Charles Ellicott Commentary Isaiah 5:17

"Then shall the lambs feed as in their pasture, and the waste places of the fat ones shall wanderers eat." — Isaiah 5:17 (ASV)

Then shall the lambs feed after their manner. —Better, feed even as on their pasture. The meaning is clear enough. The lands that have been gained by oppression shall, in the day of retribution, become common pasture ground instead of being reserved for the parks and gardens of the rich; and strangers—i.e., invaders, Philistines, Assyrians, or nomadic tribes—shall devour the produce (Isaiah 1:7).

Possibly, however, the “lambs” may stand for the poor and meek, as in contrast with the “fat ones” of the earth. The Septuagint version follows a different reading in the second clause, and gives “kids” instead of “strangers.”