English Standard Version
Isaiah 30:18
18Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him.
Isaiah 30:18 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And therefore will the Lord wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the Lord is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for him.
- New International Version (NIV)Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!
- New King James Version (NKJV)Therefore the Lord will wait, that He may be gracious to you; And therefore He will be exalted, that He may have mercy on you. For the Lord is a God of justice; Blessed are all those who wait for Him.
- New Living Translation (NLT)So the Lord must wait for you to come to him so he can show you his love and compassion. For the Lord is a faithful God. Blessed are those who wait for his help.
Context of Isaiah 30:18
16and you said, "No! We will flee upon horses"; therefore you shall flee away; and, "We will ride upon swift steeds"; therefore your pursuers shall be swift. 17A thousand shall flee at the threat of one; at the threat of five you shall flee, till you are left like a flagstaff on the top of a mountain, like a signal on a hill. Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him. 19For a people shall dwell in Zion, in Jerusalem; you shall weep no more. He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry. As soon as he hears it, he answers you. 20And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your Teacher will not hide himself anymore, but your eyes shall see your Teacher.
Read all of Isaiah 30Isaiah 30:18 word by word
וְלָכֵ֞ן יְחַכֶּ֤ה יְהוָה֙ לַֽחֲנַנְכֶ֔ם וְלָכֵ֥ן יָר֖וּם לְרַֽחֶמְכֶ֑ם כִּֽי־אֱלֹהֵ֤י מִשְׁפָּט֙ יְהוָ֔ה אַשְׁרֵ֖י כָּל־ח֥וֹכֵי לֽוֹ׃ סRead the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And therefore will the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- waitחָכָהchâkâh · to waitH2442
- that he may be graciousחָנַןchânan · be graciousH2603
- unto you, and therefore will he be exaltedרוּםrûm · to exaltH7311
- that he may have mercyרָחַםrâcham · to have compassionH7355
- a Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
- of judgmentמִשְׁפָּטmishpâţ · justiceH4941
- blessedאֶ֫שֶׁר'esher · blessedH835
Cross-references for Isaiah 30:18
- Isaiah 55:8For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.
- Exodus 34:6The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, "The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness,
- Hosea 2:14"Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her.
- Romans 5:20Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more,
- Romans 9:15For he says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion."
- Isaiah 18:4For thus the Lord said to me: "I will quietly look from my dwelling like clear heat in sunshine, like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest."
- Isaiah 57:17Because of the iniquity of his unjust gain I was angry, I struck him; I hid my face and was angry, but he went on backsliding in the way of his own heart.
- Jeremiah 31:18I have heard Ephraim grieving, 'You have disciplined me, and I was disciplined, like an untrained calf; bring me back that I may be restored, for you are the Lord my God.
- Hosea 5:15I will return again to my place, until they acknowledge their guilt and seek my face, and in their distress earnestly seek me.
- Hosea 6:1"Come, let us return to the Lord; for he has torn us, that he may heal us; he has struck us down, and he will bind us up.
- Hosea 11:8How can I give you up, O Ephraim? How can I hand you over, O Israel? How can I make you like Admah? How can I treat you like Zeboiim? My heart recoils within me; my compassion grows warm and tender.
- Jonah 3:4Jonah began to go into the city, going a day's journey. And he called out, "Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!"
- Matthew 15:22And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon."
- Luke 15:20And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.
- Romans 9:22What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction,
- 2 Peter 3:9The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
Commentaries on Isaiah 30:18
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 18And therefore will he be exalted "Even for this shall he expect in silence" - For ירום yarum, he shall be exalted, which belongs not to this place, Houbigant reads ידום yadum, he shall be silent: and so it seems to be in a MS. Another MS. instead of it reads ישוב yashub, he shall return. The mistakes occasioned by the similitude of the letters ד daleth and ר resh are very frequent, as the reader may have already observed.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 18And therefore - The sense of the words rendered and therefore,‘ may be better expressed by the phrase, yet moreover,‘ meaning, that notwithstanding their sins, and the necessity of punishing them, Yahweh would be longsuffering, and would yet bring the nation to repentance. And therefore will he be exalted - Lowth renders this in accordance with a conjecture of Houbigant, Shall he expect in silence, by reading ידוּם yâdûm instead of ירוּם yârûm But there…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 8-18Verses 8-18 The Jews were the only professing people God then had in the world, yet many among them were rebellious. They had the light, but they loved darkness rather. The prophets checked them in their sinful pursuits, so that they could not proceed without fear; this they took amiss. But faithful ministers will not be driven from seeking to awaken sinners. God is the Holy One of Israel, and so they shall find him. They did not like to hear of his holy…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 18A faithful God will restore order to the world by punishing the wicked and saving his people from them (see Isaiah 1:27; Psalm 96:10–12). God blesses those who wait. Faithful people do not rush to solve their own problems. Instead, they rely on his power and goodness.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1818. therefore--on account of your wicked perverseness (Is 30:1, 2, 9, 15, 16), Jehovah will delay to be gracious [Horsley]. Rather, wait or delay in punishing, to give you time for repentance (Is 30:13, 14, 17) [Maurer]. Or, "Yet therefore" (namely, because of the distress spoken of in the previous verses; that distress will lead the Jews to repentance, and so Jehovah will pity them) [Gesenius]. be exalted--Men will have more elevated views of God's…Read the comment
Topics related to Isaiah 30:18
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Isaiah 30
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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Commentaries