Yesaya 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 

Yesaya 65:14

65:14 Look, my servants will shout for joy as happiness fills their hearts! ³ 

But you will cry out as sorrow fills your hearts; ⁴ 

you will wail because your spirits will be crushed. 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.

[65:14]  ³ tn Heb “from the good of the heart.”

[65:14]  ⁴ tn Heb “from the pain of the heart.”

[65:14]  ⁵ tn Heb “from the breaking of the spirit.”