Isaiah 17:7
in Isaiah 17In that day men will look to their Maker and turn their eyes to the Holy One of Israel.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
In that day shall men look unto their Maker, and their eyes shall have respect to the Holy One of Israel.
KJV
At that day shall a man look to his Maker, and his eyes shall have respect to the Holy One of Israel.
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This verse in Isaiah 17
Commentary
10 notes on this verse(Verse 7, 8) On that day, a man will turn towards his Maker, and his eyes will look to the Holy One of Israel. He will not turn towards the altars that his hands have made, nor towards the works of his fingers. He will not look to the groves and shrines. Some interpret this as fulfilled during the time of Christ, when the kingdom of Damascus was destroyed and the eternal kingdom of the Savior succeeded, and the error of idolatry was diminished. It is indeed a pious interpretation, but it does not follow the order of history.
This site's exposition
men will look to their Maker
on Isaiah 17:7-9
The judgment turns the survivors' eyes "to the Holy One of Israel," the title Isaiah carries through the whole book. They will no longer look to the altars, Asherahs and incense altars their own hands made. Verse 9 leaves their strong cities "like forsaken thickets and summits."
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 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 7, 8). On that day, man will bow down to his maker and his eyes will look to the Holy One of Israel. And he will not bow down to the altars that his hands have made, nor to the things that his fingers have worked on; he will not look to the groves and shrines. In that time, when the Lord your God called the people of Israel, who were once called a fruitful olive tree (Jeremiah 11:16), and as we read in the Psalms: Your children will be like young olive trees around your table (Psalm 128:3), if the Lord hungry for the dryness of spiritual grace finds barely two olives, or three, or four, or five, the fullness of the Gentiles will enter, and they will not bow down to idols made by hands, but they will bow down to their own God, looking to the Holy One of Israel, and they will despise altars, groves, and shrines, knowing that which is written: Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted (Matthew 15:13).
The Medieval Church1 voice
In that day. Here he sets out the fruit of the punishment: man, any who fled from the ten tribes to Ezechias, shall bow down himself to his Maker, giving the due service of worship; his eyes shall look to the Holy One of Israel, …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Commentary on Chapter XVII 1. Damascus - Both of that city and kingdom. A heap - This was fulfilled by Tiglath-pilneser, 2 Kings xvi, 9, although afterwards it was re-edified.
15 ); to bring us to this is the design of his providence as he is our Maker and the work of his grace as he is the Holy One of Israel. (2.) They shall look off from their idols, the creatures of their own fancy, shall no longer worship them, and seek to them, and expect relief from them.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-citation-number+unbalanced-parens
3 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
A man - Those few men that are left. Look - They shall sincerely respect, and trust, and worship God, and God only.
At that day shall a man look to his Maker,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
At that day shall a man look to his Maker - Instead of confiding in their strongly fortified places and armies, they shall look for aid and protection to the God that made them, and who alone can help them. National afflictions and judgments often have the effect to turn the eyes of even a wicked and rebellious people to God. They feel their danger; they are convinced of their guilt; they see that no one but God can protect them; and for a time they are willing, even by humiliation and fasting, to seek the divine protection.
The words behind it
11 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| בַּיּ֣וֹם | baiyom | in the day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| הַה֔וּא | hahu' | <the> that | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| יִשְׁעֶ֥ה | yisheh | he will look | H8159 → | 15 times |
| הָאָדָ֖ם | haadam | <the> person | H120 → | 551 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| עֹשֵׂ֑הוּ | ʾosehu | maker his | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| וְעֵינָ֕יו | veeinav | and eyes his | H5869 → | 887 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| קְד֥וֹשׁ | kedoosh | [the] holy [one] of | H6918 → | 116 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| תִּרְאֶֽינָה׃ | tireinah | they will see | H7200 → | 1300 times |
בַּיּ֣וֹםin the day
baiyomH3117 →2304 times
הַה֔וּא<the> that
hahu'H1931 →1879 times
יִשְׁעֶ֥הhe will look
yishehH8159 →15 times
הָאָדָ֖ם<the> person
haadamH120 →551 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
עֹשֵׂ֑הוּmaker his
ʾosehuH6213 →2628 times
וְעֵינָ֕יוand eyes his
veeinavH5869 →887 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
קְד֥וֹשׁ[the] holy [one] of
kedooshH6918 →116 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֖לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
תִּרְאֶֽינָה׃they will see
tireinahH7200 →1300 times
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
Micah 7:7But as for me, I will look to the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation. My God will hear me.
it leads to
- Lamentations 3:25–26
The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him.
- Psalms 37:7
Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for Him; do not fret when men prosper in their ways, when they carry out wicked schemes.
- 1 John 5:14–15
And this is the confidence that we have before Him: If we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.
- Isaiah 45:22
Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other.
- Psalms 27:12–14
Do not hand me over to the will of my foes, for false witnesses rise up against me, breathing out violence.
- Lamentations 3:25–26
Through
Hosea 6:1Come, let us return to the LORD. For He has torn us to pieces, but He will heal us; He has wounded us, but He will bind up our wounds.
it leads to
- Job 5:18
For He wounds, but He also binds; He strikes, but His hands also heal.
- Deuteronomy 32:39
See now that I am He; there is no God besides Me. I bring death and I give life; I wound and I heal, and there is no one who can deliver from My…
- 1 Samuel 2:6
The LORD brings death and gives life; He brings down to Sheol and raises up.
- Job 5:18
About Isaiah
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; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.