Isaiah 17:6 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Gleanings will be left in it, as when an olive tree is beaten— two or three berries in the top of the highest bough, four or five on the branches of a fruit tree, declares the LORD God of Israel.

NIV: Yet some gleanings will remain, as when an olive tree is beaten, leaving two or three olives on the topmost branches, four or five on the fruitful boughs,' declares the LORD, the God of Israel.

NASB: Yet gleanings will be left in it like the shaking of an olive tree, Two or three olives on the topmost branch, Four or five on the branches of a fruitful tree, Declares the Lord, the God of Israel.

CSB: Only gleanings will be left in Israel, as if an olive tree had been beaten -- two or three olives at the very top of the tree, four or five on its fruitful branches. This is the declaration of the Lord, the God of Israel.

NLT: Only a few of its people will be left, like stray olives left on a tree after the harvest. Only two or three remain in the highest branches, four or five scattered here and there on the limbs,' declares the Lord, the God of Israel.

KJV: Yet gleaning grapes shall be left in it, as the shaking of an olive tree, two or three berries in the top of the uppermost bough, four or five in the outmost fruitful branches thereof, saith the LORD God of Israel.

NKJV: Yet gleaning grapes will be left in it, Like the shaking of an olive tree, Two or three olives at the top of the uppermost bough, Four or five in its most fruitful branches,” Says the Lord God of Israel.

The northern nation of Israel (1 Kings 12:16–20) will experience drastic change after they share in the judgment of the Lord against Damascus and Syria. The prophet Isaiah has said that their "glory" will be brought low (Isaiah 17:3–4).

Apparently, the people of Israel had been living in some abundance before the Assyrians destroyed so much of their nation. They had been thriving. Afterwards, Isaiah describes the survivors as those who live off the gleanings of the harvest. He described how the poor would gather the dropped ears of grain left behind by the reapers (Isaiah 17:5). Now he shows how they would have to work to get the few berries left behind during the olive harvest.

Olives were harvested by beating the trees with sticks once the berries were ripe enough to fall to the ground from their own weight. Berries too high up in the tree though would be missed. The poor could climb the tree to get to them for needed food.

The law of Moses mandated a specific practice as a way of providing for the poor:

"When you reap your harvest in your field and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. When you beat your olive trees, you shall not go over them again. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow. When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you shall not strip it afterward. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow." (Deuteronomy 24:19–21)

Following the Lord's judgment, His once wealthy people will be reduced to barely surviving on the scraps of others.

Isaiah 17:1–14 begins as a prophecy of the destruction of Damascus, the capital of Syria. Israel will nearly be wiped out along with it. Survivors of both nations will exist on scraps. The remnant of Israel will finally look to their Maker for help instead of praying to false idols. This remnant will experience grief and pain because they have forgotten the God of their salvation. Still, the Lord God has the power to drive away enemies like dust against a strong wind.

What begins as an oracle against Damascus becomes a description of the consequences of Israel's faithlessness As well as the Lord's ability to save them. Damascus will become a heap of ruins. Ephraim will be nearly wiped out along with it. The glory of both will be wasted away like a once healthy man starving and living on scraps. Finally, Israel will look to their Maker instead of to idols they have made with their hands. They forgot the God of their salvation, the One who can chase away the storms of the enemy nations.

Prior chapters included prophecies against various nations, such as Assyria, Babylon, and Moab (Isaiah 13—16). Chapter begins as another oracle against one of Israel's hostile neighbors. However, this one is set much earlier in time. Damascus will become ruins and Israel will be nearly wiped out along with it. Survivors will gather scraps just to survive. The remnant in Israel will finally look to their Maker for help, instead of to idols. Still, the Lord can drive away the roaring nations who have come against Israel. Further oracles follow, beginning with a prophecy about Cush (Isaiah 18).

Isaiah is among the most important prophetic books in the entire Bible. The first segment details God's impending judgment against ancient peoples for sin and idolatry (Isaiah 1—35). The second part of Isaiah briefly explains a failed assault on Jerusalem during the rule of Hezekiah (Isaiah 36—39). The final chapters predict Israel's rescue from Babylonian captivity (Isaiah 40—48), the promised Messiah (Isaiah 49—57), and the final glory of Jerusalem and God's people (Isaiah 58—66).