Albert Barnes Commentary Isaiah 18:4

"For thus hath Jehovah said unto me, I will be still, and I will behold in my dwelling-place, like clear heat in sunshine, like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest." — Isaiah 18:4 (ASV)

For so the Lord said to me - So Yahweh has revealed His purpose: to execute punishment on the people described in the previous verses.

Their state, as described there, is that of a fierce people preparing for war, likely designing an alliance with the enemies of Judea and marshalling their armies for that purpose.

Yahweh here reveals to the prophet that they will be defeated and shows how it will be done.

He says He will sit calm while these preparations are ongoing—just as the sun shines serenely on the earth while the harvest is growing, and the dew falls gently on the herb. But before their plans are completed, He will interpose and destroy them, as if someone were to appear suddenly before the harvest is ripe and cut it down.

The design, therefore, of this part of the prophecy is to comfort the Jews, and to assure them that there is no danger to them from the preparations which were made against them - for Yahweh calmly beholds the proud rage of the enemy.

I will take my rest - I will not interpose; I will remain calm.

I will not appear to oppose them, but will keep as calm and still as if I seemed to favor their plans—just as the sun shines on the herb and the gentle dew falls on the grass—until the proper time for Me to interpose and defeat them arises (Isaiah 18:5–6).

I will consider - I will look on; that is, I will not now interpose and disrupt their plans before they are complete. We learn here:

1. That God sees the plans of the wicked.

2. That He sees them mature their plans without then attempting to interpose to disrupt them.

3. That He is calm and still, because He intends that those plans should be developed.

4. That the wicked should not indulge in any dreams of security and success because God does not interpose to thwart their plans while they are forming them. He will do it in the proper time.

In my dwelling-place - In heaven. I will sit in heaven and contemplate leisurely the plans that are going forward.

Like a clear heat - A serene, calm, and steady sunshine, by which plants and herbs are made to grow. There seem to be two ideas blended here: the first, that of the stillness with which the sun shines upon the herbs; and the other, that of the fact that the sun shines that the herbs may grow.

Upon herbs - Margin, ‘After rain’ (עלי־אוי ‛ălēy 'ôry). The word אוי 'ôr usually signifies “light” or “fire.”

The plural form (ואורות ô'ôrôth) is used to denote herbs or vegetables in two places: 2 Kings 4:39 and Isaiah 26:19.

For in the Semitic languages, the ideas of sprouting, being grown, growing, etc., are connected with that of the shining of the sun, or of light—that which grows in the light, that is, vegetables.

But in the singular form, the word is not used in this way, unless it is in this place. That it may have this signification cannot be doubted, and this interpretation makes good sense and suits the connection.

The rabbis generally interpret it as it is in the margin—‘rain.’ In proof of this, they appeal to Job 36:30 and Job 37:11; but the word in these passages more properly denotes a cloud of light or of lightning, rather than rain.

The common interpretation is probably correct, which regards the word אור 'ôr here as the same as אורה 'ôrâh—‘herbs’ (see Vitringa).

The Syriac reads it על־יאר ‛al - y^eor—‘upon the river.’ The parallelism seems to require the sense of herb, or something that will correspond to harvest in the parallel clause.

And like a cloud of dew - Such a dew was still, and promoted the growth of vegetables. The idea is that of stillness and rest where there is no storm or tempest to dissipate the gently-falling dew. This is an emblem of the perfect quietness with which God would regard the preparations for war until the proper time would come for Him to interpose. The whole passage is similar to Psalm 2:4-5:

He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh;
Jehovah shall have them in derision.
Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath,
And vex them in his hot displeasure.

The idea is, that He would be as calm as the sun is upon the herb, or the dew upon the harvest field, until the time should come when it would be proper for Him to interpose, and disconcert their plans. When and how this would be done is stated in the following verses; and the whole passage is a most striking illustration of the manner with which God contemplates the machinations and evil designs of the wicked.