Isaiah 17:5

"“It will happen in that day that the glory of Jacob will be made thin, and the fatness of his flesh will become lean."

Key Reflection

In the time of Isaiah, the phrase "the glory of Jacob" likely referred to the power and prosperity of Israel as a nation. The image of this glory becoming thin and the fatness of their flesh turning lean painted a vivid picture of severe economic and social decline. To the original audience, this verse would have resonated with the potential for future judgment leading to national hardship and loss of wealth and status.

From the Scholars: Barnes' Notes

And it shall be ... -This is the other figure by which the prophet sets forth the calamities that were coming upon Ephraim - an image designed to denote the fact that the inhabitants and wealth of the land would be collected and removed, as the farmer gathers his harvest, and leaves only that which is inaccessible in the upper boughs of the tree, or the gleanings in the field. As when the harvest-man gathereth the corn -The wheat, the barley, etc.; for so the word “corn” - now applied by us almost exclusively to maizes means in the Scriptures. The sense in this passage is plain.

Related Verses

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