to cramp · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person feminine singular
wrap
כְּהִתְכַּנֵּֽסke.hit.ka.Nes
H3664
to collect · preposition + verb, hithpael infinitive construct
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Isaiah 64:6 But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like t…
1 Corinthians 1:18-31 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.
Romans 9:30-32 What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness wh…
Isaiah 57:12-13 I will declare thy righteousness, and thy works; for they shall not profit thee.
Isaiah 59:5-6 They hatch cockatrice’ eggs, and weave the spider’s web: he that eateth of their eggs dieth, and that which is crushed breaketh out into a v…
Isaiah 66:3-6 He that killeth an ox is as if he slew a man; he that sacrificeth a lamb, as if he cut off a dog’s neck; he that offereth an oblation, as if…
Jeremiah 7:8-10 Behold, ye trust in lying words, that cannot profit.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Isaiah 28:14-22
The prophet, having reproved those that made a jest of the word of God, here goes on to reprove those that made a jest of the judgments of God, and set them at defiance; for he is a jealous God, and will not suffer either his ordinances or his providences to be brought into contempt. He addressed himself to the scornful men who ruled in Jerusalem, who were the magistrates of the city, Isa 28:14. It is bad with a people when their thrones of judgment become the seats of the scornful, when rulers are scorners; but that the rulers of Jerusalem should be men of such a character, that they should make light of God's judgments and scorn to take notice of the tokens of his displeasure, is very sad.…
Proverbial, for they shall find all their sources of confidence fail them; all shall be hopeless perplexity in their affairs.
John Gill on Isaiah 28:20
For the bed is shorter than that a man can stretch himself on it,.... When a bed is short, a man cannot lie at his full length, and at ease:
and the covering narrower than that he can wrap himself in it; when the bedclothes are narrow a man cannot cover himself with them, so as to be warm and comfortable. These proverbial expressions are interpreted by Kimchi of Jerusalem, when besieged by the Assyrian army, when the inhabitants of it were much straitened, distressed, and made uncomfortable; perhaps it may be better understood of the same city when besieged by the Romans, to which the Jews flocked from all parts, in such numbers, for shelter, that there was not room enough for them, at leas…
For the bed shall be short. By this metaphor he adorns the former statement; for he compares the reprobate, who are pressed down by the hand of God, to those who have concealed themselves in a "short and narrow bed," in which they can scarcely stretch their limbs or lift their head, and where, in short, instead of rest, they feel sharp pains. He means that the Jews will be shut up in such a manner that they shall be overwhelmed with the severity of their distresses, and that the "bed," which is given to man for rest, will be an instrument of torture.
If they seek a "covering," he says that "it will be too short to wrap themselves in it," and that it is an addition to their former distress,…
The Church Fathers
And there was the glory of the God of Israel, not because he delighted in such proximity, but in order to destroy the idol of Zeal and its temple with his presence. Hence, the destruction of the city and temple followed shortly after. And in Isaiah it is written that a narrow bed cannot accommodate two, and a short cloak cannot cover both, with Scripture indicating what the Apostle said: What agreement is there between Christ and Belial? Temple of God and idol.
(Verse 20). For the bed is too narrow for one to stretch out on, and the covering is too small to wrap oneself in. And what follows: For the bed is made narrow, so that one falls out, and the short cloak cannot cover both, it has the sense which we read in the Apostle: You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of devils. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons (2 Corinthians 10:20, 21); and elsewhere: What fellowship does righteousness have with iniquity? What communion does light have with darkness? What agreement does Christ have with Belial? What part does a believer have with an unbeliever? What agreement does the temple of God have with idols (2 Corinthians 6:14, 15)? However, he speaks under the metaphor of a most chaste husband, who says to his adulterous wife: One bed cannot contain both me and an adulterer, and a short cloak cannot cover both a husband and an adulterer. Therefore, Jerusalem, to whom in Ezekiel under the guise of a wife speaking, her adulteries are spoken of (Ezek. XVI, 21), and whom in Hosea at the beginning is called a harlot and an adulteress (Hos. III), if you wish to be united with my embraces, cast away idols: if you serve idols, you cannot have me.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Veil, vail — (1.) Heb. mitpahath (Ruth 3:15; marg., “sheet” or “apron;” R.V., “mantle”). In Isa. 3:22 this word is plural, rendered “wimples;” R.V., “shawls” i.e., wraps. (2.) Massekah (Isa. 25:7; in Isa. 28:20…
Beds · Illustrative: (Too short,) of plans which afford no rest or peace — Illustrative: (Too short,) of plans which afford no rest or peace
Infidelity · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Self-Righteousness · 2:9; — 2:9;
Sin · .No es — .No es
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
And the whip which Jehovah swings will not be satisfied with one stroke, but will rain strokes. "And your covenant with death is struck out, and your agreement with Hades will not stand; the swelling scourge, when it comes, ye will become a thing trodden down to it. As often as it passes it takes you: for every morning it passes, by day and by night; and it is nothing but shuddering to hear such preaching. For the bed is too short to stretch in, and the covering too tight when a man wraps himself in it." Although berı̄th is feminine, the predicate to it is placed before it in the masculine form (Ges. 144). The covenant is thought of as a document; for khuppar (for obliterari (just as the kal…
The bed. . . . The blankets: The leaders were ill-prepared for God’s coming in judgment.
Rashi on Isaiah 28:20
For the bed is too short for one to stretch When I bring the enemy upon you, he shall press you so that you will not be able to supply his work. When he spreads out his bed upon you, it will be too short for the one who lies on it to stretch.
to stretch (מֵהִשְׂתָּרֵעַ) to lengthen one’s limbs, estandejlejjr in O.F.
and the ruler it shall be narrow (וְהַמַּסֵּכָה) The prince who will rule over you - your place will be cramped for him when he enters it. Our Rabbis, however, expounded it as referring to the idol that Manasseh brought into the heichal, (the Temple proper) (II Chron. 33:7). This bed is too short מֵהִשְׂתָּרֵעַ, for two friends to rule over it. I explained it according to its s…
