Bible Strands
Isaiah 17:3
The fortress will disappear from Ephraim, and the sovereignty from Damascus. The remnant of Aram will be like the splendor of the Israelites,” declares the LORD of Hosts.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The LORD of Hosts speaks through Isaiah to announce judgment on the northern kingdom of Israel (Ephraim) and the Aramean kingdom centered in Damascus. This declaration occurs within a broader oracle detailing the collapse of Syrian and Israelite political and military power.
The words — The Hebrew verb נִשְׁבַּת (nishbat) literally means "it will cease" or "be destroyed," paired with מִבְצָר (mivtsar) for "fortress." The phrase כְּכָבוֹד (k'kavod) translates to "like the glory," describing how the Aram remnant will compare to Israel's former splendor.
The thread — This theme of fading political and military glory runs through Isaiah 7:16, Isaiah 8:4, and Hosea 9:11, where the wealth, cities, and splendor of the northern kingdoms are repeatedly declared to be laid waste or fly away.
Why it lands — The text demands acknowledgment that human fortifications and sovereign power are temporary and subject to divine judgment. It requires readers to measure current political stability against the certainty of prophetic declaration.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
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.
Cross-references
- Isaiah 7:16 For before the boy knows enough to reject evil and choose good, the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste.
- Isaiah 8:4 For before the boy knows how to cry ‘Father’ or ‘Mother,’ the wealth of Damascus and the plunder of Samaria will be carried off by the king of Assyria.”
- Hosea 9:11 Ephraim’s glory will fly away like a bird, with no birth, no pregnancy, and no conception.
- Isaiah 7:8 For the head of Aram is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin. Within sixty-five years Ephraim will be shattered as a people.
- Micah 1:4 The mountains will melt beneath Him, and the valleys will split apart, like wax before the fire, like water rushing down a slope.
- 2 Kings 16:9 So the king of Assyria responded to him, marched up to Damascus, and captured it. He took its people to Kir as captives and put Rezin to death.
- 2 Kings 17:6 In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria and carried away the Israelites to Assyria, where he settled them in Halah, in Gozan by the Habor River, and in the cities of the Medes.
- Isaiah 10:9 “Is not Calno like Carchemish? Is not Hamath like Arpad? Is not Samaria like Damascus?
- Isaiah 16:14 And now the LORD says, “In three years, as a hired worker counts the years, Moab’s splendor will become an object of contempt, with all her many people. And those who are left will be few and feeble.”
- Isaiah 17:4 “In that day the splendor of Jacob will fade, and the fat of his body will waste away,