King James Version

Isaiah 48:18

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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Hebrew

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ל֥וּאluifלוּאconjunction — “if”H3863a conditional particle; if; by implication (interj. as a wish) would that!if (haply), peradventure, I pray thee, though, I would, would God (that).הִקְשַׁ֖בְתָּhiqshavtaattendקָשַׁבverb, hiphil, perfect, 2nd person, masculine, singular — “attend”, a completed actionH7181to prick up the ears, i.e. hearkenattend, (cause to) hear(-ken), give heed, incline, mark (well), regard.לְמִצְוֺתָ֑יlemitsotayto lawמִצְוָהpreposition, noun, common, feminine, plural, construct, suffix, pronominal, 1st person, common, singular — “to law”, the of-form, joined to the next wordH4687a command, whether human or divine (collectively, the Law)(which was) commanded(-ment), law, ordinance, precept.וַיְהִ֤יvayhiand beהָיָהconjunction, verb, qal, sequential imperfect, 3rd person, masculine, singular — “and be”, the next action in the storyH1961to exist, i.e. be or become, come to pass (always emphatic, and not a mere copula or auxiliary)beacon, [idiom] altogether, be(-come), accomplished, committed, like), break, cause, come (to pass), do, faint, fall, [phrase] follow, happen, [idiom] have, last, pertain, quit (one-) self, require, [idiom] use.כַנָּהָר֙khanaharas floodנָהָרpreposition, with the article, noun, common, masculine, singular, absolute — “as flood”, the ordinary formH5104a stream (including the sea; expectation the Nile, Euphrates, etc.); figuratively, prosperityflood, river.שְׁלוֹמֶ֔ךָshelomekhahealthשָׁלוֹםnoun, common, masculine, singular, construct, suffix, pronominal, 2nd person, masculine, singular — “health”, the of-form, joined to the next wordH7965safe, i.e. (figuratively) well, happy, friendly; also (abstractly) welfare, i.e. health, prosperity, peace[idiom] do, familiar, [idiom] fare, favour, [phrase] friend, [idiom] great, (good) health, ([idiom] perfect, such as be at) peace(-able, -ably), prosper(-ity, -ous), rest, safe(-ty), salute, welfare, ([idiom] all is, be) well, [idiom] whol…וְצִדְקָתְךָ֖vetsidqatekhaand justiceצְדָקָהconjunction, noun, common, feminine, singular, construct, suffix, pronominal, 2nd person, masculine, singular — “and justice”, the of-form, joined to the next wordH6666rightness (abstractly), subjectively (rectitude), objectively (justice), morally (virtue) or figuratively (prosperity)justice, moderately, right(-eous) (act, -ly, -ness).כְּגַלֵּ֥יkegaleas heapגַּלpreposition, noun, common, masculine, plural, construct — “as heap”, the of-form, joined to the next wordH1530something rolled, i.e. a heap of stone or dung (plural ruins), by analogy, a spring of water (plural waves)billow, heap, spring, wave.הַיָּֽםhayamthe seaיָםdefinite article, noun, common, masculine, singular, absolute — “the sea”, the ordinary formH3220a sea (as breaking in noisy surf) or large body of water; specifically (with the article), the Mediterranean Sea; sometimes a large river, or an artifical basin; locally, the west, or (rarely) the southsea ([idiom] -faring man, (-shore)), south, west (-ern, side, -ward).

Jewish translation (JPS 1917)

Oh that thou wouldest hearken to My commandments! then would thy peace be as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea;

Compare Public-Domain Translations

The King James Version remains the text of this page and the canonical URL.

American Standard Version (1901)

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:

Young’s Literal Translation

O that thou hadst attended to My commands, Then as a river is thy peace, And thy righteousness as billows of the sea,

World English Bible

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.

Darby Translation

Oh that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments! Then would thy peace have been as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea;

Douay-Rheims

O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments: thy peace had been as a river, and thy justice as the waves of the sea,

Jewish Publication Society (1917)

Oh that thou wouldest hearken to My commandments! then would thy peace be as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea;

Brenton’s Septuagint (1851), English

And if thou hadst hearkened to my commandments, then would thy peace have been like a river, and thy righteousness as a wave of the sea.

Septuagint (Brenton’s Greek, 1851)

Καὶ εἰ ἤκουσας τῶν ἐντολῶν μου, ἐγένετο ἂν ὡσεὶ ποταμὸς ἡ εἰρήνη σου, καὶ ἡ δικαιοσύνη σου ὡς κῦμα θαλάσσης·