Isaiah 30:17

Their flight will be disgraceful. The words at the rebuke of fiveseem to weaken the force of the preceding hyperbole; hence some critics would insert "a myriad" in the second clause, after Leviticus 26:8; Deuteronomy 32:30.

beaconmeans "flag-staff" (elsewhere "mast"), cf. ch. Isaiah 33:23.

18 is frequently explained as a concluding threat "Therefore will the Lord wait before having mercy on you"; will postpone your deliverance. But this interpretation does violence to the terms of the verse, which is really the introduction of a new section, full of glorious promises. The "waiting" of Jehovah is that of anxious expectancy for the opportune moment of intervention; His "exaltation" denotes His readiness to act. The emendation "he will be silent" for "he will be exalted" is unnecessary. It is difficult, however, to explain the conjunction "therefore," after Isaiah 30:17; unless we can hold that it has adversative force ("even under these circumstances," "nevertheless"). The new passage seems to belong to a different time, and to continue another train of thought: see Isaiah 29:15-24.

a God of judgment or "justice."

that wait for him Cf. ch. Isaiah 8:17; Psalms 33:20, &c.