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.
What does Isaiah 30:18 mean?
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.
Key themes
Read with
Keep this verse inside Isaiah 30:18-21 and alongside a few nearby related passages.
Commentary on Isaiah 30:18
And 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 yadum instead of yarum. But there is no authority for this except a single MS. Rosenmuller supposes it means, in accordance with the interpretation of Jarchi, that he would delay, that is, that his mercy would be "long" or his judgment remote.
Key words
- desire
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desire. (q) "nihilominus, tamen"; so Noldius, Ebr. Concord. Part. p. 507. in the same way Gataker.
- desire
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desire. (q) "nihilominus, tamen"; so Noldius, Ebr. Concord. Part. p. 507. in the same way Gataker.
Context in Isaiah 30
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Isaiah 30 belongs to the middle movement of the book, especially the section often described as narratives around Assyria and Hezekiah. Isaiah is one of Scripture’s grandest prophetic books, moving from holy judgment to consolation, servant imagery, and new-creation hope. Read this chapter with the wider themes of holiness, judgment, and remnant in view so the individual verses keep their proper weight.
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