Short (come, cut), Shorten
denotes “to cut off, amputate” (kolobos, “docked”); hence, “to curtail, shorten,” said of the “shortening” by God of the time of the great tribulation, Mat 24:22 (twice); Mar 13:20 (twice). In the Sept., 2Sa 4:12.
denotes (a) “to draw together” (sun, “together,” stello, “to bring, gather”), “to contract, shorten,” 1Co 7:29, RV, “(the time) is shortened” (AV, “… is short”); the coming of the Lord is always to be regarded as nigh for the believer, who is to be in constant expectation of His return, and thus is to keep himself from being the slave of earthly conditions and life’s relationships; (b) “to wrap up,” of enshrouding a body for burial, Act 5:6, RV, “they wrapped (AV, wound) … up.”
primarily, “to cut in pieces” (sun, “together,” temno, “to cut”), then, “to cut down, cut short,” is used metaphorically in Rom 9:28 (twice in some texts), “the Lord will execute His word (logos, not “work,” as AV) upon the earth, finishing it and cutting it short,” i.e., in the fulfillment of His judgments pronounced upon Israel, a remnant only being saved; the “cutting short” of His word is suggestive of the summary and decisive character of the Divine act.
Note: For hustereo, “to come short, fall short,” see FALL, No. 10.