And the glorious beauty is a fading flower
Which is at the head of the [a]verdant valley,
Like the first fruit before the summer,
Which an observer sees;
He eats it up while it is still in his hand.

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 28:4 Lit. valley of fatness

That fading flower, his glorious beauty,
    set on the head of a fertile valley,(A)
will be like figs(B) ripe before harvest—
    as soon as people see them and take them in hand,
    they swallow them.

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Sorrow for Israel’s Sins

Woe is me!
For I am like those who gather summer fruits,
Like those who (A)glean vintage grapes;
There is no cluster to eat
Of the first-ripe fruit which (B)my soul desires.

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Israel’s Misery

What misery is mine!
I am like one who gathers summer fruit
    at the gleaning of the vineyard;
there is no cluster of grapes to eat,
    none of the early figs(A) that I crave.

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