Isaiah 30:18 (GNV)

Passage

Yet therefore will the Lord waite, that he may haue mercy vpon you, and therefore wil he be exalted, that hee may haue compassion vpon you: for the Lord is the God of iudgement. Blessed are all they that waite for him.

Nearby Context

Isaiah 30:16 For ye haue sayd, No, but we wil flee away vpon horses. Therefore shall ye flee. We will ride vpon the swiftest. Therefore shall your persecuters be swifter.

Isaiah 30:17 A thousand as one shall flee at the rebuke of one: at the rebuke of fiue shall ye flee, till ye be left as a ship maste vpon the top of a mountaine, and as a beaken vpon an hill.

Isaiah 30:18 Yet therefore will the Lord waite, that he may haue mercy vpon you, and therefore wil he be exalted, that hee may haue compassion vpon you: for the Lord is the God of iudgement. Blessed are all they that waite for him.

Isaiah 30:19 Surely a people shall dwell in Zion, and in Ierusalem: thou shalt weepe no more: he wil certainly haue mercy vpon thee at the voyce of thy crye: when he heareth thee, he wil answere thee.

Isaiah 30:20 And when the Lord hath giuen you the bread of aduersitie, and the water of affliction, thy raine shalbe no more kept backe, but thine eyes shall see thy raine.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "mercy", "therefore", "lord", "waite", "haue", "vpon", and "exalted". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "mercy" and "therefore", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 17's "A thousand as one shall flee at..." into verse 19's "Surely a people shall dwell in Zion...", so "mercy" and "therefore" belong inside that flow. In Isaiah context, the local focus is the Holy One of Israel, judgment and restoration, the servant of the LORD, and Zion's hope.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "mercy" and "therefore" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.