New International Version
Isaiah 17:5
5It will be as when reapers harvest the standing grain, gathering the grain in their arms— as when someone gleans heads of grain in the Valley of Rephaim.
Isaiah 17:5 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And it shall be as when the harvestman gathereth the corn, and reapeth the ears with his arm; and it shall be as he that gathereth ears in the valley of Rephaim.
- English Standard Version (ESV)And it shall be as when the reaper gathers standing grain and his arm harvests the ears, and as when one gleans the ears of grain in the Valley of Rephaim.
- New King James Version (NKJV)It shall be as when the harvester gathers the grain, And reaps the heads with his arm; It shall be as he who gathers heads of grain In the Valley of Rephaim.
- New Living Translation (NLT)The whole land will look like a grainfield after the harvesters have gathered the grain. It will be desolate, like the fields in the valley of Rephaim after the harvest.
Context of Isaiah 17:5
3The fortified city will disappear from Ephraim, and royal power from Damascus; the remnant of Aram will be like the glory of the Israelites,” declares the Lord Almighty. 4“In that day the glory of Jacob will fade; the fat of his body will waste away. It will be as when reapers harvest the standing grain, gathering the grain in their arms— as when someone gleans heads of grain in the Valley of Rephaim. 6Yet some gleanings will remain, as when an olive tree is beaten, leaving two or three olives on the topmost branches, four or five on the fruitful boughs,” declares the Lord, the God of Israel. 7In that day people will look to their Maker and turn their eyes to the Holy One of Israel.
Read all of Isaiah 17Isaiah 17:5 word by word
וְהָיָ֗ה כֶּֽאֱסֹף֙ קָצִ֣יר קָמָ֔ה וּזְרֹע֖וֹ שִׁבֳּלִ֣ים יִקְצ֑וֹר וְהָיָ֛ה כִּמְלַקֵּ֥ט שִׁבֳּלִ֖ים בְּעֵ֥מֶק רְפָאִֽים׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And it shall be as when the harvestmanקָצִירqâtsîyr · harvestH7105
- gatherethאָסַף'âsaph · to gatherH622
- the cornקָמָהqâmâh · standing grainH7054
- and reapethקָצַרqâtsar · to reapH7114
- the earsשִׁבֹּ֫לֶתshibbôl shibbôleth · earH7641
- with his armזְרוֹעַzerôa‛ zerôa‛ zerô‛âh zerô‛âh · armH2220
- and it shall be as he that gatherethלָקַטlâqaţ · to gatherH3950
- in the valleyעֵ֫מֶק‛êmeq · Valley (of Rephaim)H6010
- of Rephaimרְפָאִיםrâphâ' râphâh · (Valley of) RephaimH7497
Cross-references for Isaiah 17:5
- Jeremiah 9:22Say, “This is what the Lord declares: “ ‘Dead bodies will lie like dung on the open field, like cut grain behind the reaper, with no one to gather them.’ ”
- Jeremiah 51:33This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “Daughter Babylon is like a threshing floor at the time it is trampled; the time to harvest her will soon come.”
- Hosea 6:11“Also for you, Judah, a harvest is appointed. “Whenever I would restore the fortunes of my people,
- Joel 3:13Swing the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, trample the grapes, for the winepress is full and the vats overflow— so great is their wickedness!”
- Matthew 13:30Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’ ”
- Revelation 14:15Then another angel came out of the temple and called in a loud voice to him who was sitting on the cloud, “Take your sickle and reap, because the time to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is ripe.”
- Joshua 15:8Then it ran up the Valley of Ben Hinnom along the southern slope of the Jebusite city (that is, Jerusalem). From there it climbed to the top of the hill west of the Hinnom Valley at the northern end of the Valley of Rephaim.
- Joshua 18:16The boundary went down to the foot of the hill facing the Valley of Ben Hinnom, north of the Valley of Rephaim. It continued down the Hinnom Valley along the southern slope of the Jebusite city and so to En Rogel.
- 2 Samuel 5:18Now the Philistines had come and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim;
Commentaries on Isaiah 17:5
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 5As when the harvestman gathereth "As when one gathereth" - That is, the king of Assyria shall sweep away the whole body of the people, as the reaper strippeth off the whole crop of corn; and the remnant shall be no more in proportion than the scattered ears left to the gleaner. The valley of Rephaim near Jerusalem was celebrated for its plentiful harvest; it is here used poetically for any fruitful country. One MS., and one ancient edition, has באסף…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 5And it shall be - This is the other figure by which the prophet sets forth the calamities that were coming upon Ephraim - an image designed to denote the fact that the inhabitants and wealth of the land would be collected and removed, as the farmer gathers his harvest, and leaves only that which is inaccessible in the upper boughs of the tree, or the gleanings in the field. As when the harvest-man gathereth the corn - The wheat, the barley, etc.; for so…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 5The Valley of Rephaim was a fertile area in Judah. However, it appeared barren after each harvest.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 55. harvestman, &c.--The inhabitants and wealth of Israel shall be swept away, and but few left behind just as the husbandman gathers the corn and the fruit, and leaves only a few gleaning ears and grapes (2Ki 18:9-11). with his arm--He collects the standing grain with one arm, so that he can cut it with the sickle in the other hand. Rephaim--a fertile plain at the southwest of Jerusalem toward Beth-lehem and the country of the Philistines (2Sa 5:18-22).Read the comment
Topics related to Isaiah 17:5
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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