Isaiah 60:15-22

The Voice

¹⁵Eternal One: Although you have suffered abandonment, hatred, and hopeless despair,
        and no one dared to pass through,
    I will make you a place of lofty beauty for all time,
        filled and overflowing with joy from generation to generation.
¹⁶    You will be enriched by the world and its kings,
        and you will know for certain that I am the Eternal,
    Your Liberator, your Redeemer, the Strong One of Jacob.

¹⁷    I will bring you gold instead of bronze, silver instead of iron,
        bronze instead of wood, iron instead of stone.
    Your government will be founded and grounded;
        I will make peace your governor, and righteousness your ruler.

¹⁸You’ll never hear again, “Help! Call the guards!”
Violence, destruction, and ruin will be things of the past in Jerusalem.
You will name the city walls Salvation, and the city gates Praise.

¹⁹You won’t need the sun to brighten the day
or the moon and lamps to give you light.

This Hebrew title “Messiah” is based on a verb rightly translated “to anoint.” Kings and priests are “messiah-ed” during this period. But prophets like Isaiah and those who stand in the tradition of the great Hebrew prophets are also anointed. Living and working in Jerusalem in these days is much different than in earlier times. Wracked by the ages and ruined by overt destruction and covert neglect, the citizens of the holy city face disillusionment and disappointment. The people who come back after exile in Babylon do not return to a gloriously restored city and temple, but to a difficult land and contentious neighbors. The prophet is inspired by the spirit of God to restore hope, to help, and to comfort. As a spiritual guide he is compelled to convince people that God remains with them and that He still desires what is good, right, and true for and within them. Centuries later, in a synagogue in Nazareth, Jesus will pick up the scroll of Isaiah and read these inspiring words. He will say in no uncertain terms that the Scriptures are being fulfilled right then and there in their hearing (Luke 4:16-21). The year of jubilee will have arrived.

The Eternal One will be all the light you ever need.
    Your God will provide your glory, brilliance for all time.
²⁰Your sun will never set;
    your moon will never be eclipsed in shadow,
For you’ll bask in the Eternal’s light and silver splendor forever.
    Never again will you suffer the dark night of despair and gloom of mourning.
²¹All the people will be right with God,
    and they’ll stay in the land they possess forever.

Eternal One: I will plant them there like a sturdy sapling with My own hands.
        I will tend them and take pride in their growing.
²²    Just watch, they will develop robustly;
        from so small a beginning, they will multiply and become a mighty nation.
    I, the Eternal One, will make it happen soon.