Isaiah 17

The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.

A solemn message against Damascus. See, Damascus will no longer be a city, but a pile of ruins.

The cities of Aroer are forsaken: they shall be for flocks, which shall lie down, and none shall make them afraid.

The towns of Aroer are abandoned, left to become peaceful pastures for herds, where they can rest without fear.

The fortress also shall cease from Ephraim, and the kingdom from Damascus, and the remnant of Syria: they shall be as the glory of the children of Israel, saith the LORD of hosts.

Ephraim's stronghold will crumble, Damascus will lose its reign, and what's left of Syria will reflect Israel's glory, declares the Lord Almighty.

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.

On that day, Jacob's glory will diminish, and his prosperity will dwindle.

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.

It will be like when a reaper gathers the standing grain and cuts off the ears with his arm; it will be like someone gleaning ears in the valley of Rephaim.

Yet gleaning grapes shall be left in it, as the shaking of an olive tree, two or three berries in the top of the uppermost bough, four or five in the outmost fruitful branches thereof, saith the LORD God of Israel.

Even after the harvest, a few precious grapes will remain, just as a few olives linger on the highest branches, says the Lord God of Israel.

At that day shall a man look to his Maker, and his eyes shall have respect to the Holy One of Israel.

On that day, a person will gaze upon their Creator with reverence, their eyes filled with awe for the Sacred One of Israel.

And he shall not look to the altars, the work of his hands, neither shall respect that which his fingers have made, either the groves, or the images.

He will not value the altars he built, nor admire his own creations, be it sacred groves or idols.

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.

On that day, his once mighty cities will be as abandoned as a forgotten branch, left behind due to the actions of the children of Israel. It will be a time of utter desolation.

Because thou hast forgotten the God of thy salvation, and hast not been mindful of the rock of thy strength, therefore shalt thou plant pleasant plants, and shalt set it with strange slips:

Because you've forgotten your saving God and ignored your solid foundation of strength, you'll find yourself planting attractive but unfamiliar seeds.

In the day shalt thou make thy plant to grow, and in the morning shalt thou make thy seed to flourish: but the harvest shall be a heap in the day of grief and of desperate sorrow.

During the day, you'll nurture your plant, and in the morning, you'll help your seed thrive. But the harvest will come to nothing on the day of grief and desperate sorrow.

Woe to the multitude of many people, which make a noise like the noise of the seas; and to the rushing of nations, that make a rushing like the rushing of mighty waters!

Beware, vast crowds that roar like stormy seas; and nations that surge like powerful waves!

The nations shall rush like the rushing of many waters: but God shall rebuke them, and they shall flee far off, and shall be chased as the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like a rolling thing before the whirlwind.

Nations will surge like a flood, but God will scold them, making them scatter far away. They'll be as insignificant as dust blown off a mountain by the wind, or a tumbleweed caught in a storm.

And behold at eveningtide trouble; and before the morning he is not. This is the portion of them that spoil us, and the lot of them that rob us.

In the quiet of the evening, trouble stirs; by dawn, it's gone. This is the fate of those who harm us, the destiny of those who steal from us.