Isaiah Chapter 28 verse 4 Holy Bible
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 he that looketh upon it seeth, while it is yet in his hand he eateth it up.
read chapter 28 in ASV
And the dead flower of his glory, which is on the head of the fertile valley, will be like the first early fruit before the summer; which a man takes and puts in his mouth the minute he sees it.
read chapter 28 in BBE
and the fading flower of his glorious adornment which is on the head of the fat valley shall be like an early fig before the summer: as soon as he that seeth it perceiveth it, scarcely is it in his hand, he swalloweth it down.
read chapter 28 in DARBY
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.
read chapter 28 in KJV
read chapter 28 in WBT
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 he who looks on it sees, while it is yet in his hand he eats it up.
read chapter 28 in WEB
And the fading flower of the beauty of his glory That `is' on the head of the fat valley, Hath been as its first-fruit before summer, That its beholder seeth, While it `is' yet in his hand he swalloweth it.
read chapter 28 in YLT
Pulpit Commentary
Pulpit CommentaryVerse 4. - 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. Hosea 9:10; Nahum 3:12; Jeremiah 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 (2 Kings 18:9, 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).
Ellicott's Commentary
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(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 (Hosea 9:10; Micah 7:1), becomes a type of the beauty and pride of Samaria, doomed to inevitable destruction. (Comp. Nahum 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.
