Isaiah 57:18

18 I have seen their ways, but I will heal them; I will guide them and restore comfort to Israel’s mourners,

Isaiah 57:18 in Other Translations

18 I have seen his ways, and will heal him: I will lead him also, and restore comforts unto him and to his mourners.

18 I have seen his ways, but I will heal him; I will lead him and restore comfort to him and his mourners,

18 I have seen what they do, but I will heal them anyway! I will lead them. I will comfort those who mourn,

18 When I looked again and saw what he was doing, I decided to heal him, lead him, and comfort him, creating a new language of praise for the mourners.

18 I have seen his ways, but I will heal him; I will lead him and comfort him and his mourners,

Isaiah 57:18 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 57:18

I have seen his ways, and will heal him
Either the ways of such who trust in the Lord, the ways of the humble and contrite, who are brought by repentance and reformation, by the dealings of God with them; these he sees, knows, and approves of, and heals their former backslidings; for though not all, yet some may be reformed hereby; or rather the ways of the froward, their evil ways, which are their own ways in opposition to God's ways, peculiar to themselves, of their own devising and choosing; these the Lord sees, resents, and corrects for, and yet graciously pardons them, which is meant by healing: I will lead him also;
out of those evil ways of his into the good and right way in which he should go; into the way of truth and paths of righteousness; for it is for want of evangelical light and knowledge that so many err from the truths of the Gospel, and from the simplicity of Gospel worship; but in the latter day the Spirit of truth shall be poured down from on high, and shall lead professors of real religion into all truth, and they shall speak a pure language, and worship the Lord with one consent: and restore comforts to him, and to his mourners;
that mourn over their own sins, and the sins of others; that mourn in Zion, and for Zion; for the corruptions in doctrine and worship crept into the reformed churches; for the want of church discipline and Gospel conversation; for the declensions of professors of religion, and the divisions among them; and for that worldly, earthly, and carnal spirit that prevails; for these, as bad as our times are, there are some that mourn publicly and privately; and to these, and to the church for their sakes, comfort shall be restored, by sending forth Gospel light, truth, and knowledge, which shall cover the earth as the waters the sea; by reviving primitive doctrines and ordinances; by blessing the word to the conversion of a multitude of sinners, and to the edification of saints; by causing brotherly love, peace, and spirituality, to abound among professors, and by blessing all the means of grace to the consolation of their souls; and by making particular applications of the blood, righteousness, and sacrifice of Christ, for pardon, justification, and atonement, the solid foundation of all true comfort.

Isaiah 57:18 In-Context

16 I will not accuse them forever, nor will I always be angry, for then they would faint away because of me— the very people I have created.

17 I was enraged by their sinful greed; I punished them, and hid my face in anger, yet they kept on in their willful ways.

18 I have seen their ways, but I will heal them; I will guide them and restore comfort to Israel’s mourners,

19 creating praise on their lips. Peace, peace, to those far and near,” says the LORD. “And I will heal them.”

20 But the wicked are like the tossing sea, which cannot rest, whose waves cast up mire and mud.

Cross References

• 1. S Deuteronomy 32:39; S 2 Chronicles 7:14; S Isaiah 30:26
• 2. S Psalms 48:14; S Isaiah 42:16; S Isaiah 48:17
• 3. Isaiah 49:13; Isaiah 61:1-3