Isa 18:4 | NETfull | STEP | For this is what the Lord has told me: “I will wait and watch from my place, like scorching heat produced by the sunlight, like a cloud of mist in the heat of harvest.”

Isaiah 18:4

4 For this is what the Lord has told me:
“I will wait ^{▼▼ Or “be quiet, inactive”; NIV “will remain quiet.”} and watch from my place,
like scorching heat produced by the sunlight, ^{▼▼ Heb “like the glowing heat because of light.” The precise meaning of the line is uncertain.}
like a cloud of mist ^{▼▼ Heb “a cloud of dew,” or “a cloud of light rain.”} in the heat ^{▼▼ Some medieval Hebrew mss, with support from the LXX, Syriac Peshitta, and Latin Vulgate, read “the day.”} of harvest.” ^{▼▼ It is unclear how the comparisons in v. 4b relate to the preceding statement. How is waiting and watching similar to heat or a cloud? For a discussion of interpretive options, see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:362.}