New Living Translation
Isaiah 30:18
18So 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.
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 said, ‘No, we will get our help from Egypt. They will give us swift horses for riding into battle.’ But the only swiftness you are going to see is the swiftness of your enemies chasing you! 17One of them will chase a thousand of you. Five of them will make all of you flee. You will be left like a lonely flagpole on a hill or a tattered banner on a distant mountaintop.” 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. 19O people of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. He will be gracious if you ask for help. He will surely respond to the sound of your cries. 20Though the Lord gave you adversity for food and suffering for drink, he will still be with you to teach you. You will see your teacher with your own eyes.
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“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.
- Exodus 34:6The Lord passed in front of Moses, calling out, “Yahweh! The Lord! The God of compassion and mercy! I am slow to anger and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness.
- Hosea 2:14“But then I will win her back once again. I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her there.
- Romans 5:20God’s law was given so that all people could see how sinful they were. But as people sinned more and more, God’s wonderful grace became more abundant.
- Romans 9:15For God said to Moses, “I will show mercy to anyone I choose, and I will show compassion to anyone I choose.”
- Isaiah 18:4For the Lord has told me this: “I will watch quietly from my dwelling place— as quietly as the heat rises on a summer day, or as the morning dew forms during the harvest.”
- Isaiah 57:17I was angry, so I punished these greedy people. I withdrew from them, but they kept going on their own stubborn way.
- Jeremiah 31:18I have heard Israel saying, ‘You disciplined me severely, like a calf that needs training for the yoke. Turn me again to you and restore me, for you alone are the Lord my God.
- Hosea 5:15Then I will return to my place until they admit their guilt and turn to me. For as soon as trouble comes, they will earnestly search for me.”
- Hosea 6:1“Come, let us return to the Lord. He has torn us to pieces; now he will heal us. He has injured us; now he will bandage our wounds.
- Hosea 11:8“Oh, how can I give you up, Israel? How can I let you go? How can I destroy you like Admah or demolish you like Zeboiim? My heart is torn within me, and my compassion overflows.
- Jonah 3:4On the day Jonah entered the city, he shouted to the crowds: “Forty days from now Nineveh will be destroyed!”
- Matthew 15:22A Gentile woman who lived there came to him, pleading, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! For my daughter is possessed by a demon that torments her severely.”
- Luke 15:20“So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him.
- Romans 9:22In the same way, even though God has the right to show his anger and his power, he is very patient with those on whom his anger falls, who are destined for destruction.
- 2 Peter 3:9The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.
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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