The Future Glory of Israel

60 (A)Arise, shine, for your light has come,
    and (B)the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.
For behold, darkness shall cover the earth,
    and thick darkness the peoples;
but the Lord will arise upon you,
    and his glory will be seen upon you.
(C)And nations shall come to your light,
    and kings to the brightness of your rising.

(D)Lift up your eyes all around, and see;
    they all gather together, they come to you;
(E)your sons shall come from afar,
    and your daughters shall be carried on the hip.
Then you shall see and (F)be radiant;
    your heart shall thrill and exult,[a]
because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you,
    (G)the wealth of the nations shall come to you.
A multitude of camels shall cover you,
    the young camels of (H)Midian and (I)Ephah;
    all those from (J)Sheba shall come.
(K)They shall bring gold and frankincense,
    and shall bring good news, the praises of the Lord.
All the flocks of (L)Kedar shall be gathered to you;
    the rams of (M)Nebaioth shall minister to you;
(N)they shall come up with acceptance on my altar,
    (O)and I will beautify my beautiful house.

Who are these that fly like a cloud,
    and (P)like doves to their windows?
For (Q)the coastlands shall hope for me,
    (R)the ships of Tarshish first,
(S)to bring your children from afar,
    their silver and gold with them,
for the name of the Lord your God,
    and for the Holy One of Israel,
    because (T)he has made you beautiful.

10 (U)Foreigners shall build up your walls,
    and (V)their kings shall minister to you;
for in my wrath I struck you,
    but in my favor I have had mercy on you.
11 (W)Your gates shall be open continually;
    day and night they shall not be shut,
(X)that people may bring to you the wealth of the nations,
    with their kings led in procession.
12 (Y)For the nation and kingdom
    that will not serve you shall perish;
    those nations shall be utterly laid waste.
13 (Z)The glory of Lebanon shall come to you,
    the cypress, the plane, and (AA)the pine,
to beautify the place of my sanctuary,
    and I will make the place of my feet glorious.
14 (AB)The sons of those who afflicted you
    shall come bending low to you,
(AC)and all who despised you
    shall bow down at your feet;
(AD)they shall call you the City of the Lord,
    the Zion of the Holy One of Israel.

15 (AE)Whereas you have been forsaken and hated,
    with no one passing through,
(AF)I will make you majestic forever,
    a joy from age to age.
16 (AG)You shall suck the milk of nations;
    you shall nurse at the breast of kings;
and you shall know that (AH)I, the Lord, am your Savior
    and your Redeemer, (AI)the Mighty One of Jacob.

17 Instead of bronze I will bring gold,
    and instead of iron I will bring silver;
instead of wood, bronze,
    instead of stones, iron.
I will make your overseers peace
    (AJ)and your taskmasters righteousness.
18 (AK)Violence shall no more be heard in your land,
    devastation or destruction within your borders;
(AL)you shall call your walls Salvation,
    and your gates Praise.

19 (AM)The sun shall be no more
    your light by day,
nor for brightness shall the moon
    give you light;[b]
but the Lord will be your everlasting light,
    and your God will be your glory.[c]
20 Your sun shall no more go down,
    nor your moon withdraw itself;
for the Lord will be your everlasting light,
    and (AN)your days of mourning shall be ended.
21 (AO)Your people shall all be righteous;
    (AP)they shall possess the land forever,
(AQ)the branch of my planting, the work of my hands,
    that I might be glorified.[d]
22 (AR)The least one shall become a clan,
    and the smallest one a mighty nation;
(AS)I am the Lord;
    in its time I will hasten it.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 60:5 Hebrew your heart shall tremble and grow wide
  2. Isaiah 60:19 Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scroll, Septuagint, Targum add by night
  3. Isaiah 60:19 Or your beauty
  4. Isaiah 60:21 Or that I might display my beauty

Future Glory for Jerusalem

60 “Arise, Jerusalem! Let your light shine for all to see.
    For the glory of the Lord rises to shine on you.
Darkness as black as night covers all the nations of the earth,
    but the glory of the Lord rises and appears over you.
All nations will come to your light;
    mighty kings will come to see your radiance.

“Look and see, for everyone is coming home!
    Your sons are coming from distant lands;
    your little daughters will be carried home.
Your eyes will shine,
    and your heart will thrill with joy,
for merchants from around the world will come to you.
    They will bring you the wealth of many lands.
Vast caravans of camels will converge on you,
    the camels of Midian and Ephah.
The people of Sheba will bring gold and frankincense
    and will come worshiping the Lord.
The flocks of Kedar will be given to you,
    and the rams of Nebaioth will be brought for my altars.
I will accept their offerings,
    and I will make my Temple glorious.

“And what do I see flying like clouds to Israel,
    like doves to their nests?
They are ships from the ends of the earth,
    from lands that trust in me,
    led by the great ships of Tarshish.
They are bringing the people of Israel home from far away,
    carrying their silver and gold.
They will honor the Lord your God,
    the Holy One of Israel,
    for he has filled you with splendor.

10 “Foreigners will come to rebuild your towns,
    and their kings will serve you.
For though I have destroyed you in my anger,
    I will now have mercy on you through my grace.
11 Your gates will stay open day and night
    to receive the wealth of many lands.
The kings of the world will be led as captives
    in a victory procession.
12 For the nations that refuse to serve you
    will be destroyed.

13 “The glory of Lebanon will be yours—
    the forests of cypress, fir, and pine—
to beautify my sanctuary.
    My Temple will be glorious!
14 The descendants of your tormentors
    will come and bow before you.
Those who despised you
    will kiss your feet.
They will call you the City of the Lord,
    and Zion of the Holy One of Israel.

15 “Though you were once despised and hated,
    with no one traveling through you,
I will make you beautiful forever,
    a joy to all generations.
16 Powerful kings and mighty nations
    will satisfy your every need,
as though you were a child
    nursing at the breast of a queen.
You will know at last that I, the Lord,
    am your Savior and your Redeemer,
    the Mighty One of Israel.[a]
17 I will exchange your bronze for gold,
    your iron for silver,
your wood for bronze,
    and your stones for iron.
I will make peace your leader
    and righteousness your ruler.
18 Violence will disappear from your land;
    the desolation and destruction of war will end.
Salvation will surround you like city walls,
    and praise will be on the lips of all who enter there.

19 “No longer will you need the sun to shine by day,
    nor the moon to give its light by night,
for the Lord your God will be your everlasting light,
    and your God will be your glory.
20 Your sun will never set;
    your moon will not go down.
For the Lord will be your everlasting light.
    Your days of mourning will come to an end.
21 All your people will be righteous.
    They will possess their land forever,
for I will plant them there with my own hands
    in order to bring myself glory.
22 The smallest family will become a thousand people,
    and the tiniest group will become a mighty nation.
    At the right time, I, the Lord, will make it happen.”

Footnotes

  1. 60:16 Hebrew of Jacob. See note on 14:1.