Isaiah 30 · Verse 18

Isaiah 30:18

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.

Isaiah 30:18, King James Version

Isaiah 30:18 in other translations

BSB	Therefore the LORD longs to be gracious to you; therefore He rises to show you compassion, for the LORD is a just God. Blessed are all who wait for Him.
WEB	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.
ASV	And therefore will Jehovah wait, that he may be gracious unto you; and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for Jehovah is a God of justice; blessed are all they that wait for him.
YLT	And therefore doth wait Jehovah to favour you, And therefore He is exalted to pity you, For a God of judgment is Jehovah, O the blessedness of all waiting for Him.
DARBY	And therefore will Jehovah wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he lift himself up, that he may have mercy upon you; for Jehovah is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for him.
BBE	For this cause the Lord will be waiting, so that he may be kind to you; and he will be lifted up, so that he may have mercy on you; for the Lord is a God of righteousness: there is a blessing on all whose hope is in him.
Webster	And therefore will the LORD wait, that he may be gracious to 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?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown

18. 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 mercy; or else, "He will rise up to pity you" [G. V. Smith]. Or (taking the previous clause as Maurer, "Therefore Jehovah will delay" in punishing you, "in order that He may be gracious to you," if ye repent), He will be far removed from you (so in Psa 10:5, far above out sight); that is, He will not immediately descend to punish, "in order that He may have mercy," &c. judgment--justice; faithfulness to His covenant. wait--compare Is 30:15, wait, namely, for His times of having mercy.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 18 And 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.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Isaiah 30:8-18

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…

Read the full comment on Isaiah 30:8-18 →

Isaiah 30:18 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וְלָכֵ֞ןve.la.Khenand <to> thereforeH3651

יְחַכֶּ֤הye.cha.Kehhe is waitingH2442

יְהוָה֙Yah.wehYahwehH3068

לַֽחֲנַנְכֶ֔םla.cha.nan.Khemto show favor to youH2603

וְלָכֵ֥ןve.la.Khenand <to> thereforeH3651

יָר֖וּםya.Rumhe is rising upH7311

לְרַֽחֶמְכֶ֑םle.ra.chem.Khemto have compassion on youH7355

כִּֽי\־ki-forH3588

אֱלֹהֵ֤י'e.lo.Hei[is] a God ofH430

מִשְׁפָּט֙mish.PatjusticeH4941

יְהוָ֔הYah.wehYahwehH3068

אַשְׁרֵ֖י'ash.Reihow blessed!H835

כָּל\־kol-[are] allH3605

ח֥וֹכֵיCho.khei[those who] waitH2442

לֽוֹ\׃\ \סlofor him

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Isaiah 30:18

2 Peter 3:9
The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
Lamentations 3:25-26
The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord.
Proverbs 16:20
He that handleth a matter wisely shall find good: and whoso trusteth in the Lord, happy is he.
Isaiah 25:9
And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the Lord; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.
Isaiah 8:17
And I will wait upon the Lord, that hideth his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him.
Psalms 34:8
O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.
Psalms 27:14
Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.
Isaiah 55:8
For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.
Luke 15:20
And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.
2 Peter 3:15
And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you;
Psalms 28:6-7
Blessed be the Lord, because he hath heard the voice of my supplications. The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him.
Psalms 40:1-3
To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. I waited patiently for the Lord; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry. He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the Lord.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

therefore.
55:8; Ex 34:6; Ho 2:14; Ro 5:20; 9:15-18
wait.
18:4; 57:17,18; Jer 31:18-20; Ho 5:15; 6:1,2; 11:8,9; Jon 3:4-10
Mt 15:22-28; Lu 15:20; Ro 9:22; 2Pe 3:9,15
will he be.
33:10-12; Ps 46:10,11; 76:5-10; Lu 24:26,27; Ac 2:33-39; 5:31
Eph 1:6,20-23
for the Lord.
33:5; 42:1-4; De 32:4; 1Sa 2:3; Job 35:14; Ps 99:4; Jer 10:24,25
Mic 7:18-20; Mal 2:17; Ro 2:2-10; Eph 1:8
blessed.
8:17; 25:9; 26:7,8; 40:31; Ps 2:12; 27:14; 28:6,7; 34:8; 40:1-3
Ps 62:1,2,5-8; 84:12; Pr 16:20; Jer 17:7; La 3:25,26; Mic 7:7-9
Lu 2:25; Ro 8:25-28; Jas 5:11

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

Isaiah 30:17
One thousand shall flee at the rebuke of one; at the rebuke of five shall ye flee: till ye be left as a beacon upon the top of a mountain, and as an ensign on an hill.
Isaiah 30:18
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.
Isaiah 30:19
For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem: thou shalt weep no more: he will be very gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry; when he shall hear it, he will answer thee.

Read all of Isaiah 30

Isaiah 30:18 in other languages

Spanish Reina-Valera 1909	Empero Jehová esperará para tener piedad de vosotros, y por tanto será ensalzado teniendo de vosotros misericordia: porque Jehová es Dios de juicio: bienaventurados todos los que le esperan.
French Bible J.N. Darby 1885	Et c’est pourquoi l’ Éternel attendra pour user de grâce envers vous, et c’est pourquoi il s’élèvera haut pour avoir compassion de vous; car l’ Éternel est un Dieu de jugement: bienheureux tous ceux qui s’attendent à lui!
German Elberfelder 1871	Und darum wird Jehova verziehen, euch gnädig zu sein; und darum wird er sich hinweg erheben, bis er sich euer erbarmt; denn Jehova ist ein Gott des Gerichts. Glückselig alle, die auf ihn harren!
Latin Clementine Vulgate	Propterea exspectat Dominus ut misereatur vestri; et ideo exaltabitur parcens vobis, quia Deus judicii Dominus: beati omnes qui exspectant eum!