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 37:7

37:7 Look, I will take control of his mind; ³  he will receive a report and return to his own land. I will cut him down ⁴  with a sword in his own land.”’”

[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.

[37:7]  ³ tn Heb “I will put in him a spirit.” The precise sense of רוּחַ (ruakh, “spirit”) is uncertain in this context. It may refer to a spiritual being who will take control of his mind (see 1 Kgs 22:19), or it could refer to a disposition of concern and fear. In either case the Lord’s sovereignty over the king is apparent.

[37:7]  ⁴ tn Heb “cause him to fall” (so KJV, ASV, NAB), that is, “kill him.”