28:20 For the bed is too short to stretch out on,
and the blanket is too narrow to wrap around oneself. 1
17:5 It will be as when one gathers the grain harvest,
and his hand gleans the ear of grain.
It will be like one gathering the ears of grain
in the Valley of Rephaim.
59:1 Look, the Lord’s hand is not too weak 2 to deliver you;
his ear is not too deaf to hear you. 3
50:2 Why does no one challenge me when I come?
Why does no one respond when I call? 4
Is my hand too weak 5 to deliver 6 you?
Do I lack the power to rescue you?
Look, with a mere shout 7 I can dry up the sea;
I can turn streams into a desert,
so the fish rot away and die
from lack of water. 8
37:30 9 “This will be your reminder that I have spoken the truth: 10 This year you will eat what grows wild, 11 and next year 12 what grows on its own. But the year after that 13 you will plant seed and harvest crops; you will plant vines and consume their produce. 14
1 sn The bed and blanket probably symbolize their false sense of security. A bed that is too short and a blanket that is too narrow may promise rest and protection from the cold, but in the end they are useless and disappointing. In the same way, their supposed treaty with death will prove useless and disappointing.
2 tn Heb “short” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
3 tn Heb “or his ear too heavy [i.e., “dull”] to hear.”
3 sn The present tense translation of the verbs assumes that the Lord is questioning why Israel does not attempt to counter his arguments. Another possibility is to take the verbs as referring to past events: “Why did no one meet me when I came? Why did no one answer when I called?” In this case the Lord might be asking why Israel rejected his calls to repent and his offer to deliver them.
4 tn Heb “short” (so NAB, NASB, NIV).
5 tn Or “ransom” (NAB, NASB, NIV).
6 tn Heb “with my rebuke.”
7 tn Heb “the fish stink from lack of water and die from thirst.”
4 tn At this point the word concerning the king of Assyria (vv. 22-29) ends and the Lord again addresses Hezekiah and the people directly (see v. 21).
5 tn Heb “and this is your sign.” In this case the אוֹת (’ot, “sign”) is a future reminder of God’s intervention designated before the actual intervention takes place. For similar “signs” see Exod 3:12 and Isa 7:14-25.
6 sn This refers to crops that grew up on their own (that is, without cultivation) from the seed planted in past years.
7 tn Heb “and in the second year” (so ASV).
8 tn Heb “in the third year” (so KJV, NAB).
9 tn The four plural imperatival verb forms in v. 30b are used rhetorically. The Lord commands the people to plant, harvest, etc. to emphasize the certainty of restored peace and prosperity.