Focused Passage
The Oracle Against Damascus, the Fading Glory of Jacob, and the Rebuke of the Raging Nations
The chapter moves from Damascus becoming a heap of ruins, to deserted cities and lost fortified strength, to Ephraim’s fading glory, to a small remnant like gleanings after harvest, to people looking to their Maker, to the rejection of man-made altars and Asherah poles, to the reason for judgment: forgetting God the Savior, and finally to the roaring nations being rebuked and driven away like chaff.
Berean Standard Bible, Public Domain - Translation notes - Reference sources
9In that day their strong cities will be like forsaken thickets and summits, abandoned to the Israelites and to utter desolation.
10For you have forgotten the God of your salvation and failed to remember the Rock of your refuge. Therefore, though you cultivate delightful plots and set out cuttings from exotic vines—
11though on the day you plant you make them grow, and on that morning you help your seed sprout—yet the harvest will vanish on the day of disease and incurable pain.
Study Helps