New Living Translation
Isaiah 17:5
5The 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.
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.
- New International Version (NIV)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.
- 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.
Context of Isaiah 17:5
3The fortified towns of Israel will also be destroyed, and the royal power of Damascus will end. All that remains of Syria will share the fate of Israel’s departed glory,” declares the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. 4“In that day Israel’s glory will grow dim; its robust body will waste away. 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. 6Only a few of its people will be left, like stray olives left on a tree after the harvest. Only two or three remain in the highest branches, four or five scattered here and there on the limbs,” declares the Lord, the God of Israel. 7Then at last the people will look to their Creator 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 9:22This is what the Lord says: “Bodies will be scattered across the fields like clumps of manure, like bundles of grain after the harvest. No one will be left to bury them.”
- Jeremiah 51:33This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: “Babylon is like wheat on a threshing floor, about to be trampled. In just a little while her harvest will begin.”
- Hosea 6:11“O Judah, a harvest of punishment is also waiting for you, though I wanted to restore the fortunes of my people.
- Joel 3:13Swing the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, tread the grapes, for the winepress is full. The storage vats are overflowing with the wickedness of these people.”
- Matthew 13:30Let both grow together until the harvest. Then I will tell the harvesters to sort out the weeds, tie them into bundles, and burn them, and to put the wheat in the barn.’”
- Revelation 14:15Then another angel came from the Temple and shouted to the one sitting on the cloud, “Swing the sickle, for the time of harvest has come; the crop on earth is ripe.”
- Joshua 15:8The boundary then passed through the valley of Ben-Hinnom, along the southern slopes of the Jebusites, where the city of Jerusalem is located. Then it went west to the top of the mountain above the valley of Hinnom, and on up to the northern end of the valley of Rephaim.
- Joshua 18:16and down to the base of the mountain beside the valley of Ben-Hinnom, at the northern end of the valley of Rephaim. From there it went down the valley of Hinnom, crossing south of the slope where the Jebusites lived, and continued down to En-rogel.
- 2 Samuel 5:18The Philistines arrived and spread out across 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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