For the bed is shorter than that a man can stretch himself on it: and the covering narrower than that he can wrap himself in it.
Parallel translations
- WEB For the bed is too short to stretch out on, and the blanket is too narrow to wrap oneself in.
- BSB Indeed, the bed is too short to stretch out on, and the blanket too small to wrap around you.
- NKJV For the bed is too short to stretch out on, And the covering so narrow that one cannot wrap himself in it.
- NASB The bed is too short on which to stretch out, And the blanket is too small to wrap oneself in.
- NLT The bed you have made is too short to lie on. The blankets are too narrow to cover you.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Their false refuge is like a bed too short and a blanket too narrow—utterly inadequate.
Overview
Isaiah pictures their security as a bed one cannot stretch out on and a covering too small to wrap up in. Every refuge apart from God leaves the soul exposed and unsatisfied. This proverb exposes the inadequacy of all human attempts at safety, driving us to the all-sufficient covering found in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- 1 Cor 1:18–31For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.
- Isa 64:6But 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 the wind, have taken us away.
- Rom 9:30–32What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith.
- Jer 7:8–10Behold, ye trust in lying words, that cannot profit.
- Isa 59:5–6They 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 viper.
- Isa 57:12–13I will declare thy righteousness, and thy works; for they shall not profit thee.
- Isa 66:3–6He 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 he offered swine’s blood; he that burneth incense, as if he blessed an idol. Yea, they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delighteth in their abominations.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Isaiah sees him most clearly: the virgin's son Immanuel, the child on David's throne, the shoot from Jesse, the light to the nations, and above all the Suffering Servant pierced for our transgressions (ch. 53).
How Isaiah 28:20 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.