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Selected Verse: Isaiah 48:18 - Strong Concordance

Verse	Translation	Text
Isa 48:18	Strong Concordance	O that [03863] thou hadst hearkened [07181] to my commandments [04687]! then had thy peace [07965] been as a river [05104], and thy righteousness [06666] as the waves [01530] of the sea [03220]:
	King James	O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments! then had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea:

Summary Of Commentaries Associated With The Selected Verse

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A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882]
peace-- (Psa 119:165). Compare the desire expressed by the same Messiah (Mat 23:37; Luk 19:42). river-- (Isa 33:21; Isa 41:18), a river flowing from God's throne is the symbol of free, abundant, and ever flowing blessings from Him (Eze 47:1; Zac 14:8; Rev 22:1). righteousness--religious prosperity; the parent of "peace" or national prosperity; therefore "peace" corresponds to "righteousness" in the parallelism (Isa 32:17).

A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882]

peace-- (Psa 119:165). Compare the desire expressed by the same Messiah (Mat 23:37; Luk 19:42).

river-- (Isa 33:21; Isa 41:18), a river flowing from God's throne is the symbol of free, abundant, and ever flowing blessings from Him (Eze 47:1; Zac 14:8; Rev 22:1).

righteousness--religious prosperity; the parent of "peace" or national prosperity; therefore "peace" corresponds to "righteousness" in the parallelism (Isa 32:17).

Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834]
O that thou hadst heardened to my commandments! - This expresses the earnest wish and desire of God. He would greatly have preferred that they should have kept his law. He had no wish that they should sin, and that these judgments should come upon them. The doctrine taught here is, that God greatly prefers that people should keep his laws. He does not desire that they should be sinners, or that they should be punished. It was so with regard to the Jews; and it is so with regard to all. In all cases, at all times, and with reference to all his creatures, he prefers holiness to sin; he sincerely desires that there should be perfect obedience to his commandments. It is to be remarked also that this is not merely prospective, or a declaration in the abstract. It relates to sin which had been actually committed, and proves that even in regard to that, God would have preferred that it had not been committed. A declaration remarkably similar to this, occurs in Psa 81:13-16 : O that my people had hearkened unto me, And Israel had walked in my ways; I should soon have subdued their' enemies, And turned their hand against their adversaries The haters of the Lord should have submitted themselves unto him: But their time should have endured forever. He should have fed them also with the finest of the wheat; And with honey out of the rock should I have satisfied thee. Compare Deu 22:29; Isa 5:1-7; Eze 18:23-32; Mat 23:37; Luk 19:21. Then had thy peace been as a river - The word 'peace' here (שׁלום shâlôm) means properly wholeness, soundness, and then health, welfare, prosperity, good of every kind. It then denotes peace, as opposed to war, and also concord and friendship. Here it evidently denotes prosperity in general, as opposed to the calamities which actually came upon them. As a river - That is, abundant - like a full, flowing river that fills the banks, and that conveys fertility and blessedness through a land. 'The pagan, in order to represent the Universal power and beneficence of Jupiter, used the symbol of a river flowing from his throne; and to this the Sycophant in Plautus alludes (Trium. Act iv. Sc. 2, v. 98), in his saying that he had been at the head of that river: Ad caput amuis, quod de coelo exoritur, sub solio Jovis. See also Wemyss' Key to the Symbolical Language of Scripture, Art. River. Rivers are often used by the sacred writers, and particularly by Isaiah, as symbolic of plenty and prosperity Isa 32:2; Isa 33:21; Isa 41:18; Isa 43:19. And thy righteousness - The holiness and purity of the nation. Religion, with all its inestimable benefits, would have abounded to the utmost extent. Instead of the prevailing idolatry and corruption, the hypocrisy and insincerity which had abounded, and which made it necessary for God to remote them, they would have been distinguished for sincerity, purity, love, and holy living. And this proves that God would have preferred the prevalence of holiness. As the waves of the sea - What can be a more beautiful or sublime image than this? What can more strikingly represent the abundance of the blessings which religion would have conferred on the land? The waves of the sea are an emblem of plenty. They seem to be boundless. They are constantly rolling. And so their righteousness would have been without a limit; and would have rolled unceasingly its rich blessings over the land. Who can doubt that this would have been a better state, a condition to have been preferred to that which actually existed?

Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834]

O that thou hadst heardened to my commandments! - This expresses the earnest wish and desire of God. He would greatly have preferred that they should have kept his law. He had no wish that they should sin, and that these judgments should come upon them. The doctrine taught here is, that God greatly prefers that people should keep his laws. He does not desire that they should be sinners, or that they should be punished. It was so with regard to the Jews; and it is so with regard to all. In all cases, at all times, and with reference to all his creatures, he prefers holiness to sin; he sincerely desires that there should be perfect obedience to his commandments. It is to be remarked also that this is not merely prospective, or a declaration in the abstract. It relates to sin which had been actually committed, and proves that even in regard to that, God would have preferred that it had not been committed. A declaration remarkably similar to this, occurs in Psa 81:13-16 :

O that my people had hearkened unto me,

And Israel had walked in my ways;

I should soon have subdued their' enemies,

And turned their hand against their adversaries

The haters of the Lord should have submitted themselves unto him:

But their time should have endured forever.

He should have fed them also with the finest of the wheat;

And with honey out of the rock should I have satisfied thee.

Compare Deu 22:29; Isa 5:1-7; Eze 18:23-32; Mat 23:37; Luk 19:21.

Then had thy peace been as a river - The word 'peace' here (שׁלום shâlôm) means properly wholeness, soundness, and then health, welfare, prosperity, good of every kind. It then denotes peace, as opposed to war, and also concord and friendship. Here it evidently denotes prosperity in general, as opposed to the calamities which actually came upon them.

As a river - That is, abundant - like a full, flowing river that fills the banks, and that conveys fertility and blessedness through a land. 'The pagan, in order to represent the Universal power and beneficence of Jupiter, used the symbol of a river flowing from his throne; and to this the Sycophant in Plautus alludes (Trium. Act iv. Sc. 2, v. 98), in his saying that he had been at the head of that river:

Ad caput amuis, quod de coelo exoritur, sub solio Jovis.

See also Wemyss' Key to the Symbolical Language of Scripture, Art. River. Rivers are often used by the sacred writers, and particularly by Isaiah, as symbolic of plenty and prosperity Isa 32:2; Isa 33:21; Isa 41:18; Isa 43:19.

And thy righteousness - The holiness and purity of the nation. Religion, with all its inestimable benefits, would have abounded to the utmost extent. Instead of the prevailing idolatry and corruption, the hypocrisy and insincerity which had abounded, and which made it necessary for God to remote them, they would have been distinguished for sincerity, purity, love, and holy living. And this proves that God would have preferred the prevalence of holiness.

As the waves of the sea - What can be a more beautiful or sublime image than this? What can more strikingly represent the abundance of the blessings which religion would have conferred on the land? The waves of the sea are an emblem of plenty. They seem to be boundless. They are constantly rolling. And so their righteousness would have been without a limit; and would have rolled unceasingly its rich blessings over the land. Who can doubt that this would have been a better state, a condition to have been preferred to that which actually existed?

Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible, by John Wesley [1754-65]
As the waves - Infinite and continual.

Adam Clarke Commentary on the Whole Bible - Published 1810-1826
As a river "Like the river" - That is, the Euphrates.

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¹⁷ And the work [04639] of righteousness [06666] shall be peace [07965]; and the effect [05656] of righteousness [06666] quietness [08252] and assurance [0983] for [05704] ever [05769].

¹ And [2532] he shewed [1166] me [3427] a pure [2513] river [4215] of water [5204] of life [2222], clear [2986] as [5613] crystal [2930], proceeding [1607] out of [1537] the throne [2362] of God [2316] and [2532] of the Lamb [721].

⁸ And it shall be in that day [03117], that living [02416] waters [04325] shall go out [03318] from Jerusalem [03389]; half [02677] of them toward the former [06931] sea [03220], and half [02677] of them toward the hinder [0314] sea [03220]: in summer [07019] and in winter [02779] shall it be.

¹ Afterward he brought me again [07725] unto the door [06607] of the house [01004]; and, behold, waters [04325] issued out [03318] from under the threshold [04670] of the house [01004] eastward [06921]: for the forefront [06440] of the house [01004] stood toward the east [06921], and the waters [04325] came down [03381] from under from the right [03233] side [03802] of the house [01004], at the south [05045] side of the altar [04196].

¹⁸ I will open [06605] rivers [05104] in high places [08205], and fountains [04599] in the midst [08432] of the valleys [01237]: I will make [07760] the wilderness [04057] a pool [098] of water [04325], and the dry [06723] land [0776] springs [04161] of water [04325].

²¹ But there the glorious [0117] LORD [03068] will be unto us a place [04725] of broad [07342] [03027] rivers [05104] and streams [02975]; wherein shall go [03212] no [01077] galley [0590] with oars [07885], neither shall gallant [0117] ship [06716] pass [05674] thereby.

⁴² Saying [3004], If [3754] [1487] thou hadst known [1097], even [2532] thou [4771], at least [2534] in [1722] this [5026] thy [4675] day [2250], the things [3588] which belong unto [4314] thy [4675] peace [1515]! but [1161] now [3568] they are hid [2928] from [575] thine [4675] eyes [3788].

³⁷ O Jerusalem [2419], Jerusalem [2419], thou that killest [615] the prophets [4396], and [2532] stonest [3036] them which are sent [649] unto [4314] thee [846], how often [4212] would I [2309] have gathered [1996] thy [4675] [3739] children [5043] together [1996], even as [5158] a hen [3733] gathereth [1996] her [1438] chickens [3556] under [5259] her wings [4420], and [2532] ye would [2309] not [3756]!

¹⁶⁵ Great [07227] peace [07965] have they which love [0157] thy law [08451]: and nothing shall offend [04383] them.

¹⁹ Behold, I will do [06213] a new thing [02319]; now it shall spring forth [06779]; shall ye not know [03045] it? I will even make [07760] a way [01870] in the wilderness [04057], and rivers [05104] in the desert [03452].

² And a man [0376] shall be as an hiding place [04224] from the wind [07307], and a covert [05643] from the tempest [02230]; as rivers [06388] of water [04325] in a dry place [06724], as the shadow [06738] of a great [03515] rock [05553] in a weary [05889] land [0776].

²¹ For [1063] I feared [5399] thee [4571], because [3754] thou art [1488] an austere [840] man [444]: thou takest up [142] that [3739] thou layedst [5087] not [3756] down [5087], and [2532] reapest [2325] that [3739] thou didst [4687] not [3756] sow [4687].

²³ Have I any pleasure [02654] at all [02654] that the wicked [07563] should die [04194]? saith [05002] the Lord [0136] GOD [03069]: and not that he should return [07725] from his ways [01870], and live [02421]?
²⁴ But when the righteous [06662] turneth away [07725] from his righteousness [06666], and committeth [06213] iniquity [05766], and doeth [06213] according to all the abominations [08441] that the wicked [07563] man doeth [06213], shall he live [02425]? All his righteousness [06666] that he hath done [06213] shall not be mentioned [02142]: in his trespass [04603] that he hath trespassed [04604], and in his sin [02403] that he hath sinned [02398], in them shall he die [04191].
²⁵ Yet ye say [0559], The way [01870] of the Lord [0136] is not equal [08505]. Hear [08085] now, O house [01004] of Israel [03478]; Is not my way [01870] equal [08505]? are not your ways [01870] unequal [08505]?
²⁶ When a righteous [06662] man turneth away [07725] from his righteousness [06666], and committeth [06213] iniquity [05766], and dieth [04191] in them; for his iniquity [05766] that he hath done [06213] shall he die [04191].
²⁷ Again, when the wicked [07563] man turneth away [07725] from his wickedness [07564] that he hath committed [06213], and doeth [06213] that which is lawful [04941] and right [06666], he shall save [02421] his soul [05315] alive [02421].
²⁸ Because he considereth [07200], and turneth away [07725] from all his transgressions [06588] that he hath committed [06213], he shall surely [02421] live [02421], he shall not die [04191].
²⁹ Yet saith [0559] the house [01004] of Israel [03478], The way [01870] of the Lord [0136] is not equal [08505]. O house [01004] of Israel [03478], are not my ways [01870] equal [08505]? are not your ways [01870] unequal [08505]?
³⁰ Therefore I will judge [08199] you, O house [01004] of Israel [03478], every one [0376] according to his ways [01870], saith [05002] the Lord [0136] GOD [03069]. Repent [07725], and turn [07725] yourselves from all your transgressions [06588]; so iniquity [05771] shall not be your ruin [04383].
³¹ Cast away [07993] from you all your transgressions [06588], whereby ye have transgressed [06586]; and make [06213] you a new [02319] heart [03820] and a new [02319] spirit [07307]: for why will ye die [04191], O house [01004] of Israel [03478]?
³² For I have no pleasure [02654] in the death [04194] of him that dieth [04191], saith [05002] the Lord [0136] GOD [03069]: wherefore turn [07725] yourselves, and live [02421] ye.

¹ Now will I sing [07891] to my wellbeloved [03039] a song [07892] of my beloved [01730] touching his vineyard [03754]. My wellbeloved [03039] hath a vineyard [03754] in a very fruitful [01121] [08081] hill [07161]:
² And he fenced [05823] it, and gathered out the stones [05619] thereof, and planted [05193] it with the choicest vine [08321], and built [01129] a tower [04026] in the midst [08432] of it, and also made [02672] a winepress [03342] therein: and he looked [06960] that it should bring forth [06213] grapes [06025], and it brought forth [06213] wild grapes [0891].
³ And now, O inhabitants [03427] of Jerusalem [03389], and men [0376] of Judah [03063], judge [08199], I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard [03754].
⁴ What could have been done [06213] more to my vineyard [03754], that I have not done [06213] in it? wherefore [04069], when I looked [06960] that it should bring forth [06213] grapes [06025], brought it forth [06213] wild grapes [0891]?
⁵ And now go to; I will tell [03045] you what I will do [06213] to my vineyard [03754]: I will take away [05493] the hedge [04881] thereof, and it shall be eaten up [01197]; and break down [06555] the wall [01447] thereof, and it shall be trodden down [04823]:
⁶ And I will lay [07896] it waste [01326]: it shall not be pruned [02168], nor digged [05737]; but there shall come up [05927] briers [08068] and thorns [07898]: I will also command [06680] the clouds [05645] that they rain [04305] no rain [04306] upon it.
⁷ For the vineyard [03754] of the LORD [03068] of hosts [06635] is the house [01004] of Israel [03478], and the men [0376] of Judah [03063] his pleasant [08191] plant [05194]: and he looked [06960] for judgment [04941], but behold oppression [04939]; for righteousness [06666], but behold a cry [06818].

²⁹ Then the man [0376] that lay [07901] with her shall give [05414] unto the damsel's [05291] father [01] fifty [02572] shekels of silver [03701], and she shall be his wife [0802]; because he hath humbled [06031] her, he may [03201] not put her away [07971] all his days [03117].

¹³ Oh [03863] that my people [05971] had hearkened [08085] unto me, and Israel [03478] had walked [01980] in my ways [01870]!
¹⁴ I should soon [04592] have subdued [03665] their enemies [0341], and turned [07725] my hand [03027] against their adversaries [06862].
¹⁵ The haters [08130] of the LORD [03068] should have submitted [03584] themselves unto him: but their time [06256] should have endured for ever [05769].
¹⁶ He should have fed [0398] them also with the finest [02459] of the wheat [02406]: and with honey [01706] out of the rock [06697] should I have satisfied [07646] thee.