Isaiah 17:1

The burden of Damascus See on ch. Isaiah 13:1. The title explains why the prophecy was included amongst those against foreign nations, but is not quite accurate as a description of its contents. The overthrow of Damascus, although mentioned first, is but an incident of the humiliation of its ally Ephraim, which is the principal theme of the oracle.

a ruinous heap The words in Heb. are in apposition; one of them is an anomalous formation, is wanting in the LXX., and is rejected by some critics as possibly a dittography.