Isaiah 60-66
New King James Version
The Gentiles Bless Zion
60 Arise, (A)shine;
For your light has come!
And (B)the glory of the Lord is risen upon you.
2 For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth,
And deep darkness the people;
But the Lord will arise over you,
And His glory will be seen upon you.
3 The (C)Gentiles shall come to your light,
And kings to the brightness of your rising.
4 “Lift(D) up your eyes all around, and see:
They all gather together, (E)they come to you;
Your sons shall come from afar,
And your daughters shall be nursed at your side.
5 Then you shall see and become radiant,
And your heart shall swell with joy;
Because (F)the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you,
The wealth of the Gentiles shall come to you.
6 The multitude of camels shall cover your land,
The dromedaries of Midian and (G)Ephah;
All those from (H)Sheba shall come;
They shall bring (I)gold and incense,
And they shall proclaim the praises of the Lord.
7 All the flocks of (J)Kedar shall be gathered together to you,
The rams of Nebaioth shall minister to you;
They shall ascend with (K)acceptance on My altar,
And (L)I will glorify the house of My glory.
8 “Who are these who fly like a cloud,
And like doves to their roosts?
9 (M)Surely the coastlands shall wait for Me;
And the ships of Tarshish will come first,
(N)To bring your sons from afar,
(O)Their silver and their gold with them,
To the name of the Lord your God,
And to the Holy One of Israel,
(P)Because He has glorified you.
10 “The(Q) sons of foreigners shall build up your walls,
(R)And their kings shall minister to you;
For (S)in My wrath I struck you,
(T)But in My favor I have had mercy on you.
11 Therefore your gates (U)shall be open continually;
They shall not be shut day or night,
That men may bring to you the wealth of the Gentiles,
And their kings in procession.
12 (V)For the nation and kingdom which will not serve you shall perish,
And those nations shall be utterly ruined.
13 “The(W) glory of Lebanon shall come to you,
The cypress, the pine, and the box tree together,
To beautify the place of My sanctuary;
And I will make (X)the place of My feet glorious.
14 Also the sons of those who afflicted you
Shall come (Y)bowing to you,
And all those who despised you shall (Z)fall prostrate at the soles of your feet;
And they shall call you The City of the Lord,
(AA)Zion of the Holy One of Israel.
15 “Whereas you have been forsaken and hated,
So that no one went through you,
I will make you an eternal excellence,
A joy of many generations.
16 You shall drink the milk of the Gentiles,
(AB)And milk the breast of kings;
You shall know that (AC)I, the Lord, am your Savior
And your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.
17 “Instead of bronze I will bring gold,
Instead of iron I will bring silver,
Instead of wood, bronze,
And instead of stones, iron.
I will also make your officers peace,
And your magistrates righteousness.
18 Violence shall no longer be heard in your land,
Neither [a]wasting nor destruction within your borders;
But you shall call (AD)your walls Salvation,
And your gates Praise.
God the Glory of His People
19 “The (AE)sun shall no longer be your light by day,
Nor for brightness shall the moon give light to you;
But the Lord will be to you an everlasting light,
And (AF)your God your glory.
20 (AG)Your sun shall no longer go down,
Nor shall your moon withdraw itself;
For the Lord will be your everlasting light,
And the days of your mourning shall be ended.
21 (AH)Also your people shall all be righteous;
(AI)They shall inherit the land forever,
(AJ)The branch of My planting,
(AK)The work of My hands,
That I may be glorified.
22 (AL)A little one shall become a thousand,
And a small one a strong nation.
I, the Lord, will hasten it in its time.”
The Good News of Salvation
61 “The (AM)Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me,
Because the Lord (AN)has anointed Me
To preach good tidings to the poor;
He has sent Me (AO)to [b]heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim (AP)liberty to the captives,
And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
2 (AQ)To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord,
And (AR)the day of vengeance of our God;
(AS)To comfort all who mourn,
3 To [c]console those who mourn in Zion,
(AT)To give them beauty for ashes,
The oil of joy for mourning,
The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;
That they may be called trees of righteousness,
(AU)The planting of the Lord, (AV)that He may be glorified.”
4 And they shall (AW)rebuild the old ruins,
They shall raise up the former desolations,
And they shall repair the ruined cities,
The desolations of many generations.
5 (AX)Strangers shall stand and feed your flocks,
And the sons of the foreigner
Shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers.
6 (AY)But you shall be named the priests of the Lord,
They shall call you the servants of our God.
(AZ)You shall eat the riches of the Gentiles,
And in their glory you shall boast.
7 (BA)Instead of your shame you shall have double honor,
And instead of confusion they shall rejoice in their portion.
Therefore in their land they shall possess double;
Everlasting joy shall be theirs.
8 “For (BB)I, the Lord, love justice;
(BC)I hate robbery [d]for burnt offering;
I will direct their work in truth,
(BD)And will make with them an everlasting covenant.
9 Their descendants shall be known among the Gentiles,
And their offspring among the people.
All who see them shall acknowledge them,
(BE)That they are the posterity whom the Lord has blessed.”
10 (BF)I will greatly rejoice in the Lord,
My soul shall be joyful in my God;
For (BG)He has clothed me with the garments of salvation,
He has covered me with the robe of righteousness,
(BH)As a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments,
And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
11 For as the earth brings forth its bud,
As the garden causes the things that are sown in it to spring forth,
So the Lord God will cause (BI)righteousness and (BJ)praise to spring forth before all the nations.
Assurance of Zion’s Salvation
62 For Zion’s sake I will not [e]hold My peace,
And for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest,
Until her righteousness goes forth as brightness,
And her salvation as a lamp that burns.
2 (BK)The Gentiles shall see your righteousness,
And all (BL)kings your glory.
(BM)You shall be called by a new name,
Which the mouth of the Lord will name.
3 You shall also be (BN)a crown of glory
In the hand of the Lord,
And a royal diadem
In the hand of your God.
4 (BO)You shall no longer be termed (BP)Forsaken,[f]
Nor shall your land any more be termed (BQ)Desolate;[g]
But you shall be called [h]Hephzibah, and your land [i]Beulah;
For the Lord delights in you,
And your land shall be married.
5 For as a young man marries a virgin,
So shall your sons marry you;
And as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride,
(BR)So shall your God rejoice over you.
6 (BS)I have set watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem;
They shall [j]never hold their peace day or night.
You who [k]make mention of the Lord, do not keep silent,
7 And give Him no rest till He establishes
And till He makes Jerusalem (BT)a praise in the earth.
8 The Lord has sworn by His right hand
And by the arm of His strength:
“Surely I will no longer (BU)give your grain
As food for your enemies;
And the sons of the foreigner shall not drink your new wine,
For which you have labored.
9 But those who have gathered it shall eat it,
And praise the Lord;
Those who have brought it together shall drink it (BV)in My holy courts.”
10 Go through,
Go through the gates!
(BW)Prepare the way for the people;
Build up,
Build up the highway!
Take out the stones,
(BX)Lift up a banner for the peoples!
11 Indeed the Lord has proclaimed
To the end of the world:
(BY)“Say to the daughter of Zion,
‘Surely your salvation is coming;
Behold, His (BZ)reward is with Him,
And His [l]work before Him.’ ”
12 And they shall call them The Holy People,
The Redeemed of the Lord;
And you shall be called Sought Out,
A City Not Forsaken.
The Lord in Judgment and Salvation
63 Who is this who comes from Edom,
With dyed garments from Bozrah,
This One who is [m]glorious in His apparel,
Traveling in the greatness of His strength?—
“I who speak in righteousness, mighty to save.”
2 Why (CA)is Your apparel red,
And Your garments like one who treads in the winepress?
3 “I have (CB)trodden the winepress alone,
And from the peoples no one was with Me.
For I have trodden them in My anger,
And trampled them in My fury;
Their blood is sprinkled upon My garments,
And I have stained all My robes.
4 For the (CC)day of vengeance is in My heart,
And the year of My redeemed has come.
5 (CD)I looked, but (CE)there was no one to help,
And I wondered
That there was no one to uphold;
Therefore My own (CF)arm brought salvation for Me;
And My own fury, it sustained Me.
6 I have trodden down the peoples in My anger,
Made them drunk in My fury,
And brought down their strength to the earth.”
God’s Mercy Remembered
7 I will mention the lovingkindnesses of the Lord
And the praises of the Lord,
According to all that the Lord has bestowed on us,
And the great goodness toward the house of Israel,
Which He has bestowed on them according to His mercies,
According to the multitude of His lovingkindnesses.
8 For He said, “Surely they are My people,
Children who will not lie.”
So He became their Savior.
9 (CG)In all their affliction He was [n]afflicted,
(CH)And the Angel of His Presence saved them;
(CI)In His love and in His pity He redeemed them;
And (CJ)He bore them and carried them
All the days of old.
10 But they (CK)rebelled and (CL)grieved His Holy Spirit;
(CM)So He turned Himself against them as an enemy,
And He fought against them.
11 Then he (CN)remembered the days of old,
Moses and his people, saying:
“Where is He who (CO)brought them up out of the sea
With the [o]shepherd of His flock?
(CP)Where is He who put His Holy Spirit within them,
12 Who led them by the right hand of Moses,
(CQ)With His glorious arm,
(CR)Dividing the water before them
To make for Himself an everlasting name,
13 (CS)Who led them through the deep,
As a horse in the wilderness,
That they might not stumble?”
14 As a beast goes down into the valley,
And the Spirit of the Lord causes him to rest,
So You lead Your people,
(CT)To make Yourself a glorious name.
A Prayer of Penitence
15 (CU)Look down from heaven,
And see (CV)from Your habitation, holy and glorious.
Where are Your zeal and Your strength,
The yearning (CW)of Your heart and Your mercies toward me?
Are they restrained?
16 (CX)Doubtless You are our Father,
Though Abraham (CY)was ignorant of us,
And Israel does not acknowledge us.
You, O Lord, are our Father;
Our Redeemer from Everlasting is Your name.
17 O Lord, why have You (CZ)made us stray from Your ways,
And hardened our heart from Your fear?
Return for Your servants’ sake,
The tribes of Your inheritance.
18 (DA)Your holy people have possessed it but a little while;
(DB)Our adversaries have trodden down Your sanctuary.
19 We have become like those of old, over whom You never ruled,
Those who were never called by Your name.
A Prayer for Help
64 Oh, that You would [p]rend the heavens!
That You would come down!
That the mountains might shake at Your (DC)presence—
2 As fire burns brushwood,
As fire causes water to boil—
To make Your name known to Your adversaries,
That the nations may tremble at Your presence!
3 When (DD)You did awesome things for which we did not look,
You came down,
The mountains shook at Your presence.
4 For since the beginning of the world
(DE)Men have not heard nor perceived by the ear,
Nor has the eye seen any God besides You,
Who acts for the one who waits for Him.
5 You meet him who rejoices and does righteousness,
Who remembers You in Your ways.
You are indeed angry, for we have sinned—
(DF)In these ways we continue;
And we need to be saved.
6 But we are all like an unclean thing,
And all (DG)our righteousnesses are like [q]filthy rags;
We all (DH)fade as a leaf,
And our iniquities, like the wind,
Have taken us away.
7 And there is no one who calls on Your name,
Who stirs himself up to take hold of You;
For You have hidden Your face from us,
And have [r]consumed us because of our iniquities.
8 But now, O Lord,
You are our Father;
We are the clay, and You our (DI)potter;
And all we are the work of Your hand.
9 Do not be furious, O Lord,
Nor remember iniquity forever;
Indeed, please look—we all are Your people!
10 Your holy cities are a wilderness,
Zion is a wilderness,
Jerusalem a desolation.
11 Our holy and beautiful [s]temple,
Where our fathers praised You,
Is burned up with fire;
And all (DJ)our pleasant things [t]are laid waste.
12 (DK)Will You restrain Yourself because of these things, O Lord?
(DL)Will You [u]hold Your peace, and afflict us very severely?
The Righteousness of God’s Judgment
65 “I was (DM)sought by those who did not ask for Me;
I was found by those who did not seek Me.
I said, ‘Here I am, here I am,’
To a nation that (DN)was not called by My name.
2 (DO)I have stretched out My hands all day long to a (DP)rebellious people,
Who (DQ)walk in a way that is not good,
According to their own thoughts;
3 A people (DR)who provoke Me to anger continually to My face;
(DS)Who sacrifice in gardens,
And burn incense on altars of brick;
4 (DT)Who sit among the graves,
And spend the night in the tombs;
(DU)Who eat swine’s flesh,
And the broth of [v]abominable things is in their vessels;
5 (DV)Who say, ‘Keep to yourself,
Do not come near me,
For I am holier than you!’
These [w]are smoke in My nostrils,
A fire that burns all the day.
6 “Behold, (DW)it is written before Me:
(DX)I will not keep silence, (DY)but will repay—
Even repay into their bosom—
7 Your iniquities and (DZ)the iniquities of your fathers together,”
Says the Lord,
(EA)“Who have burned incense on the mountains
(EB)And blasphemed Me on the hills;
Therefore I will measure their former work into their bosom.”
8 Thus says the Lord:
“As the new wine is found in the cluster,
And one says, ‘Do not destroy it,
For (EC)a blessing is in it,’
So will I do for My servants’ sake,
That I may not destroy them (ED)all.
9 I will bring forth descendants from Jacob,
And from Judah an heir of My mountains;
My (EE)elect shall inherit it,
And My servants shall dwell there.
10 (EF)Sharon shall be a fold of flocks,
And (EG)the Valley of Achor a place for herds to lie down,
For My people who have (EH)sought Me.
11 “But you are those who forsake the Lord,
Who forget (EI)My holy mountain,
Who prepare (EJ)a table for [x]Gad,
And who furnish a drink offering for [y]Meni.
12 Therefore I will number you for the sword,
And you shall all bow down to the slaughter;
(EK)Because, when I called, you did not answer;
When I spoke, you did not hear,
But did evil before My eyes,
And chose that in which I do not delight.”
13 Therefore thus says the Lord God:
“Behold, My servants shall eat,
But you shall be hungry;
Behold, My servants shall drink,
But you shall be thirsty;
Behold, My servants shall rejoice,
But you shall be ashamed;
14 Behold, My servants shall sing for joy of heart,
But you shall cry for sorrow of heart,
And (EL)wail for [z]grief of spirit.
15 You shall leave your name (EM)as a curse to (EN)My chosen;
For the Lord God will slay you,
And (EO)call His servants by another name;
16 (EP)So that he who blesses himself in the earth
Shall bless himself in the God of truth;
And (EQ)he who swears in the earth
Shall swear by the God of truth;
Because the former troubles are forgotten,
And because they are hidden from My eyes.
The Glorious New Creation
17 “For behold, I create (ER)new heavens and a new earth;
And the former shall not be remembered or [aa]come to mind.
18 But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create;
For behold, I create Jerusalem as a rejoicing,
And her people a joy.
19 (ES)I will rejoice in Jerusalem,
And joy in My people;
The (ET)voice of weeping shall no longer be heard in her,
Nor the voice of crying.
20 “No more shall an infant from there live but a few days,
Nor an old man who has not fulfilled his days;
For the child shall die one hundred years old,
(EU)But the sinner being one hundred years old shall be accursed.
21 (EV)They shall build houses and inhabit them;
They shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
22 They shall not build and another inhabit;
They shall not plant and (EW)another eat;
For (EX)as the days of a tree, so shall be the days of My people,
And (EY)My elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands.
23 They shall not labor in vain,
(EZ)Nor bring forth children for trouble;
For (FA)they shall be the descendants of the blessed of the Lord,
And their offspring with them.
24 “It shall come to pass
That (FB)before they call, I will answer;
And while they are still speaking, I will (FC)hear.
25 The (FD)wolf and the lamb shall feed together,
The lion shall eat straw like the ox,
(FE)And dust shall be the serpent’s food.
They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain,”
Says the Lord.
True Worship and False
66 Thus says the Lord:
(FF)“Heaven is My throne,
And earth is My footstool.
Where is the house that you will build Me?
And where is the place of My rest?
2 For all those things My hand has made,
And all those things exist,”
Says the Lord.
(FG)“But on this one will I look:
(FH)On him who is poor and of a contrite spirit,
And who trembles at My word.
3 “He(FI) who kills a bull is as if he slays a man;
He who sacrifices a lamb, as if he (FJ)breaks a dog’s neck;
He who offers a grain offering, as if he offers swine’s blood;
He who burns incense, as if he blesses an idol.
Just as they have chosen their own ways,
And their soul delights in their abominations,
4 So will I choose their delusions,
And bring their fears on them;
(FK)Because, when I called, no one answered,
When I spoke they did not hear;
But they did evil before My eyes,
And chose that in which I do not delight.”
The Lord Vindicates Zion
5 Hear the word of the Lord,
You who tremble at His word:
“Your brethren who (FL)hated you,
Who cast you out for My name’s sake, said,
(FM)‘Let the Lord be glorified,
That (FN)we may see your joy.’
But they shall be ashamed.”
6 The sound of noise from the city!
A voice from the temple!
The voice of the Lord,
Who fully repays His enemies!
7 “Before she was in labor, she gave birth;
Before her pain came,
She delivered a male child.
8 Who has heard such a thing?
Who has seen such things?
Shall the earth be made to give birth in one day?
Or shall a nation be born at once?
For as soon as Zion was in labor,
She gave birth to her children.
9 Shall I bring to the time of birth, and not cause delivery?” says the Lord.
“Shall I who cause delivery shut up the womb?” says your God.
10 “Rejoice with Jerusalem,
And be glad with her, all you who love her;
Rejoice for joy with her, all you who mourn for her;
11 That you may feed and be satisfied
With the consolation of her bosom,
That you may drink deeply and be delighted
With the abundance of her glory.”
12 For thus says the Lord:
“Behold, (FO)I will extend peace to her like a river,
And the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream.
Then you shall (FP)feed;
On her sides shall you be (FQ)carried,
And be dandled on her knees.
13 As one whom his mother comforts,
So I will (FR)comfort you;
And you shall be comforted in Jerusalem.”
The Reign and Indignation of God
14 When you see this, your heart shall rejoice,
And (FS)your bones shall flourish like grass;
The hand of the Lord shall be known to His servants,
And His indignation to His enemies.
15 (FT)For behold, the Lord will come with fire
And with His chariots, like a whirlwind,
To render His anger with fury,
And His rebuke with flames of fire.
16 For by fire and by (FU)His sword
The Lord will judge all flesh;
And the slain of the Lord shall be (FV)many.
17 “Those(FW) who sanctify themselves and purify themselves,
To go to the gardens
[ab]After an idol in the midst,
Eating swine’s flesh and the abomination and the mouse,
Shall [ac]be consumed together,” says the Lord.
18 “For I know their works and their (FX)thoughts. It shall be that I will (FY)gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come and see My glory. 19 (FZ)I will set a sign among them; and those among them who escape I will send to the nations: to Tarshish and [ad]Pul and Lud, who draw the bow, and Tubal and Javan, to the coastlands afar off who have not heard My fame nor seen My glory. (GA)And they shall declare My glory among the Gentiles. 20 Then they shall (GB)bring all your brethren (GC)for an offering to the Lord out of all nations, on horses and in chariots and in litters, on mules and on camels, to My holy mountain Jerusalem,” says the Lord, “as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the Lord. 21 And I will also take some of them for (GD)priests and Levites,” says the Lord.
22 “For as (GE)the new heavens and the new earth
Which I will make shall remain before Me,” says the Lord,
“So shall your descendants and your name remain.
23 And (GF)it shall come to pass
That from one New Moon to another,
And from one Sabbath to another,
(GG)All flesh shall come to worship before Me,” says the Lord.
24 “And they shall go forth and look
Upon the corpses of the men
Who have transgressed against Me.
For their (GH)worm does not die,
And their fire is not quenched.
They shall be an abhorrence to all flesh.”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 60:18 devastation
- Isaiah 61:1 Lit. bind up
- Isaiah 61:3 Lit. appoint
- Isaiah 61:8 Or in
- Isaiah 62:1 keep silent
- Isaiah 62:4 Heb. Azubah
- Isaiah 62:4 Heb. Shemamah
- Isaiah 62:4 Lit. My Delight Is in Her
- Isaiah 62:4 Lit. Married
- Isaiah 62:6 not be silent
- Isaiah 62:6 remember
- Isaiah 62:11 recompense
- Isaiah 63:1 Or adorned
- Isaiah 63:9 Kt., LXX, Syr. not afflicted
- Isaiah 63:11 MT, Vg. shepherds
- Isaiah 64:1 tear open
- Isaiah 64:6 Lit. a filthy garment
- Isaiah 64:7 Lit. caused us to melt
- Isaiah 64:11 Lit. house
- Isaiah 64:11 have become a ruin
- Isaiah 64:12 keep silent
- Isaiah 65:4 Unclean meats, Lev. 7:18; 19:7
- Isaiah 65:5 Cause My wrath to smoke
- Isaiah 65:11 Lit. Troop or Fortune; a pagan deity
- Isaiah 65:11 Lit. Number or Destiny; a pagan deity
- Isaiah 65:14 Or a broken spirit
- Isaiah 65:17 Lit. come upon the heart
- Isaiah 66:17 Lit. After one
- Isaiah 66:17 come to an end
- Isaiah 66:19 So with MT, Tg.; LXX Put (cf. Jer. 46:9)
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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