Bible Strands
Isaiah 17:9
In that day their strong cities will be like forsaken thickets and summits, abandoned to the Israelites and to utter desolation.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The prophet delivers this oracle against Damascus and the northern kingdom of Israel as Assyrian forces advance. The message addresses the allied nations at the moment their political and military strategies collapse.
The words — עָרֵי מָעֻזּוֹ (arei ma'uzzo) literally renders "cities of his refuge," denoting the fortified strongholds of the enemy. כַּעֲזוּבַת חֹרֶשׁ (ka'azubat choresh) translates to "like a forsaken thicket," describing the sudden abandonment of those defenses.
The thread — The theme of abandoned fortifications appears in Isaiah 27:10 and Isaiah 6:11, where ruined cities become uninhabited wilderness. Amos 3:11 similarly records an enemy pulling down strongholds as the direct result of covenant failure.
Why it lands — The text requires the reader to acknowledge that human fortifications and alliances cannot guarantee security. It demands a shift from trusting visible strength to recognizing divine sovereignty over historical outcomes.
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
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.
Cross-references
- Isaiah 27:10 For the fortified city lies deserted—a homestead abandoned, a wilderness forsaken. There the calves graze, and there they lie down; they strip its branches bare.
- Amos 3:11 Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: “An enemy will surround the land; he will pull down your strongholds and plunder your citadels.”
- Isaiah 6:11 Then I asked: “How long, O Lord?” And He replied: “Until the cities lie ruined and without inhabitant, until the houses are left unoccupied and the land is desolate and ravaged,
- 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 9:9 All the people will know it—Ephraim and the dwellers of Samaria. With pride and arrogance of heart they will say:
- Isaiah 17:4 “In that day the splendor of Jacob will fade, and the fat of his body will waste away,
- Isaiah 24:1 Behold, the LORD lays waste the earth and leaves it in ruins. He will twist its surface and scatter its inhabitants—
- Isaiah 28:1 Woe to the majestic crown of Ephraim’s drunkards, to the fading flower of his glorious splendor, set on the summit above the fertile valley, the pride of those overcome by wine.
- Hosea 10:14 the roar of battle will rise against your people, so that all your fortresses will be demolished as Shalman devastated Beth-arbel in the day of battle, when mothers were dashed to pieces along with their children.
- Hosea 13:15 Although he flourishes among his brothers, an east wind will come—a wind from the LORD rising up from the desert. His fountain will fail, and his spring will run dry. The wind will plunder his treasury of every precious article.