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 48:6

48:6 You have heard; now look at all the evidence! ³ 

Will you not admit that what I say is true? ⁴ 

From this point on I am announcing to you new events

that are previously unrevealed and you do not know about. ⁵ 

[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.

[48:6]  ³ tn Heb “gaze [at] all of it”; KJV “see all this.”

[48:6]  ⁴ tn Heb “[as for] you, will you not declare?”

[48:6]  ⁵ tn Heb “and hidden things, and you do not know them.”