New English Translation
Isaiah 30:18
18For this reason the Lord is ready to show you mercy; he sits on his throne, ready to have compassion on you. Indeed, the Lord is a just God; all who wait for him in faith will be blessed.
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!
- English Standard Version (ESV)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.
- 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.
Context of Isaiah 30:18
16You say, ‘No, we will flee on horses,’ so you will indeed flee. You say, ‘We will ride on fast horses,’ so your pursuers will be fast. 17One thousand will scurry at the battle cry of one enemy soldier; at the battle cry of five enemy soldiers you will all run away, until the remaining few are as isolated as a flagpole on a mountaintop or a signal flag on a hill.” For this reason the Lord is ready to show you mercy; he sits on his throne, ready to have compassion on you. Indeed, the Lord is a just God; all who wait for him in faith will be blessed. 19For people will live in Zion; in Jerusalem you will weep no more. When he hears your cry of despair, he will indeed show you mercy; when he hears it, he will respond to you. 20The sovereign master will give you distress to eat and suffering to drink; but your teachers will no longer be hidden; your eyes will see them.
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 55:8“Indeed, my plans are not like your plans, and my deeds are not like your deeds,
- Exodus 34:6The Lord passed by before him and proclaimed: “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, and abounding in loyal love and faithfulness,
- Hosea 2:14However, in the future I will allure her; I will lead her back into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her.
- Romans 5:20Now the law came in so that the transgression may increase, but where sin increased, grace multiplied 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 this is what the Lord has told me: “I will wait and watch from my place, like scorching heat produced by the sunlight, like a cloud of mist in the heat of harvest.”
- Isaiah 57:17I was angry because of their sinful greed; I attacked them and angrily rejected them, yet they remained disobedient and stubborn.
- Jeremiah 31:18I have indeed heard the people of Israel say mournfully, ‘We were like a calf untrained to the yoke. You disciplined us and we learned from it. Let us come back to you and we will do so, for you are the Lord our God.
- Hosea 5:15Then I will return again to my lair until they have suffered their punishment. Then they will seek me; in their distress they will earnestly seek me.
- Hosea 6:1“Come on! Let’s return to the Lord! He himself has torn us to pieces, but he will heal us! He has injured us, but he will bandage our wounds!
- Hosea 11:8How can I give you up, O Ephraim? How can I surrender you, O Israel? How can I treat you like Admah? How can I make you like Zeboiim? I have had a change of heart! All my tender compassions are aroused!
- Jonah 3:4When Jonah began to enter the city one day’s walk, he announced, “At the end of forty days, Nineveh will be overthrown!”
- Matthew 15:22A Canaanite woman from that area came and cried out, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is horribly demon-possessed!”
- Luke 15:20So he got up and went to his father. But while he was still a long way from home his father saw him, and his heart went out to him; he ran and hugged his son and kissed him.
- Romans 9:22But what if God, willing to demonstrate his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience the objects of wrath prepared for destruction?
- 2 Peter 3:9The Lord is not slow concerning his promise, as some regard slowness, but is being patient toward you, because he does not wish for any to perish but for all to come to 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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