The Oracle Concerning Damascus and Israel
F. Delitzsch. Isaiah 17:1-5 The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap. The curse pronounced upon it [Damascene-Syria] falls also upon the kingdom of Israel, because it has allied itself with the heathen Damascus against their brethren in the south and the Davidic kingdom. From the reign of Hezekiah we are here carried back to the reign of Ahaz, and indeed back far beyond the death year of Ahaz (Isaiah 14:28) to the boundary line of the reigns of Jotham and Ahaz, soon after the conclusion of the league which aimed at Judah's destruction, by which revenge was taken for the similar league of Asa with Benhadad against Israel (1 Kings 15:9). When Isaiah incorporated this oracle in his collection, its threats against the kingdoms of Damascus and Israel had long been fulfilled. Assyria had punished both of them, and Assyria had also been punished, as the fourth strophe (vers. 12-14) of the oracle sets forth. The oracle, therefore, stands here on account of its universal contents, which are instructive for all time. (F. Delitzsch.) Parallel Verses KJV: The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap. WEB: The burden of Damascus: "Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it will be a ruinous heap.