Afore the harvest; before they receive the end of their hopes, and finish the work which they have designed and begun. When the bud is perfect, and the sour grape is ripening in the flower; when the bud or flower is turned into a perfect but unripe grape, which gives hopes of a good vintage. The body of this people are compared to a vine tree. He; the Lord, who is easily understood from the foregoing verse, and who is here represented under the notion of a husbandman or vine-dresser. Take away and cut down the branches; instead of the gathering of the grapes, he shall cut down the body and branches of the tree, and throw it into the fire.
Related Commentaries of Isaiah 18:5
Isaiah 18:5
5 For afore the harvest, when the bud is perfect, and the sour grape is ripening in the flower, he shall both cut off the sprigs with pruning hooks, and take away and cut down the branches.