Isaiah 48:18
in Isaiah 48If only you had paid attention to My commandments, your peace would have been like a river, and your righteousness like waves of the sea.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
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:
KJV
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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This verse in Isaiah 48
Commentary
14 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
O that thou hadst heardened to my commandments! - This expresses the earnest wish and desire of God. He would greatly have preferred that they should have kept his law. He had no wish that they should sin, and that these judgments should come upon them. The doctrine taught here is, that God greatly prefers that people should keep his laws. He does not desire that they should be sinners, or that they should be punished. It was so with regard to the Jews; and it is so with regard to all.
This site's exposition
Thus says the LORD your Redeemer
on Isaiah 48:17-19
“Thus says the LORD your Redeemer” opens with the covenant intention. Verse 18 turns to lament, “If only you had paid attention to My commandments, your peace would have been like a river”. Verse 19 extends the loss, “as countless as the sand”, the promise to Abraham’s line forfeited.
This site's exposition
your peace would have been like a river
Barnes draws a plain doctrine from the wish: God desires His people to pay attention to His commandments and takes no pleasure in their punishment. Spurgeon hears the LORD Himself in the lament. Peace like a river and righteousness like the sea were the gifts He meant to give.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
Set before yourself any river. It springs from its fountain but is of one nature, of one brightness and beauty. And you assert rightly that the Holy Spirit is of one substance, brightness and glory with the Son of God and with God the Father. I will sum up everything in the oneness of the qualities without any dispute over degrees of greatness. For in this point also Scripture has provided for us. For the Son of God says, "Whoever shall drink of the water that I will give him, it shall become in him a well of water springing up unto everlasting life." This well is clearly the grace of the Spirit, a stream proceeding from the living Fountain. The Holy Spirit, then, is also the fountain of eternal life.You observe, then, from his words that the unity of the divine greatness is pointed out and that Christ cannot be denied to be a fountain even by heretics, since the Spirit, too, is called a fountain. The Spirit is called a river, too, just as the Father said, "Behold, I come down on you like a river of peace, and like a stream overflowing the glory of the Gentiles." And who can doubt that the Son of God is the river of life from whom the streams of eternal life flowed forth?
(Verse 17, 18 and following) Thus says the Lord, your holy Redeemer, the God of Israel: I am the Lord your God, teaching you what is profitable, leading you in the way you should go. Oh, that you had paid attention to my commandments! Then your peace would have been like a river, and your righteousness like the waves of the sea. Your descendants would have been like sand, and the offspring of your womb like its grains; their name would never be cut off or destroyed from before me.
This water is good, then. I mean here the grace of the Spirit. Who will give this Fountain to my heart? Let it spring up in me, let that which gives eternal life flow on me. Let that Fountain overflow on us and not flow away. For Wisdom says, "Drink water out of your own vessels and from the fountains of your own wells, and let your waters flow abroad in your streets." How shall I keep this water so that it does not seep out or glide away?
The Medieval Church2 voices
A commentator
BonaventureCollationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 1 · Written in the 13th century.
proposed
The authority of the one commanding ought to move us to observe the commandments of God. He is of great authority, because by His wondrous wisdom He governs us. Whence Isaiah says: "I am the Lord, teaching you profitable things, governing you in the way …
He also shows the harm from the fault of the Jews: O that you had hearkened to my commandments, keeping them; as a river, abounding, as the waves, the same: if my people had heard me: if Israel had walked in my ways: I should …
6 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
He had indeed brought them into captivity, but it was owing to themselves, nor did he afflict them willingly. (1.) As when he gave them his law he earnestly wished they might be obedient ( O that there were such a heart in them!
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments,.... Which the Jews did not, but slighted and despised them, and were not obedient to them.
The Nineteenth Century4 voices
FROM this verse we may learn that when God smites men on account of sin it gives Him no pleasure. The voice which speaks is not that of the seraphic Prophet, but it is the voice of the Lord God of the prophets Himself. The manner is not merely the majestic formula, "Thus says Jehovah," but it is supplemented with words intended to remind us of His graciousness and His goodwill.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Lu 19:42). river-- (Isa 33:21; 41:18), a river flowing from God's throne is the symbol of free, abundant, and ever flowing blessings from Him (Eze 47:1; Re 22:1). righteousness--religious prosperity; the parent of "peace" or national prosperity; therefore "peace" corresponds to "righteousness" in the parallelism (Isa 32:17).
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
FROM this verse we may learn that when God smites men on account of sin it gives Him no pleasure. The voice which speaks is not that of the seraphic Prophet, but it is the voice of the Lord God of the prophets Himself. The manner is not merely the majestic formula, "Thus says Jehovah," but it is supplemented with words intended to remind us of His graciousness and His goodwill. "Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer," He who rescued you from perils past, "the Holy One of Israel," the faithful Promiser, who has shown you His counsels and His statutes. Moreover, He challenges attention with more simple, touching mementoes of His kindness when He adds, "I am the Lord your God which teaches you to profit, which leads you by the way that you should go." As the Instructor of their childhood and the Guide of their riper years, He first expresses the most natural interest in their welfare and then pitifully bewails the folly of His children. Speaking after the manner of men, to chasten His own people is a pain and a grief to His heart—"Like as a father pities his children, so the Lord pities them that fear Him." John Knox said that he never chastised his children without tears in his own eyes. Jeremiah, in the bitterest chapter of his unparalleled Lamentations, bears this grateful witness to our Covenant God—"He does not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men." And surely if in the gentler chastisement of His hands the Most High takes no pleasure, much less can He find delight in that withering curse which destroys the finally impenitent. Beloved, the eternal torment of men is no joy to God! The ruin of a sinner gives Him no satisfaction. While the calamity is such as He only can estimate, the warnings, expostulations and entreaties He has spoken furnish proof upon proof of His pity.
As a river “Like the river” - That is, the Euphrates.
The words behind it
9 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ל֥וּא | lu' | if | H3863 → | |
| הִקְשַׁ֖בְתָּ | hikshavta | you had paid attention | H7181 → | 46 times |
| לְמִצְוֹתָ֑י | lemitzvotai | to commandments my | H4687 → | 181 times |
| וַיְהִ֤י | vayhi | and it was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| כַנָּהָר֙ | khanahar | like <the> river | H5104 → | 119 times |
| שְׁלוֹמֶ֔ךָ | shelomekha | peace your | H7965 → | 236 times |
| וְצִדְקָתְךָ֖ | vetzidkatecha | and righteousness your | H6666 → | 157 times |
| כְּגַלֵּ֥י | kegalei | like [the] waves of | H1530 → | 34 times |
| הַיָּֽם׃ | haiyam | the sea | H3220 → | 396 times |
ל֥וּאif
lu'H3863 →
הִקְשַׁ֖בְתָּyou had paid attention
hikshavtaH7181 →46 times
לְמִצְוֹתָ֑יto commandments my
lemitzvotaiH4687 →181 times
וַיְהִ֤יand it was
vayhiH1961 →3559 times
כַנָּהָר֙like <the> river
khanaharH5104 →119 times
שְׁלוֹמֶ֔ךָpeace your
shelomekhaH7965 →236 times
וְצִדְקָתְךָ֖and righteousness your
vetzidkatechaH6666 →157 times
כְּגַלֵּ֥יlike [the] waves of
kegaleiH1530 →34 times
הַיָּֽם׃the sea
haiyamH3220 →396 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Psalms 119:165Abundant peace belongs to those who love Your law; nothing can make them stumble.
it leads to
- Proverbs 3:1–2
My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments;
- Isaiah 32:17
The work of righteousness will be peace; the service of righteousness will be quiet confidence forever.
- Isaiah 26:3
You will keep in perfect peace the steadfast of mind, because he trusts in You.
- John 14:27
Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled; do not be afraid.
- Philippians 4:7
And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
- Proverbs 3:1–2
Through
Isaiah 66:12For this is what the LORD says: “I will extend peace to her like a river, and the wealth of nations like a flowing stream; you will nurse and be carried on her arm,…
it leads to
- Isaiah 60:16
You will drink the milk of nations and nurse at the breasts of royalty; you will know that I, the LORD, am your Savior and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.
- Isaiah 45:14
This is what the LORD says: “The products of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush, along with the Sabeans, men of stature, will come over to you and will be yours; they will trudge…
- Isaiah 60:16
Through
Deuteronomy 5:29If only they had such a heart to fear Me and keep all My commandments always, so that it might be well with them and with their children forever.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 33:31–32
So My people come to you as usual, sit before you, and hear your words; but they do not put them into practice. Although they express love with their mouths, their hearts pursue dishonest…
- Ezekiel 33:31–32
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Isaiah
This page draws on 12 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Ambrose of Milan, On the Holy Spirit 1.16.180-81; Ambrose of Milan, On the Holy Spirit 1.16.182-84; Bonaventure, Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 1; Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 610: “The Great Need—Or, The Great Salvation” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.