The fading flower of his glorious beauty, which is on the head of the fertile valley, shall be like the first-ripe fig before the summer; which someone picks and eats as soon as he sees it.
Parallel Translations
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The fading flower of his glorious beauty, which is on the head of the fertile valley, shall be like the first-ripe fig before the summer; which someone picks and eats as soon as he sees it.
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And the glorious beauty, which is on the head of the fat valley, shall be a fading flower, and as the hasty fruit before the summer; which when he that looketh upon it seeth, while it is yet in his hand he eateth it up.
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And the fading flower of his glorious beauty, which is on the head of the fat valley, shall be as the first-ripe fig before the summer, which when one looketh upon it, while it is yet in his hand he eateth it up.
Cross-references (11)
Passages linked to Isaiah 28:4 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Nahum 3:12 All your fortresses will be like fig trees with the first-ripe figs: if they are shaken, they fall into the mouth of the eater.
- Micah 7:1 Misery is mine! Indeed, I am like one who gathers the summer fruits, as gleanings of the vineyard: There is no cluster of grapes to eat. My soul desires to eat the early fig.
- Isaiah 28:1 Woe to the crown of pride of the drunkards of Ephraim, and to the fading flower of his glorious beauty, which is on the head of the fertile valley of those who are overcome with wine!
- Hosea 6:4 “Ephraim, what shall I do to you? Judah, what shall I do to you? For your love is like a morning cloud, and like the dew that disappears early.
- Psalms 73:19-20 How they are suddenly destroyed! They are completely swept away with terrors. As a dream when one wakes up, so, Lord, when you awake, you will despise their fantasies.
- Hosea 9:10-11 I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness. I saw your fathers as the first ripe in the fig tree at its first season; but they came to Baal Peor, and consecrated themselves to the shameful thing, and became abominable like that which they loved. As for Ephraim, their glory will fly away like a bird. There will be no birth, no one with child, and no conception.
- Hosea 9:16 Ephraim is struck. Their root has dried up. They will bear no fruit. Even though they give birth, yet I will kill the beloved ones of their womb.”
- Hosea 13:1 When Ephraim spoke, there was trembling. He exalted himself in Israel, but when he became guilty in Baal, he died.
- Hosea 13:15 Though he is fruitful among his brothers, an east wind will come, the breath of Yahweh coming up from the wilderness; and his spring will become dry, and his fountain will be dried up. He will plunder the storehouse of treasure.
- James 1:10-11 and the rich, in that he is made humble, because like the flower in the grass, he will pass away. For the sun arises with the scorching wind and withers the grass, and the flower in it falls, and the beauty of its appearance perishes. So the rich man will also fade away in his pursuits.
- Revelation 6:13 The stars of the sky fell to the earth, like a fig tree dropping its unripe figs when it is shaken by a great wind.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (12 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Which is not of long continuance, but is soon…
Which is not of long continuance, but is soon ripe and first eaten.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Isa 28:4 And the glorious beauty, which [is] on…
Isa 28:4 And the glorious beauty, which [is] on the head of the fat valley, shall be a fading flower, [and] as the hasty fruit before the summer; which [when] he that looketh upon it seeth, while it is yet in his hand he eateth it up.
Ver. 4. As the hasty fruit.] Quasi primae et praematurae ficus, early maturing fruits much coveted and caught at.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain As the hasty fruit; which coming before the season,…
As the hasty fruit; which coming before the season, and before other fruits, is most acceptable; which as soon as a man sees he covets it, and plucks it off, yet doth not long enjoy it, but through greediness devours it almost as soon as he can get it into his hand. And so shall it be with Ephraim’s glory, which his enemies, as soon as they observe, shall covet and spoil, and devour it greedily, and with delight.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain In that day shall the Lord of hosts be…
In that day shall the Lord of hosts be for a crown of glory,.... Or, "glorious crown" (p); surrounding, adorning, and protecting his people; granting them his presence; giving them his grace, and large measures of it; causing them to live soberly, righteously, and godly: this stands opposed to "the crown of pride" before mentioned, and refers to the time when that should be trampled under foot, or when the ten tribes should be carried into captivity, which was in the sixth year of Hezekiah's reign, Kg2 18:10 at which time, and in whose reign, as well as in the reign of Josiah, this prophecy had its accomplishment:
and for a diadem of beauty: or, "a beautiful diadem" (q); the same as expressed by different words, for the confirmation and illustration of it:
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unto the residue of his people; the Arabic version adds, "in Egypt"; the people that remained there, when the others were carried captive, but without any foundation. Jarchi interprets it of the righteous that were left in it, in Samaria, or in Ephraim, in the ten tribes before spoken of; but it is to be understood, as Kimchi observes, of the other two tribes, Judah and Benjamin, which remained in their own land, when others were carried captive, to whom God gave his favours, spiritual and temporal, in the times of Hezekiah and Josiah; and especially the former is meant, and who was a type of Christ, to whom this passage may be applied, who is the glory of his people Israel; and so the Targum paraphrases it,
"in that day shall the Messiah of the Lord of hosts be for a crown of joy;''
and Kimchi says their Rabbins expound this of the King Messiah, in time to come, when both the kingly and priestly glory should be restored; the one being signified by the "crown of glory", the other by the "diadem of beauty".
(p) "pro corona decora", Piscator. (q) "et pro diademate ornante", Piscator.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain He eateth - Which, as soon as a man…
He eateth - Which, as soon as a man sees he plucks it off, and devours it, as soon as he can get it into his hand. And so shall it be with Ephraim's glory, which his enemies shall devour greedily.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 4. The hasty fruit before the summer -…
Verse 4. The hasty fruit before the summer - "The early fruit before the summer"] "No sooner doth the boccore, (the early fig,) draw near to perfection in the middle or latter end of June, than the kermez or summer fig begins to be formed, though it rarely ripens before August; about which time the same tree frequently throws out a third crop, or the winter fig, as we may call it. This is usually of a much longer shape and darker complexion than the kermez, hanging and ripening upon the tree even after the leaves are shed; and, provided the winter proves mild and temperate, is gathered as a delicious morsel in the spring;" Shaw, Travels, p. 370, fol. The image was very obvious to the inhabitants of Judea and the neighbouring countries, and is frequently applied by the prophets to express a desirable object; by none more elegantly than by Hosea, Ho 9:10: -
"Like grapes in the wilderness I found Israel;
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Like the first ripe fig in her prime, I saw your fathers."
Which when he that looketh upon it seeth - "Which whoso seeth, he plucketh it immediately"] For יראה yireh, which with הראה haroeh makes a miserable tautology, read, by a transposition of a letter, יארה yoreh; a happy conjecture of Houbigant. The image expresses in the strongest manner the great ease with which the Assyrians shall take the city and the whole kingdom, and the avidity with which they shall seize the rich prey without resistance.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain As the hasty fruit before the summer - The…
As the hasty fruit before the summer - The word rendered ‘hasty fruit’ (בכוּרה bikûrâh); in Arabic, bokkore; in Spanish, albacore), denotes the “early fig.” this ripens in June; the common fig does not ripen until August. Shaw, in his “Travels,” p. 370, says: ‘No sooner does the “boccore” (the early fig) draw near to perfection in the middle or latter end of June, than the “kermez” or summer fig begins to be formed, though it rarely ripens before August, about which time the same tree frequently throws out a third crop, or the winter fig, as we may call it. This is usually of a much longer shape and darker complexion than the kermez, hanging and ripening on the tree after the leaves are shed; and provided the winter be mild and temperate it is gathered as a delicious morsel in the spring.’ Robinson (George), (“Travels in Palestine and Syria,” vol. i. p. 354), says, ‘The fig tree, which delights in a rocky and parched soil, and is therefore often found in barren spots where nothing else will grow, is very common in Palestine and the East. The fruit is of two kinds, the “boccore” and the “kermouse.” The black and white boccore, or early fig, is produced in May; but the kermouse, or the fig properly so called, which is preserved and exported to Europe, is rarely ripe before September.’ Compare Hos 9:10. The phrase ‘before the summer’ means before the heat of the summer, when the common fig was usually ripe. The idea here is this, the early fig would be plucked and eaten with great greediness. So the city of Samaria would be seized upon and destroyed by its enemies.
Which when he that looketh upon it seeth ... - That is, as soon as he sees it he plucks it, and eats it at once. He does not lay it up for future use, but as soon as he has it in his hand he devours it. So soon as the Assyrian should see Samaria he would rush upon it, and destroy it. It was usual for conquerors to preserve the cities which they took in war for future use, and to make them a part of the strength or ornament of their kingdom. But Samaria was to be at once destroyed. Its inhabitants were to be carried away, and it would be demolished as greedily as a hungry man plucks and eats the first fig that ripens on the tree.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Up. Theglathphalassar was captivated with the beauty of the…
Up. Theglathphalassar was captivated with the beauty of the country, and made it tributary. But Salmanasar, fearing a revolt, destroyed it, 4 Kings xvii. 4.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain Rather, "the fading flower, their glorious beauty (Isa 28:1),…
Rather, "the fading flower, their glorious beauty (Isa 28:1), which is on the head of the fat (fertile) valley, shall be as the early fig" [G. V. SMITH]. Figs usually ripened in August; but earlier ones (Hebrew bikkurah, Spanish bokkore) in June, and were regarded as a delicacy (Jer 24:2; Hos 9:10; Mic 7:1).
while it is yet--that is, immediately, without delay; describing the eagerness of the Assyrian Shalmaneser, not merely to conquer, but to destroy utterly Samaria; whereas other conquered cities were often spared.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 4. Render: And the fading flower of his glorious…
4. Render: And the fading flower of his glorious beauty, which is on the head of the fat valley (Isa_28:1), shall be like the early fig before the fruit-harvest, &c. These “early figs,” which might be found in the end of June, several weeks before the proper fig-season (in August), were esteemed a great delicacy; Hos_9:10; Mic_7:1; Nah_3:12; Jer_24:2.
which when he … seeth] Render: which when any one seeth (lit. “(the seer) seeth”; indef. subj., Davidson, Synt. § 108, R. 1). To see, to snatch, to swallow, is the work of a moment. So greedily and hastily and easily shall the Assyrians devour Samaria!
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (4) And the glorious beauty . . .—Better, And…
(4) And the glorious beauty . . .—Better, And the fading flower of his glorious beauty . . . shall be us the early fig before the fruit-gathering. The “early fig,” as a special delicacy (Hos_9:10; Mic_7:1), becomes a type of the beauty and pride of Samaria, doomed to inevitable destruction. (Comp. Nah_3:12.) Such a fig the passer-by seizes, and eagerly devours. So, the prophet says, with a Dante-like homeliness of comparison, should the Assyrian king treat Samaria.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain And the glorious beauty, etc. Translate, And the fading…
And the glorious beauty, etc. Translate, And the fading flower of his glorious beauty, which is on the head of the fat valley, shall be like an early fig (that comes) before the harvest. Such an "early fig" is a tempting delicacy, devoured as soon as seen. (comp. Hos_9:10 Nah_3:12 Jer_24:2, etc.) The "beauty" of Samaria would tempt the Assyrians to desire it so soon as they saw it, and would rouse an appetite which would be content with nothing less than the speedy absorption of the coveted morsel. Samaria"s siege, once begun, was pressed without intermission, and lasted less than three years (2Ki_18:9, 2Ki_18:10) a short space compared to that of other sieges belonging to about the same period; e.g. that of Ashdod, besieged twenty-nine years (Herod., 2. 157); that of Tyre, besieged thirteen years ("Ancient Monarchies," vol. 3:492).
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.