Isaiah 59 · Verse 18

Isaiah 59:18

According to their deeds, accordingly he will repay, fury to his adversaries, recompence to his enemies; to the islands he will repay recompence.

Isaiah 59:18, King James Version

Isaiah 59:18 in other translations

BSB	So He will repay according to their deeds: fury to His enemies, retribution to His foes, and recompense to the islands.
WEB	According to their deeds, he will repay as appropriate: wrath to his adversaries, recompense to his enemies. He will repay the islands their due.
ASV	According to their deeds, accordingly he will repay, wrath to his adversaries, recompense to his enemies; to the islands he will repay recompense.
YLT	According to deeds--so He repayeth. Fury to His adversaries, their deed to His enemies, To the isles their deed He repayeth.
DARBY	According to deeds, so will he repay: fury to his adversaries, recompence to his enemies; to the islands he will repay recompence.
BBE	He will give them the right reward of their doings, wrath to his attackers, punishment to his haters, and even on the sea-lands he will send punishment.
Webster	According to their deeds, accordingly he will repay, fury to his adversaries, recompense to his enemies; to the isles he will repay recompense.

What does Isaiah 59:18 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown

18. deeds--Hebrew, "recompenses"; "according as their deeds demand" [Maurer]. This verse predicts the judgments at the Lord's second coming, which shall precede the final redemption of His people (Is 66:18, 15, 16). islands--(See on Is 41:1). Distant countries.

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

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 18 According to their deeds, accordingly he will repay "He is mighty to recompense; he that is mighty to recompense will requite" - The former part of this verse, as it stands at present in the Hebrew text, seems to me to be very imperfect, and absolutely unintelligible. The learned Vitringa has taken a great deal of pains upon it after Cocceius, who he says is the only one of all the interpreters, ancient or modern, who has at all understood it, and has opened the way for him. He thinks that both of them together have clearly made out the sense; I do not expect that any third person will ever be of that opinion. He says, Videtur sententia ad verbum sonare: quasi propter facta [adversariorum] quasi propter rependet; excandescentiam, etc., et sic reddidit Pagnimus. "According to the height of their demerits, he will repay them to the height: fury to his adversaries, recompense to his enemies," etc. - Waterland. This he converts, by a process which will not much edify my reader, into Secundum summe merita, secundum summe (merita) rependet; which is his translation. They that hold the present Hebrew text to be absolutely infallible must make their way through it as they can; but they ought surely to give us somewhat that has at least the appearance of sense. However, I hope the case here is not quite desperate; the Chaldee leads us very fairly to the correction of the text, which is both corrupted and defective. The paraphrase runs thus: מרי גמליא הוא גמלא ישלם marey gumlaiya hu simla yeshallem, "The Lord of retribution, he will render recompense." He manifestly read בעל baal instead of כעל keal. מרי גמליא marey gumlaiya is בעל גמלות baal gemuloth; as מרי מרירותא marey merirutha is בעל אף baal aph. Pro 22:24. And so in the Chaldee paraphrase on Isa 35:4 : מרי גמליא יי הוא יתגלי marey gamlaiya yeya hu yithgeley, "The Lord of retribution, Jehovah himself, shall be revealed;" words very near to those of the prophet in this place. The second כעל keal, which the Chaldee has omitted, must be read בעל baal likewise. With this only addition to the Chaldee, which the Hebrew text justifies, we are supplied with the following clear reading of the passage: - הוא גמלות בעל hu gemuloth baal ישלם גמלות בעל yeshallem gemuloth baal The Lord of retributions he The Lord of retributions, shall repay. The כ caph in כעל keal twice seems to have been at first ב beth, in MS. This verse in the Septuagint is very imperfect. In the first part of it they give us no assistance: the latter part is wholly omitted in the printed copies; but it is thus supplied by MSS. Pachom. and 1. D. II: Τοις ὑπεναντιοις αυτου· αμυναν τοις εχθροις αυτου· ταις νησοις αποδομα αποτισει. - L.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Isaiah 59:16-21

This passage is connected with the following chapters. It is generally thought to describe the coming of the Messiah, as the Avenger and Deliverer of his church. There was none to intercede with God to turn away his wrath; none to interpose for the support of justice and truth. Yet He engaged his own strength and righteousness for his people. God will make his justice upon the enemies of his church and people…

Read the full comment on Isaiah 59:16-21 →

Isaiah 59:18 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.

כְּעַ֤לke.'Alas onH5921

גְּמֻלוֹת֙ge.mu.lOtdeedsH1578

כְּעַ֣לke.'Alas onH5921

יְשַׁלֵּ֔םye.sha.Lemhe will repayH7999

חֵמָ֣הche.MahrageH2534

לְצָרָ֔יוle.tza.Ravto opponents hisH6862

גְּמ֖וּלge.MulrecompenseH1576

לְאֹֽיְבָ֑יוle.'o.ye.Vavto enemies hisH341

לָאִיִּ֖יםla.'i.Yimto the islandsH339

גְּמ֥וּלge.MulrecompenseH1576

יְשַׁלֵּֽם\׃ye.sha.Lemhe will repayH7999

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

Cross references for Isaiah 59:18

Jeremiah 17:10
I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.
Isaiah 63:6
And I will tread down the people in mine anger, and make them drunk in my fury, and I will bring down their strength to the earth.
Romans 2:6
Who will render to every man according to his deeds:
Matthew 16:27
For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.
Nahum 1:2
God is jealous, and the Lord revengeth; the Lord revengeth, and is furious; the Lord will take vengeance on his adversaries, and he reserveth wrath for his enemies.
Psalms 21:8-9
Thine hand shall find out all thine enemies: thy right hand shall find out those that hate thee. Thou shalt make them as a fiery oven in the time of thine anger: the Lord shall swallow them up in his wrath, and the fire shall devour them.
Isaiah 63:3
I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with me: for I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment.
Psalms 18:24-26
Therefore hath the Lord recompensed me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his eyesight. With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful; with an upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright; With the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure; and with the froward thou wilt shew thyself froward.
Lamentations 4:11
The Lord hath accomplished his fury; he hath poured out his fierce anger, and hath kindled a fire in Zion, and it hath devoured the foundations thereof.
Isaiah 66:15
For, behold, the Lord will come with fire, and with his chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire.
Psalms 62:12
Also unto thee, O Lord, belongeth mercy: for thou renderest to every man according to his work.
Luke 21:22
For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled.

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

According.
63:6; Job 34:11; Ps 18:24-26; 62:12; Jer 17:10; 50:29; Mt 16:27
Ro 2:6; Re 20:12,13
deeds. Heb. recompences. fury.
1:24; 49:25,26; 63:3,6; 66:15; Ps 21:8,9; La 4:11; Eze 5:13; 6:12
Eze 38:18; Na 1:2; Lu 19:27; 21:22; Re 16:19; 19:15

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

Context

Isaiah 59:17
For he put on righteousness as a breastplate, and an helmet of salvation upon his head; and he put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloke.
Isaiah 59:18
According to their deeds, accordingly he will repay, fury to his adversaries, recompence to his enemies; to the islands he will repay recompence.
Isaiah 59:19
So shall they fear the name of the Lord from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him.

Read all of Isaiah 59

Isaiah 59:18 in other languages

Spanish Reina-Valera 1909	Como para retribuir, como para retornar ira á sus enemigos, y dar el pago á sus adversarios: el pago dará á las islas.
French Bible J.N. Darby 1885	Selon qu’a été la conduite, il rétribuera la fureur à ses adversaires, la pareille à ses ennemis; aux îles il rendra la rétribution.
German Elberfelder 1871	Nach den Taten, danach wird er vergelten: Grimm seinen Widersachern, Vergeltung seinen Feinden; den Inseln wird er Vergeltung erstatten.
Latin Clementine Vulgate	sicut ad vindictam quasi ad retributionem indignationis hostibus suis, et vicissitudinem inimicis suis; insulis vicem reddet.