Isaiah 17:9

⁷ In that day men will look to their Maker and turn their eyes to the Holy One of Israel.

⁸ They will not look to the altars they have fashioned with their hands or to the Asherahs and incense altars they have made with their fingers.

In that day their strong cities will be like forsaken thickets and summits, abandoned to the Israelites and to utter desolation.

¹⁰ For 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—

¹¹ though 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.

This was said to Israel at a particular time, so it is wise to read it together with the surrounding text. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB: In that day their strong cities will be like forsaken thickets and summits, abandoned to the Israelites and to utter desolation.
KJV: In that day shall his strong cities be as a forsaken bough, and an uppermost branch, which they left because of the children of Israel: and there shall be desolation.
WEB: In that day, their strong cities will be like the forsaken places in the woods and on the mountain top, which were forsaken from before the children of Israel; and it will be a desolation.
ASV: In that day shall their strong cities be as the forsaken places in the wood and on the mountain top, which were forsaken from before the children of Israel; and it shall be a desolation.
DARBY: In that day shall his strong cities be as the forsaken tract in the woodland, and the mountain-top which they forsook before the children of Israel; and there shall be desolation.
BLB: In that day the cities of his strength will be like the abandoned forest and summit that they abandoned before the faces of the sons of Israel; and it will be a desolation.

ÅB: På den tid skal Israels faste byer bli som de forlatte steder i skogen og på høydene, de som ble forlatt for Israels barns skyld, og landet skal bli til en ørken.
OTB: På den dagen skal deres befestede byer være som forlatte steder i skogen, eller som grener igjen før israelittene; og landet skal bli øde.
B1930: På den tid skal Israels faste byer bli som de forlatte steder i skogen og på høidene, de som blev forlatt for Israels barns skyld, og landet skal bli til en ørken.

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

Isaiah 27:10
For the fortified city lies deserted— a homestead abandoned, a wilderness forsaken. There the calves graze, and there they lie down; they strip its branches bare.
Read in context
Amos 3:11–15
Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: “An enemy will surround the land; he will pull down your strongholds and plunder your citadels.”
Read in context
Hosea 10:14
the roar of battle will rise against your people, so that all your fortresses will be demolished as Shalman devastated Beth-arbel in the day of battle, when mothers were dashed to pieces along with their children.
Read in context
Isaiah 17:4–5
“In that day the splendor of Jacob will fade, and the fat of his body will waste away,
Read in context
Hosea 13:15–16
Although he flourishes among his brothers, an east wind will come— a wind from the LORD rising up from the desert. His fountain will fail, and his spring will run dry. The wind will plunder his treasury of every precious article.
Read in context
Amos 7:9
The high places of Isaac will be deserted, and the sanctuaries of Israel will be laid waste; and I will rise up against the house of Jeroboam with My sword.”
Read in context
Micah 7:13
Then the earth will become desolate because of its inhabitants, as the fruit of their deeds.
Read in context
Isaiah 28:1–4
Woe to the majestic crown of Ephraim’s drunkards, to the fading flower of his glorious splendor, set on the summit above the fertile valley, the pride of those overcome by wine.
Read in context