Yesaya 30:18

The Lord Will Not Abandon His People

30:18 For this reason the Lord is ready to show you mercy;

he sits on his throne, ready to have compassion on you. ¹ 

Indeed, the Lord is a just God;

all who wait for him in faith will be blessed. ² 

Yesaya 63:7-10

A Prayer for Divine Intervention

63:7 I will tell of the faithful acts of the Lord,

of the Lord’s praiseworthy deeds.

I will tell about all ³  the Lord did for us,

the many good things he did for the family of Israel, ⁴ 

because of ⁵  his compassion and great faithfulness.

63:8 He said, “Certainly they will be my people,

children who are not disloyal.” ⁶ 

He became their deliverer.

63:9 Through all that they suffered, he suffered too. ⁷ 

The messenger sent from his very presence ⁸  delivered them.

In his love and mercy he protected ⁹  them;

he lifted them up and carried them throughout ancient times. ¹⁰ 

63:10 But they rebelled and offended ¹¹  his holy Spirit, ¹² 

so he turned into an enemy

and fought against them.

[30:18]  ¹ tn Heb “Therefore the Lord waits to show you mercy, and therefore he is exalted to have compassion on you.” The logical connection between this verse and what precedes is problematic. The point seems to be that Judah’s impending doom does not bring God joy. Rather the prospect of their suffering stirs within him a willingness to show mercy and compassion, if they are willing to seek him on his terms.

[30:18]  ² tn Heb “Blessed are all who wait for him.”

[63:7]  ³ tn Heb “according to all which.”

[63:7]  ⁴ tn Heb “greatness of goodness to the house of Israel which he did for them.”

[63:7]  ⁵ tn Heb “according to.”

[63:8]  ⁶ tn Heb “children [who] do not act deceitfully.” Here the verb refers to covenantal loyalty.

[63:9]  ⁷ tn Heb “in all their distress, there was distress to him” (reading לוֹ [lo] with the margin/Qere).

[63:9]  ⁸ tn Heb “the messenger [or “angel”] of his face”; NIV “the angel of his presence.”

[63:9]  sn This may refer to the “angel of God” mentioned in Exod 14:19, who in turn may be identical to the divine “presence” (literally, “face”) referred to in Exod 33:14-15 and Deut 4:37. Here in Isa 63 this messenger may be equated with God’s “holy Spirit” (see vv. 10-11) and “the Spirit of the Lord” (v. 14). See also Ps 139:7, where God’s “Spirit” seems to be equated with his “presence” (literally, “face”) in the synonymous parallelistic structure.

[63:9]  ⁹ tn Or “redeemed” (KJV, NAB, NIV), or “delivered.”

[63:9]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “all the days of antiquity”; KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV “days of old.”

[63:10]  ¹¹ tn Or “grieved, hurt the feelings of.”

[63:10]  ¹² sn The phrase “holy Spirit” occurs in the OT only here (in v. 11 as well) and in Ps 51:11 (51:13 HT), where it is associated with the divine presence.