Isaiah 18:4-5

4 This is what the LORD says to me: “I will remain quiet and will look on from my dwelling place, like shimmering heat in the sunshine, like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest.”

5 For, before the harvest, when the blossom is gone and the flower becomes a ripening grape, he will cut off the shoots with pruning knives, and cut down and take away the spreading branches.

Isaiah 18:4-5 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO ISAIAH 18

This chapter is a prophecy of the desolation of a land or country, described by the wings with which it was shaded, and by the rivers by which it was situated, Isa 18:1 by its messengers and message to another nation, which is also described, Isa 18:2 all the nations of the world are called upon to observe the judgment about to be inflicted on it, Isa 18:3 and a promise is made, that at the same time God will take up his rest and dwelling among his own people, and refresh and protect them, Isa 18:4 and the time, and manner, and nature of the destruction of the people before threatened, are metaphorically expressed, Isa 18:5,6 and the issue of all will be the glory of God, since these people will be brought, in after times, as a present to him in Mount Zion, Isa 18:7.

Cross References

• 1. Isaiah 62:1; Isaiah 64:12
• 2. Isaiah 26:21; Hosea 5:15; Micah 1:3
• 3. S Judges 5:31; S Psalms 18:12; Habakkuk 3:4
• 4. 2 Samuel 1:21; S Psalms 133:3; Isaiah 26:19; Hosea 14:5
• 5. S Isaiah 10:33
• 6. Isaiah 17:10-11; Ezekiel 17:6