Bible Strands
Isaiah 17:4
“In that day the splendor of Jacob will fade, and the fat of his body will waste away,
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The LORD of Hosts speaks to Judah and Israel regarding the impending collapse of Jacob’s northern territories and his own spiritual decline. The declaration is anchored to a specific future moment marked as "that day."
The words — The Hebrew yi.Dal (it will become low) describes the decline of ke.Vod (the glory), while mish.Man (the fatness) combined with be.sa.R/o (its flesh) denotes literal physical depletion. These terms chart a direct process of diminishing strength and substance.
The thread — This pattern of wasted strength and fading pomp recurs in Isaiah 10:16 where God sends a wasting disease on Assyria’s stout warriors, and in Deuteronomy 32:15 where Jeshurun grows fat and abandons his maker. The immediate context in Isaiah 17:3 and 17:5 frames this depletion as a harvested remnant following the fall of Ephraim and Damascus.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition that national prosperity and physical vitality are temporary conditions subject to divine reversal. It requires readers to separate historical judgment from abstract theology and to see how pride and prosperity precede measured decline.
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
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.
Cross-references
- Isaiah 10:16 Therefore the Lord GOD of Hosts will send a wasting disease among Assyria’s stout warriors, and under his pomp will be kindled a fire like a burning flame.
- Deuteronomy 32:15 But Jeshurun grew fat and kicked—becoming fat, bloated, and gorged. He abandoned the God who made him and scorned the Rock of his salvation.
- Isaiah 9:8 The Lord has sent a message against Jacob, and it has fallen upon Israel.
- Isaiah 9:21 Manasseh devours Ephraim, and Ephraim Manasseh; together they turn against Judah. Despite all this, His anger is not turned away; His hand is still upraised.
- Isaiah 10:4 Nothing will remain but to crouch among the captives or fall among the slain. Despite all this, His anger is not turned away; His hand is still upraised.
- Isaiah 24:13 So will it be on the earth and among the nations, like a harvested olive tree, like a gleaning after a grape harvest.
- Isaiah 24:16 From the ends of the earth we hear singing: “Glory to the Righteous One.” But I said, “I am wasting away! I am wasting away! Woe is me.” The treacherous betray; the treacherous deal in treachery.
- Ezekiel 34:20 Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says to them: ‘Behold, I Myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep.
- Zephaniah 2:11 The LORD will be terrifying to them when He starves all the gods of the earth. Then the nations of every shore will bow in worship to Him, each in its own place.