Isaiah 17:4
in Isaiah 17“In that day the splendor of Jacob will fade, and the fat of his body will waste away,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And it shall come to pass in that day, that the glory of Jacob shall be made thin, and the fatness of his flesh shall wax lean.
KJV
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.
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This verse in Isaiah 17
Commentary
10 notes on this verseIn that day - That is, says Kimchi, the time when the ten tribes of Israel, which were the glory of Jacob, should be carried into captivity.
This site's exposition
the splendor of Jacob will fade
on Isaiah 17:4-6
Jacob's splendor fades and the figure turns at once to harvest. Yet gleanings remain, "two or three berries atop the tree, four or five on its fruitful branches," the remnant figure Isaiah keeps returning to. Gill and Delitzsch note that the deliberate smallness of the count names a remnant preserved.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
By this it is clearly promised that the glory of Israel and all her riches will be taken away, and only a few, who like the few berries on an olive branch can be counted easily, will be left. These are the ones who believe in the Lord. Just after this there is a prophecy of the entire human race turning away from the error of idolatry and recognizing the God of Israel.
(Verse 4.) And it shall come to pass in that day, the glory of Jacob shall be diminished, and his fatness shall wither away. When, he says, Damascus is captured, and the city ceases to exist, and such glory crowns it, as crowns Israel, that is, the ten tribes: then all defense, and the fattest flesh, and refuge shall wither away from Jacob: for he will not have anything with which to devastate Jerusalem.
(Verse 4) And in that day, the glory of Jacob shall fade, and the fat of his flesh shall waste away. After the remnants of Syria had been, just as once had been the glory of the sons of Israel, and their salvation had been given to the nations by their transgression, then all the glory of the Jews will be diminished, with which they were glorious in the entire world, and their plump flesh will waste away, lacking prophets, signs and wonders, the present help of God, and the dignity of the priesthood: but the whole body of their nation will wither away and be reduced to nothing.
The Medieval Church1 voice
And it shall come to pass in that day. Here he threatens the destruction of the ten tribes, who trust in the help of the Syrians, and first, as to the oppression of their people; second, as to the destruction of their cities: in that …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And in that day it shall come to pass,....
3 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
The glory of Jacob was their numbers, that they were as the sand of the sea for multitude; but this glory shall be made thin, when many are cut off, and few left. Then the fatness of their flesh, which was their pride and security, shall was lean, and the body of the people shall become a perfect skeleton, nothing but skin and bones.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
glory of Jacob--the kingdom of Ephraim and all that they rely on (Ho 12:2;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase+unbalanced-parens
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
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 Isa 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.’
The words behind it
9 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהָיָה֙ | vehayah | and it will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| בַּיּ֣וֹם | baiyom | in the day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| הַה֔וּא | hahu' | <the> that | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| יִדַּ֖ל | yidal | it will become low | H1809 → | 9 times |
| כְּב֣וֹד | kevod | [the] glory of | H3519 → | 200 times |
| יַעֲקֹ֑ב | yaako | Jacob | H3290 → | 350 times |
| וּמִשְׁמַ֥ן | umishman | and [the] fatness of | H4924 → | |
| בְּשָׂר֖וֹ | besaro | flesh its | H1320 → | 270 times |
| יֵרָזֶֽה׃ | yerazeh | it will be made lean | H7329 → |
וְהָיָה֙and it will be
vehayahH1961 →3559 times
בַּיּ֣וֹםin the day
baiyomH3117 →2304 times
הַה֔וּא<the> that
hahu'H1931 →1879 times
יִדַּ֖לit will become low
yidalH1809 →9 times
כְּב֣וֹד[the] glory of
kevodH3519 →200 times
יַעֲקֹ֑בJacob
yaakoH3290 →350 times
וּמִשְׁמַ֥ןand [the] fatness of
umishmanH4924 →
בְּשָׂר֖וֹflesh its
besaroH1320 →270 times
יֵרָזֶֽה׃it will be made lean
yerazehH7329 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Isaiah 24:16From 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…
it leads to
- Isaiah 21:2
A dire vision is declared to me: “The traitor still betrays, and the destroyer still destroys. Go up, O Elam! Lay siege, O Media! I will put an end to all her groaning.”
- Isaiah 33:1
Woe to you, O destroyer never destroyed, O traitor never betrayed! When you have finished destroying, you will be destroyed. When you have finished betraying, you will be betrayed.
- Isaiah 21:2
Through
Isaiah 10:16Therefore 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.
it leads to
- 2 Chronicles 32:21
and the LORD sent an angel who annihilated every mighty man of valor and every leader and commander in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he withdrew to his own land in…
- Psalms 106:15
So He granted their request, but sent a wasting disease upon them.
- 2 Chronicles 32:21
Through
Isaiah 9:21Manasseh devours Ephraim, and Ephraim Manasseh; together they turn against Judah. Despite all this, His anger is not turned away; His hand is still upraised.
it leads to
- Isaiah 5:25
Therefore the anger of the LORD burns against His people; His hand is raised against them to strike them down. The mountains quake, and the corpses lay like refuse in the streets. Despite all…
- 2 Chronicles 28:6–8
For in one day Pekah son of Remaliah killed 120,000 valiant men in Judah. This happened because they had forsaken the LORD, the God of their fathers.
- Galatians 5:15
But if you keep on biting and devouring one another, watch out, or you will be consumed by one another.
- Isaiah 9:12
Aram from the east and Philistia from the west have devoured Israel with open mouths. Despite all this, His anger is not turned away; His hand is still upraised.
- Isaiah 5:25
About Isaiah
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Eusebius of Caesarea, PROOF OF THE GOSPEL 2:3; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Isaiah; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.