Isaiah 18:5 - Exposition

For afore the harvest . God can rest thus tranquil, because he can step in at any time; and this he is about to do, before Assyria reaps her harvest. When the bud is perfect , etc.; rather, when the blossom is past , and the green grape is becoming a ripening bunch . He shall cut off (comp. Isaiah 10:33 , Isaiah 10:34 ). The metaphor is slightly varied in this place, to suit the imagery of the preceding clause, where Assyria has been represented as a vine-stock. Formerly her "boughs" were to be "lopped;" now her "branches" and "sprigs" or "sprouts" are to be cut away with pruning-hooks.