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Isaiah 60
New English Translation

Zion’s Future Splendor

60 “Arise! Shine! For your light arrives!
The splendor[a] of the Lord shines on you!
2 For, look, darkness covers the earth
and deep darkness covers[b] the nations,
but the Lord shines on you;
his splendor[c] appears over you.
3 Nations come to your light,
kings to your bright light.
4 Look all around you![d]
They all gather and come to you—
your sons come from far away,
and your daughters are escorted by guardians.
5 Then you will look and smile,[e]
you will be excited and your heart will swell with pride.[f]
For the riches of distant lands[g] will belong to you,
and the wealth of nations will come to you.
6 Camel caravans will cover your roads,[h]
young camels from Midian and Ephah.
All the merchants of Sheba[i] will come,
bringing gold and incense
and singing praises to the Lord.[j]
7 All the sheep of Kedar will be gathered to you;
the rams of Nebaioth will be available to you as sacrifices.[k]
They will go up on my altar acceptably,[l]
and I will bestow honor on my majestic temple.
8 Who are these who float along[m] like a cloud,
who fly like doves to their shelters?[n]
9 Indeed, the coastlands[o] look eagerly for me;
the large ships[p] are in the lead,
bringing your sons from far away,
along with their silver and gold,
to honor the Lord your God,[q]
the Holy One of Israel,[r] for he has bestowed honor on you.
10 Foreigners will rebuild your walls;
their kings will serve you.
Even though I struck you down in my anger,
I will restore my favor and have compassion on you.[s]
11 Your gates will remain open at all times;
they will not be shut during the day or at night,
so that the wealth of nations may be delivered,
with their kings leading the way.[t]
12 Indeed,[u] nations or kingdoms that do not serve you will perish;
such nations will definitely be destroyed.[v]
13 The splendor of Lebanon will come to you,
its evergreens, firs, and cypresses together,
to beautify my palace;[w]
I will bestow honor on my throne room.[x]
14 The children of your oppressors will come bowing to you;
all who treated you with disrespect will bow down at your feet.
They will call you, ‘The City of the Lord,
Zion of the Holy One of Israel.’[y]
15 You were once abandoned
and despised, with no one passing through,
but I will make you[z] a permanent source of pride
and joy to coming generations.
16 You will drink the milk of nations;
you will nurse at the breasts of kings.[aa]
Then you will recognize that I, the Lord, am your Deliverer,
your Protector,[ab] the Powerful One of Jacob.[ac]
17 Instead of bronze, I will bring you gold;
instead of iron, I will bring you silver;
instead of wood, I will bring you[ad] bronze;
instead of stones, I will bring you[ae] iron.
I will make prosperity[af] your overseer,
and vindication your sovereign ruler.[ag]
18 Sounds of violence will no longer be heard in your land,
or the sounds of[ah] destruction and devastation within your borders.
You will name your walls, ‘Deliverance,’
and your gates, ‘Praise.’
19 The sun will no longer supply light for you by day,
nor will the moon’s brightness shine on you;
the Lord will be your permanent source of light—
the splendor of your God will shine upon you.[ai]
20 Your sun will no longer set;
your moon will not disappear;[aj]
the Lord will be your permanent source of light;
your time[ak] of sorrow will be over.
21 All your people will be godly;[al]
they will possess the land permanently.
I will plant them like a shoot;
they will be the product of my labor,
through whom I reveal my splendor.[am]
22 The least of you will multiply into[an] a thousand;
the smallest of you will become a large nation.
When the right time comes, I the Lord will quickly do this!”[ao]

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 60:1 tn Or “glory” (so most English versions).
  2. Isaiah 60:2 tn The verb “covers” is understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line).
  3. Isaiah 60:2 tn Or “glory” (so most English versions); TEV “the brightness of his presence.”
  4. Isaiah 60:4 tn Heb “Lift up around your eyes and see!”
  5. Isaiah 60:5 tn Or “shine,” or “be radiant” (NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
  6. Isaiah 60:5 tn Heb “and it will tremble and be wide, your heart.”
  7. Isaiah 60:5 tn Heb “the wealth of the sea,” i.e., wealth that is transported from distant lands via the sea.
  8. Isaiah 60:6 tn Heb “an abundance of camels will cover you.”
  9. Isaiah 60:6 tn Heb “all of them, from Sheba.”
  10. Isaiah 60:6 tn Heb “and they will announce the praises of the Lord.”
  11. Isaiah 60:7 tn Heb “will serve you,” i.e., be available as sacrifices (see the next line). Another option is to understood these “rams” as symbolic of leaders who will be subject to the people of Zion. See v. 10.
  12. Isaiah 60:7 tc Heb “they will go up on acceptance [on] my altar.” Some have suggested that the preposition עַל (ʿal) is dittographic (note the preceding יַעֲלוּ [yaʿalu]). Consequently, the form should be emended to לְרָצוֹן (leratson, “acceptably”; see BDB 953 s.v. רָצוֹן). However, the Qumran scroll 1QIsaa has both לרצון followed by the preposition על, which would argue against deleting the preposition. As the above translation seeks to demonstrate, the preposition עַל (ʿal) indicates a norm (“in accordance with acceptance” or “acceptably”; IBHS 218 §11.2.13e, n. 111), and the “altar” functions as an objective accusative with a verb of motion (cf. Gen 49:4; Lev 2:2; Num 13:17; J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah [NICOT], 2:534, n. 14).
  13. Isaiah 60:8 tn Heb “fly” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV); NAB, NIV “fly along.”
  14. Isaiah 60:8 tn Heb “to their windows,” i.e., to the openings in their coops. See HALOT 83 s.v. אֲרֻבָּה.
  15. Isaiah 60:9 tn Or “islands” (NIV); CEV “distant islands”; TEV “distant lands.”
  16. Isaiah 60:9 tn Heb “the ships of Tarshish.” See the note at 2:16.
  17. Isaiah 60:9 tn Heb “to the name of the Lord your God.”
  18. Isaiah 60:9 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
  19. Isaiah 60:10 tn Heb “in my favor I will have compassion on you.”
  20. Isaiah 60:11 tn Or “led in procession.” The participle is passive.
  21. Isaiah 60:12 tn Or “For” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); TEV “But.”
  22. Isaiah 60:12 tn The infinitive absolute appears before the finite verb for emphasis.
  23. Isaiah 60:13 tn Or “holy place, sanctuary.”
  24. Isaiah 60:13 tn Heb “the place of my feet.” See Ezek 43:7, where the Lord’s throne is called the “place of the soles of my feet.”
  25. Isaiah 60:14 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
  26. Isaiah 60:15 tn Heb “Instead of your being abandoned and despised, with no one passing through, I will make you.”
  27. Isaiah 60:16 sn The nations and kings are depicted as a mother nursing her children. Restored Zion will be nourished by them as she receives their wealth as tribute.
  28. Isaiah 60:16 tn Or “redeemer.” See the note at 41:14.
  29. Isaiah 60:16 sn See 1:24 and 49:26.
  30. Isaiah 60:17 tn The words “I will bring you” are supplied in the translation; they are understood by ellipsis (see the preceding lines).
  31. Isaiah 60:17 tn The words “I will bring you” are supplied in the translation; they are understood by ellipsis (see the first two lines of the verse).
  32. Isaiah 60:17 tn Or “peace” (KJV and many other English versions).
  33. Isaiah 60:17 tn The plural indicates degree. The language is ironic; in the past Zion was ruled by oppressive tyrants, but now personified prosperity and vindication will be the only things that will “dominate” the city.
  34. Isaiah 60:18 tn The words “sounds of” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
  35. Isaiah 60:19 tn Heb “and your God for your splendor.”
  36. Isaiah 60:20 sn In this verse “sun” and “moon” refer to the Lord’s light, which will replace the sun and moon (see v. 19). Light here symbolizes the restoration of divine blessing and prosperity in conjunction with the Lord’s presence. See 30:26.
  37. Isaiah 60:20 tn Heb “days” (so KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).
  38. Isaiah 60:21 tn Or “righteous” (NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); NAB “just.”
  39. Isaiah 60:21 tn Heb “a shoot of his planting, the work of my hands, to reveal splendor.”
  40. Isaiah 60:22 tn Heb “will become” (so NASB, NIV).
  41. Isaiah 60:22 tn Heb “I, the Lord, in its time, I will quickly do it.”
Close EXB

Isaiah 60
Expanded Bible

Jerusalem Will Be Great

60 “Jerusalem, ·get up [arise] and shine, because your light has come,
    and the glory of the Lord shines on you.
2 [L Look; T Behold] Darkness ·now covers [or will cover] the earth;
    deep darkness covers ·her people [the nations].
But the Lord shines on you,
    and people see his glory [C his manifest presence] ·around [upon] you.
3 Nations will come to your light;
    kings will come to ·the brightness of your sunrise [or your radiance].

4 “[L Lift up your eyes and] Look around you.
    People are gathering and coming to you.
Your sons are coming from far away,
    and your daughters are ·coming with them [or carried on the hip; or nursed at their side; or escorted by guardians].
5 When you see them, you will ·shine with happiness [L shine; be radiant];
    you will be excited and ·full of joy [L your heart will swell/enlarge],
because the wealth of the nations across the seas will be given to you;
    the riches of the nations will come to you.
6 ·Herds [or Caravans; L An abundance of] of camels will cover your land,
    young camels from Midian and Ephah.
·People [L All] will come from Sheba [C unknown location, perhaps present-day Yemen, Eritrea, or Ethiopia; see 1 Kin. 10:1–13]
    bringing gold and ·incense [or frankincense],
    and they will sing praises to the Lord.
7 All the sheep from Kedar will be ·given [gathered] to you;
    the ·sheep [rams] from Nebaioth [Gen. 25:13] will ·be brought to [serve; minister to; C perhaps for sacrifices] you.
They will be ·pleasing [acceptable] sacrifices on my altar,
    and I will ·make my beautiful Temple more beautiful [glorify/adorn my glorious Temple].

8 “·The people are returning to you [L Who are these who fly…?] like clouds,
    like doves flying to their ·nests [shelters; L windows].
9 ·People in faraway lands [L For the coastlands/or islands] ·are waiting [or look] for me.
    The ·great trading ships [L ships of Tarshish; 2:16] will come first,
bringing your children from ·faraway lands [afar],
    and with them silver and gold.
·This will honor [L …for the name of] the Lord your God,
    the Holy One of Israel [1:4],
·who does wonderful things for you [L because he has glorified/beautified you].

10 “Jerusalem, foreigners will rebuild your walls,
    and their kings will serve you.
·When I was angry [L In my wrath], I ·hurt [struck] you,
    but now ·I want to be kind to you and comfort you [L in grace/favor I will have compassion/mercy on you].
11 Your gates will always be open;
    they will not be closed day or night
so the nations can bring their wealth to you,
    and their kings ·will be led to you [or leading the way; C either as captives or leading the procession of gifts].
12 The nation or kingdom that doesn’t serve you will ·be destroyed [perish];
    it will be completely ruined.

13 “The ·great trees [L glory] of Lebanon will ·be given [come] to you [35:2]:
    its ·pine [juniper], fir, and cypress trees together.
You will use them to make ·my Temple [L the place of my sanctuary] beautiful,
    and I will ·give much honor to [glorify] ·this place where I rest [L the place of] my feet [Ezek. 43:7].
14 The ·people who have hurt you [L children/sons of your oppressors] will bow down to you;
    those who ·hated [despised] you will bow down at your feet.
They will call you The City of the Lord,
    ·Jerusalem, city [L Zion; 59:20] of the Holy One of Israel [1:4].

15 “You have been ·hated [despised] and ·left empty [abandoned; forsaken]
    with no one passing through.
But I will make you great from now on;
    you will be a place of ·happiness [pride; majesty] ·forever and ever [for generations to come].
16 You will ·be given what you need from [L drink the milk of] the nations,
    like a child ·drinking milk from its mother [nursing at royal breasts].
Then you will know that it is I, the Lord, ·who saves you [your savior].
    You will know that the Powerful One of Jacob ·protects [redeems] you.
17 I will bring you gold in place of bronze,
    silver in place of iron,
bronze in place of wood,
    iron in place of rocks.
I will ·change your punishment into peace [or make peace your governor/leader],
    and ·you will be ruled by what is right [righteousness will be your ruler].
18 There will be no more violence [L heard] in your country,
    no more ·ruin [devastation; havoc] or destruction within your borders.
You will name your walls Salvation
    and your gates Praise.
19 The sun will no longer be your light during the day
    nor will the brightness from the moon be your light,
because the Lord will be your ·light forever [everlasting light],
    and your God will be your glory [Zech. 14:6–7; Rev. 21:23; 22:5].
20 Your sun will never set again,
    and your moon will ·never be dark [not wane/disappear],
because the Lord will be your ·light forever [everlasting light],
    and your ·time of sadness [days of mourning] will end.
21 All of your people will ·do what is right [be righteous].
    They will ·receive [possess; inherit] the earth forever.
They are the ·plant [branch; shoot] I have planted,
    the work of my own hands
    to show my ·greatness [glory; C manifest presence].
22 The ·smallest family will grow to [L least of you will become] a thousand.
    The ·least important [smallest] of you will become a powerful nation.
I am the Lord,
    and ·when it is [L in its] time, I will ·make these things happen quickly [hasten it].”

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