Isaiah 10:17
ESV
The light of Israel will become a fire, and his Holy One a flame, and it will burn and devour his thorns and briers in one day.
NIV
The Light of Israel will become a fire, their Holy One a flame; in a single day it will burn and consume his thorns and his briers.
NASB
And the Light of Israel will become a fire and Israel’s Holy One a flame, And it will burn and devour his thorns and his briars in a single day.
CSB
Israel’s Light will become a fire, and its Holy One, a flame. In one day it will burn and consume Assyria’s thorns and thistles.
NLT
The Lord, the Light of Israel, will be a fire; the Holy One will be a flame. He will devour the thorns and briers with fire, burning up the enemy in a single night.
KJV
And the light of Israel shall be for a fire, and his Holy One for a flame: and it shall burn and devour his thorns and his briers in one day;
NKJV
So the Light of Israel will be for a fire, And his Holy One for a flame; It will burn and devour His thorns and his briers in one day.
What does Isaiah 10:17 mean?
The kings of Assyria may have thought of themselves as spreading "the light" of the Assyrian Empire around the world (Isaiah 10:13–14). However, the Lord has declared that He will punish the arrogant speech of the Assyrian king. Once the Lord has finished using Assyria to judge His people, He will end the boastful look in the king's eyes (Isaiah 10:16).The Lord now refers to Himself as the light of Israel, which will become a fire. There will be no more need for the destructive tool of Assyria. The Lord will burn and devour the Assyrian king's "thorns and briers" in a single day.
Isaiah is using the same word picture he painted at the end of the previous chapter (Isaiah 9). In that chapter he described Israel's wickedness as fire burning through the briers and thorns, and then leaping up to consume the forest (Isaiah 9:18–19). In that case, the Lord's wrath against His people took the form of the Assyrian armies. Now it is those armies who will be consumed.
