When was this oracle fulfilled?
Assyria, under Tiglath-pileser III, conquered Damascus in 732 BC, and Samaria, Ephraim's capital, fell to Assyria around 722 BC. The historical accounts of these events are in 2 Kings 15 to 17.
Isaiah · chapter 17 of 66
Isaiah 17: Summary, Key Verses and Study Questions
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What happens in Isaiah 17?
Isaiah 17 announces that Damascus will cease to be a city and become a heap of ruins, and that Ephraim, the northern kingdom, will lose its fortress and its glory. A remnant will remain like the olives left after the harvest, and some will turn their eyes to the Lord. The people have forgotten the God of their salvation, and the enemies who roar like the sea will be scattered like chaff.
This oracle concerns Damascus, the capital of Syria, and Ephraim, the northern kingdom, the two allies who attacked Judah in chapter 7. After that Syro-Ephraimite crisis, Isaiah announces what will happen to them: Assyria destroyed Damascus in 732 BC and Samaria fell around 722 BC.
Isaiah 17 summary
Damascus will cease to be a city and become a heap of ruins. Its cities will be abandoned and will be for flocks, which will lie down with none to make them afraid. The fortress will also disappear from Ephraim and the kingdom from Damascus, and the remnant of Syria will be like the glory of the children of Israel, declares the Lord of hosts.
On that day the glory of Jacob will be brought low and the fat of his flesh will grow lean. It will be as when the reaper gathers standing grain and his arm harvests the ears, or as when one gleans ears of grain in the Valley of Rephaim. Gleanings will be left, as when an olive tree is beaten and two or three berries remain in the top of the highest bough, four or five on the fruitful branches. On that day man will look to his Maker, and his eyes will look to the Holy One of Israel. He will not look to the altars, the work of his hands, nor to what his fingers have made, either the Asherim or the incense altars. In that day his strong cities will be like the deserted places of the woods.
The reason is that they have forgotten the God of their salvation and have not remembered the Rock of their refuge. So they plant pleasant plants and set out vine cuttings of a stranger; on the day they plant they make them grow, but the harvest will flee away in a day of grief and incurable pain. The prophet then describes the roar of many peoples, who roar like the sea. But the Lord will rebuke them and they will flee far away, chased like chaff on the mountains before the wind. At evening there is terror, and before morning they are no more. This is the fate of those who plunder us.
Chapter outline
- vv. 1-3: Damascus becomes a ruin and Ephraim's fortress ends.
- vv. 4-6: Jacob's glory fades; only gleanings are left.
- vv. 7-8: On that day man looks to his Maker and not to his altars.
- vv. 9-11: They have forgotten the God of their salvation and their harvest will be lost.
- vv. 12-14: The peoples who roar like the sea are rebuked and scattered.
Key verses in Isaiah 17
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
Isaiah 17:1
Damascus will cease to be a city and become a heap of ruins. Isaiah announces the fall of the Syrian capital, Ephraim's ally against Judah in chapter 7.
Isaiah 17:7
On that day man will look to his Maker and his eyes will look to the Holy One of Israel. Judgment has a purpose: to lead people to look to God instead of to the idols they made themselves.
Isaiah 17:10
They have forgotten the God of their salvation and have not remembered the Rock of their refuge. Forgetting God is the root of the problem, and so their agricultural and political efforts will end in loss.
Isaiah 17:13
The nations roar like the roaring of many waters, but the Lord will rebuke them and they will flee, like chaff scattered by the wind. The powers that frighten Judah have no strength of their own against his word.
Main themes
- Judgment on Damascus and Ephraim
- The remnant that remains
- Turning to the Maker and leaving idols
- Forgetting the God of salvation
- The Lord rebukes the nations
People and places
- Isaiah
- Damascus
- Ephraim (the northern kingdom)
- Jacob
- The Holy One of Israel
- Many peoples
Isaiah 17 study questions and answers
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
1. What will happen to Damascus?
Answer: It will cease to be a city and become a heap of ruins. — Isaiah 17:1
2. What will come to an end in Ephraim?
Answer: Its fortress, and with it the kingdom of Damascus. — Isaiah 17:3
3. What does the Lord compare what remains of Jacob's glory to?
Answer: To the few olives left on the tree after it has been beaten. — Isaiah 17:6
4. To whom will man look on that day?
Answer: To his Maker, the Holy One of Israel, and not to altars made by his hands. — Isaiah 17:7-8
5. Why will their strong cities be deserted?
Answer: Because they have forgotten the God of their salvation and the Rock of their refuge. — Isaiah 17:9-10
6. What will the Lord do to the peoples who roar like the sea?
Answer: He will rebuke them and they will flee, like chaff scattered by the wind. — Isaiah 17:12-13
Application for today
Isaiah 17 warns us against forgetting God in times of security. Alliances, fortresses and harvests seemed enough, but the people had forgotten their Rock. In a small group, we can ask what signs show that we are getting used to living without thinking of the Lord.
The chapter also offers a note of hope: judgment can lead us to look at God again. When the things we trusted collapse, we have the opportunity to turn our eyes to the Maker and rest in him.
Isaiah 17 shows the end of Damascus and Ephraim and the disappearance of the powers that threatened Judah. Chapter 18 turns south to Cush, a distant nation that sends messengers on the river.
Frequently asked questions about Isaiah 17
What are the Asherim?
Asherah was a Canaanite goddess, and her symbols were wooden poles or trees set up beside altars. The Bible condemns them because Israel worshiped at them instead of the Lord.
What do the strange plants of verse 10 mean?
It likely refers to foreign religious practices: they planted gardens of pleasant plants, perhaps linked to fertility cults. Though they seemed to flourish, the harvest would be lost because they had forgotten the Lord.