Isaiah Chapter 48 verse 18 Holy Bible
Oh that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments! then had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea:
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If only you had given ear to my orders, then your peace would have been like a river, and your righteousness as the waves of the sea:
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Oh that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments! Then would thy peace have been as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea;
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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:
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Oh that you had listened to my commandments! then had your peace been as a river, and your righteousness as the waves of the sea:
read chapter 48 in WEB
O that thou hadst attended to My commands, Then as a river is thy peace, And thy righteousness as billows of the sea,
read chapter 48 in YLT
Isaiah 48 : 18 Bible Verse Songs
Pulpit Commentary
Pulpit CommentaryVerse 18. - Oh that thou hadst hearkened! (comp. Psalm 81:13-16, "Oh that my people had hearkened unto me, and Israel had walked in my ways! I should soon have subdued their enemies, and turned my hand against their adversaries," etc.) Some render, "Oh that thou wouldst hearken!" etc., on the analogy of Isaiah 64:1; but unnecessarily. Dr. Kay says that God "upbraideth not," referring to James 1:5. But he may expostulate. What is it but expostulation, when our Lord says, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate" (Matthew 23:27, 28)? To look back on the past, and see what we have missed, is a good lesson for the future. Then had thy peace been as a river; literally, as the river (i.e. the Euphrates), abounding, overflowing, continuous. Thy righteousness. Not "thy prosperity" (Cheyne), but "thy good deeds." If Israel had clung to God, then God's blessing would have been poured upon them, and have enabled them to bring forth abundant fruits of righteousness. As the waves of the sea; i.e. innumerable and unceasing.
Ellicott's Commentary
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(18) Then had thy peace been as a river.--Literally, "as the river," i.e., the Euphrates, which for the Babylonian exiles was a natural standard of comparison. "Righteousness," as elsewhere, includes the idea of the blessedness which is its recompense. United with "peace" it implies every element of prosperity.
