:11I will remove the cities of your land and tear down all your strongholds.
- Micah 6:16You have kept the statutes of Omri and all the practices of Ahab’s house; you have followed their counsel. Therefore I will make you a desolation, and your inhabitants an object of contempt; you will bear the scorn of the nations.”
- Micah 7:13Then the earth will become desolate because of its inhabitants, as the fruit of their deeds.
Commentaries on Isaiah 17:9
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 9As a forsaken bough, and an uppermost branch "the Hivites and the Amorites" - והאמיר החרש hachoresh vehaamir . No one has ever yet been able to make any tolerable sense of these words. The translation of the Septuagint has happily preserved what seems to be the true reading of the text, as it stood in the copies of their time; though the words are now transposed, either in the text or in their Version; ̔ ̔ ̔ , "the Amorites and the Hivites." It is…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 9His strong cities - The cities of the united kingdoms of Damascus and Samaria. Be as a forsaken bough - There has been much difficulty in the interpretation of this passage. Lowth says, No one has ever been able to make any tolerable sense of these words;‘ and proposes himself the translation, In that day shall his strongly fenced cities become Like the desertion of the Hivites and the Amorites; Following in this the translation of the Septuagint, but…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 9The Hivites and Amorites were part of the original people living in Canaan. The Israelites were to destroy them when they conquered the land (see Deuteronomy 20:17).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 99. forsaken bough--rather "the leavings of woods," what the axeman leaves when he cuts down the grove (compare Is 17:6). which they left because of--rather, "which (the enemies) shall leave for the children of Israel"; literally, "shall leave (in departing) from before the face of the children of Israel" [Maurer]. But a few cities out of many shall be left to Israel, by the purpose of God, executed by the Assyrian.Read the comment
Topics related to Isaiah 17:9
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Isaiah 17
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
Berean Standard Bible — © Berean Bible — CC0 / Public Domain
Commentaries