Discovery BoxIsaiah 28:20 
Context28:20 For the bed is too short to stretch out on,
and the blanket is too narrow to wrap around oneself. 1
Isaiah 29:17
Context29:17 In just a very short time 2
Lebanon will turn into an orchard,
and the orchard will be considered a forest. 3
Isaiah 63:18
Context63:18 For a short time your special 4 nation possessed a land, 5
but then our adversaries knocked down 6 your holy sanctuary.
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 The Hebrew text phrases this as a rhetorical question, “Is it not yet a little, a short [time]?”
3 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.
4 tn Or “holy” (ASV, NASB, NRSV, TEV, NLT).
5 tn Heb “for a short time they had a possession, the people of your holiness.”
6 tn Heb “your adversaries trampled on.”
