Isaiah 17:4

“And in that day it shall come to pass, &c.] It being much about the same time that both kingdoms were destroyed by the Assyrians: [that] the glory of Jacob shall be made thin; the same with Ephraim and Israel, the ten tribes, whose glory lay in the superior number of their tribes to Judah; in the multitude of their cities, and the inhabitants of them; but now would be thinned, by the vast numbers that should be carried captive: and the fatness of his flesh shall wax lean: like a man in a consumption, that is become a mere skeleton, and reduced to skin and bones: the meaning is, that all their wealth and riches should be taken away; so the Targum, “and the riches of his glory shall be carried…”

“glory of Jacob--the kingdom of Ephraim and all that they rely on (Hos 12:2; Mic 1:5). fatness . . . lean--(See on Isa 10:16).”

“The glory of Jacob - “Jacob” is used here to denote the kingdom of Israel, or Samaria. The word ‘glory’ here denotes dignity, power; that on which they relied, and of which they boasted. Shall be made thin - Shall be diminished, as a body wastes away by disease, and becomes feeble. The prophet sets forth the calamities of Ephraim by two figures; the first is that of a “body” that becomes emaciated by sickness, the other that of the harvest when all the fruits are gathered except a few in the upper branches Isaiah 17:5-6. And the fatness his flesh shall wax lean - He shall become feeble, as a man does by wasting sickness. Chaldee, ‘The riches of his glory shall be removed.’ return to 'Top of…”

“17:4-11 The vision shifts from Damascus (17:1-3) to the northern kingdom of Israel; Damascus and Israel were allies in the war against Judah, and both were later destroyed by Assyria. 17:4 Israel’s glory will grow dim: God will judge all human pride. • Israel’s robust body will waste away like a person who is ill.”

“the glory: Isa 9:8, Isa 9:21, Isa 10:4 the fatness: Isa 10:16, Isa 24:13, Isa 24:16; Deu 32:15-27; Eze 34:20; Zep 2:11 \*marg. Isaiah 17:5”

“Second turn: "And it comes to pass in that day, the glory of Jacob wastes away, and the fat of his flesh grows thin. And it will be as when a reaper grasps the stalks of wheat, and his arm mows off the ears; and it will be as with one who gathers together ears in the valley of Rephaim. Yet a gleaning remains from it, as at the olive-beating: two, three berries high up at the top; four, five in its, the fruit tree's, branches, saith Jehovah the God of Israel. At that day will man look up to his Creator, and his eyes will look to the Holy One of Israel. And he will not look to the altars, the work of his hands; and what his fingers have made he will not regard, neither the Astartes nor the…”