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:
Parallel translations
- WEB Oh that you had listened to my commandments! Then your peace would have been like a river, and your righteousness like the waves of the sea.
- BSB If only you had paid attention to My commandments, your peace would have been like a river, and your righteousness like waves of the sea.
- NKJV Oh, that you had heeded My commandments! Then your peace would have been like a river, And your righteousness like the waves of the sea.
- NASB “If only you had paid attention to My commandments! Then your well-being would have been like a river, And your righteousness like the waves of the sea.
- NLT Oh, that you had listened to my commands! Then you would have had peace flowing like a gentle river and righteousness rolling over you like waves in the sea.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God laments that if his people had obeyed, their peace would have flowed like a river. Disobedience forfeits the blessing God longs to give.
Overview
In a tender lament, God expresses what might have been: had Israel heeded his commandments, peace and righteousness would have abounded like a river and the waves of the sea. The verse reveals God's heart of compassion grieving over sin's cost. It calls us to the obedience of faith and to the true and lasting peace found in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Deut 5:29O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever!
- Ps 119:165Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them.
- Isa 66:12For thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream: then shall ye suck, ye shall be borne upon her sides, and be dandled upon her knees.
- Ps 81:13–16Oh that my people had hearkened unto me, and Israel had walked in my ways!
- Deut 32:29O that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end!
- Luke 19:41–42And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it,
- Isa 45:8Drop down, ye heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness: let the earth open, and let them bring forth salvation, and let righteousness spring up together; I the LORD have created it.
- Ps 36:8They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house; and thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures.
- Isa 32:15–18Until the spirit be poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness be a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be counted for a forest.
- Rom 14:17For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.
- Amos 5:24But let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream.
- Matt 23:37O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!
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Christ at the center
Isaiah sees him most clearly: the virgin's son Immanuel, the child on David's throne, the shoot from Jesse, the light to the nations, and above all the Suffering Servant pierced for our transgressions (ch. 53).
How Isaiah 48:18 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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