Isaiah 29:17

Changes are Coming

29:17 In just a very short time ¹ 

Lebanon will turn into an orchard,

and the orchard will be considered a forest. ² 

Isaiah 32:15

32:15 This desolation will continue until new life is poured out on us from heaven. ³ 

Then the desert will become an orchard

and the orchard will be considered a forest. ⁴ 

Isaiah 10:7

10:7 But he does not agree with this,

his mind does not reason this way, ⁵ 

for his goal is to destroy,

and to eliminate many nations. ⁶ 

Isaiah 29:16

29:16 Your thinking is perverse! ⁷ 

Should the potter be regarded as clay? ⁸ 

Should the thing made say ⁹  about its maker, “He didn’t make me”?

Or should the pottery say about the potter, “He doesn’t understand”?

[29:17]  ¹ tn The Hebrew text phrases this as a rhetorical question, “Is it not yet a little, a short [time]?”

[29:17]  ² sn The meaning of this verse is debated, but it seems to depict a reversal in fortunes. The mighty forest of Lebanon (symbolic of the proud and powerful, see 2:13; 10:34) will be changed into a common orchard, while the common orchard (symbolic of the oppressed and lowly) will grow into a great forest. See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:538.

[32:15]  ³ tn Heb “until a spirit is emptied out on us from on high.” The words “this desolation will continue” are supplied in the translation for clarification and stylistic purposes. The verb עָרָה (’arah), used here in the Niphal, normally means “lay bare, expose.” The term רוּחַ (ruakh, “spirit”) is often understood here as a reference to the divine spirit (cf. 44:3 and NASB, NIV, CEV, NLT), but it appears here without an article (cf. NRSV “a spirit”), pronominal suffix, or a genitive (such as “of the Lord”). The translation assumes that it carries an impersonal nuance “vivacity, vigor” in this context.

[32:15]  ⁴ sn The same statement appears in 29:17b, where, in conjunction with the preceding line, it appears to picture a reversal. Here it seems to depict supernatural growth. The desert will blossom into an orchard, and the trees of the orchard will multiply and grow tall, becoming a forest.

[10:7]  ⁵ tn Heb “but he, not so does he intend, and his heart, not so does it think.”

[10:7]  ⁶ tn Heb “for to destroy [is] in his heart, and to cut off nations, not a few.”

[29:16]  ⁷ tn Heb “your overturning.” The predicate is suppressed in this exclamation. The idea is, “O your perversity! How great it is!” See GKC 470 §147.c. The people “overturn” all logic by thinking their authority supersedes God’s.

[29:16]  ⁸ tn The expected answer to this rhetorical question is “of course not.” On the interrogative use of אִם (’im), see BDB 50 s.v.

[29:16]  ⁹ tn Heb “that the thing made should say.”