The first turn: "Behold, Damascus must (be taken) away out of the number of the cities, and will be a heap of fallen ruins. The cities of Aroer are forsaken, they are given up to flocks, they lie there without any one scaring them away. And the fortress of Ephraim is abolished, and the kingdom of Damascus; and it happens to those that are left of Aram as to the glory of the sons of Israel, saith Jehovah of hosts." "Behold," etc.: hinnēh followed by a participle indicates here, as it does everywhere else, something very near at hand. Damascus is removed מעיר ( equals עיר מהיות, cf., 1 Kings 15:13), i.e., out of the sphere of existence as a city. It becomes מעי, a heap of ruins. The word is used intentionally instead of עי, to sound as much as possible like מעיר: a mutilated city, so to speak. It is just the same with Israel, which has made itself an appendage of Damascus. The "cities of Aroer" (gen. appos. Ges. 114, 3) represent the land to the east of the Jordan: there the judgment upon Israel (executed by Tiglath-pileser) first began. There were two Aroers: an old Amoritish city allotted to the tribe of Reuben, viz., "Aroer on the Arnon" (Deuteronomy 2:36; Deuteronomy 3:12, etc.); and an old Ammonitish one, allotted to the tribe of Gad, viz., "Aroer before Rabbah" (Rabbath, Ammon, Joshua 13:25). The ruins of the former are Arair, on the lofty northern bank of the Mugib; but the situation of the latter has not yet been determined with certainty (see Comm. on Joshua 13:25). The "cities of Aroer" are these two Aroers, and the rest of the cities similar to it on the east of the Jordan; just as "the Orions" in Isaiah 13:10 are Orion and other similar stars. We meet here again with a significant play upon the sound in the expression ‛ârē ‛Aro‛ēr (cities of Aroer): the name of Aroer was ominous, and what its name indicated would happen to the cities in its circuit. ערער means "to lay bare," to pull down (Jeremiah 51:58); and ערער, ערירי signifies a stark-naked condition, a state of desolation and solitude. After Isaiah 17:1 has threatened Damascus in particular, and Isaiah 17:2 has done the same to Israel, Isaiah 17:3 comprehends them both. Ephraim loses the fortified cities which once served it as defences, and Damascus loses its rank as a kingdom. Those that are left of Aram, who do not fall in the war, become like the proud citizens of the kingdom of Israel, i.e., they are carried away into captivity. All this was fulfilled under Tiglath-pileser. The accentuation connects ארם שׁאר (the remnant of Aram) with the first half of the verse; but the meaning remains the same, as the subject to יהיוּ is in any case the Aramaeans.

Isaiah 17:7 Parallel Commentaries

Isaiah 10:20,21 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the remnant of Israel, and such as are escaped of the house of Jacob...

Isaiah 19:22 And the LORD shall smite Egypt: he shall smite and heal it: and they shall return even to the LORD, and he shall be entreated of them...

Isaiah 22:11 You made also a ditch between the two walls for the water of the old pool: but you have not looked to the maker thereof...

Isaiah 24:14,15 They shall lift up their voice, they shall sing for the majesty of the LORD, they shall cry aloud from the sea...

Isaiah 29:18,19,24 And in that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity, and out of darkness...

Judges 10:15,16 And the children of Israel said to the LORD, We have sinned: do you to us whatever seems good to you; deliver us only, we pray you...

2 Chronicles 30:10,11,18-20 So the posts passed from city to city through the country of Ephraim and Manasseh even to Zebulun: but they laughed them to scorn...

2 Chronicles 31:1 Now when all this was finished, all Israel that were present went out to the cities of Judah, and broke the images in pieces...

2 Chronicles 35:17,18 And the children of Israel that were present kept the passover at that time, and the feast of unleavened bread seven days...

Jeremiah 3:12-14,18-23 Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, Return, you backsliding Israel, said the LORD...

Jeremiah 31:4-10 Again I will build you, and you shall be built, O virgin of Israel: you shall again be adorned with your tabrets...

Hosea 3:5 Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the LORD their God, and David their king...

Hosea 6:1 Come, and let us return to the LORD: for he has torn, and he will heal us; he has smitten, and he will bind us up.

Hosea 14:1-3 O Israel, return to the LORD your God; for you have fallen by your iniquity...

Micah 7:7 Therefore I will look to the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me.