English Standard Version
Isaiah 17:9
9In 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.
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.
- 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.
- New Living Translation (NLT)Their largest cities will be like a deserted forest, like the land the Hivites and Amorites abandoned when the Israelites came here so long ago. It will be utterly desolate.
Context of Isaiah 17:9
7In that day man will look to his Maker, and his eyes will look on the Holy One of Israel. 8He will not look to the altars, the work of his hands, and he will not look on what his own fingers have made, either the Asherim or the altars of incense. 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. 10For you have forgotten the God of your salvation and have not remembered the Rock of your refuge; therefore, though you plant pleasant plants and sow the vine-branch of a stranger, 11though you make them grow on the day that you plant them, and make them blossom in the morning that you sow, yet the harvest will flee away in a day of grief 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
Words taken from the KJV.
- In that dayיוֹםyôm · dayH3117
- shall his strongמָעוֹזmâ‛ôz mâ‛ûz mâ‛ôz mâ‛ûz · securityH4581
- citiesעִיר‛îyr ‛âr ‛âyar · cityH5892
- be as a forsakenעָזַב‛âzab · to leave: forsakeH5800
- boughחֹ֫רֶשׁchôresh · woodH2793
- and an uppermost branchאָמִיר'âmîyr · topH534
- becauseפָּנֶהpânîym · face: becauseH6440
- of the childrenבֵּןbên · son: descendant/peopleH1121
- of Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
- and there shall be desolationשְׁמָמָהshemâmâh shimâmâh · devastationH8077
Cross-references for Isaiah 17:9
- Isaiah 17:4And in that day the glory of Jacob will be brought low, and the fat of his flesh will grow lean.
- Isaiah 6:11Then I said, "How long, O Lord?" And he said: "Until cities lie waste without inhabitant, and houses without people, and the land is a desolate waste,
- Isaiah 7:16For before the boy knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land whose two kings you dread will be deserted.
- Isaiah 9:9and all the people will know, Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria, who say in pride and in arrogance of heart:
- Isaiah 24:1Behold, the Lord will empty the earth and make it desolate, and he will twist its surface and scatter its inhabitants.
- Isaiah 27:10For the fortified city is solitary, a habitation deserted and forsaken, like the wilderness; there the calf grazes; there it lies down and strips its branches.
- Isaiah 28:1Ah, the proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim, and the fading flower of its glorious beauty, which is on the head of the rich valley of those overcome with wine!
- Hosea 10:14therefore the tumult of war shall arise among your people, and all your fortresses shall be destroyed, as Shalman destroyed Beth-arbel on the day of battle; mothers were dashed in pieces with their children.
- Hosea 13:15Though he may flourish among his brothers, the east wind, the wind of the Lord, shall come, rising from the wilderness, and his fountain shall dry up; his spring shall be parched; it shall strip his treasury of every precious thing.
- Amos 3:11Therefore thus says the Lord God: "An adversary shall surround the land and bring down your defenses from you, and your strongholds shall be plundered."
- Amos 7:9the high places of Isaac shall be made desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste, and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword."
- Micah 5:11and I will cut off the cities of your land and throw down all your strongholds;
- Micah 6:16For you have kept the statutes of Omri, and all the works of the house of Ahab; and you have walked in their counsels, that I may make you a desolation, and your inhabitants a hissing; so you shall bear the scorn of my people."
- Micah 7:13But the earth will be desolate because of its inhabitants, for 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
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