Isaiah 60:1-14
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]
Footnotes
- Isaiah 60:1 tn Or “glory” (so most English versions).
- Isaiah 60:2 tn The verb “covers” is understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line).
- Isaiah 60:2 tn Or “glory” (so most English versions); TEV “the brightness of his presence.”
- Isaiah 60:4 tn Heb “Lift up around your eyes and see!”
- Isaiah 60:5 tn Or “shine,” or “be radiant” (NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
- Isaiah 60:5 tn Heb “and it will tremble and be wide, your heart.”
- Isaiah 60:5 tn Heb “the wealth of the sea,” i.e., wealth that is transported from distant lands via the sea.
- Isaiah 60:6 tn Heb “an abundance of camels will cover you.”
- Isaiah 60:6 tn Heb “all of them, from Sheba.”
- Isaiah 60:6 tn Heb “and they will announce the praises of the Lord.”
- 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.
- 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).
- Isaiah 60:8 tn Heb “fly” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV); NAB, NIV “fly along.”
- Isaiah 60:8 tn Heb “to their windows,” i.e., to the openings in their coops. See HALOT 83 s.v. אֲרֻבָּה.
- Isaiah 60:9 tn Or “islands” (NIV); CEV “distant islands”; TEV “distant lands.”
- Isaiah 60:9 tn Heb “the ships of Tarshish.” See the note at 2:16.
- Isaiah 60:9 tn Heb “to the name of the Lord your God.”
- Isaiah 60:9 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
- Isaiah 60:10 tn Heb “in my favor I will have compassion on you.”
- Isaiah 60:11 tn Or “led in procession.” The participle is passive.
- Isaiah 60:12 tn Or “For” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); TEV “But.”
- Isaiah 60:12 tn The infinitive absolute appears before the finite verb for emphasis.
- Isaiah 60:13 tn Or “holy place, sanctuary.”
- 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.”
- Isaiah 60:14 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
Isaiah 60:1-14
Common English Bible
Jerusalem’s coming radiance
60 Arise! Shine! Your light has come;
the Lord’s glory has shone upon you.
2 Though darkness covers the earth
and gloom the nations,
the Lord will shine upon you;
God’s glory will appear over you.
3 Nations will come to your light
and kings to your dawning radiance.
4 Lift up your eyes and look all around:
they are all gathered; they have come to you.
Your sons will come from far away,
and your daughters on caregivers’ hips.
5 Then you will see and be radiant;
your heart will tremble and open wide,
because the sea’s abundance will be turned over to you;
the nations’ wealth will come to you.
6 Countless camels will cover your land,
young camels from Midian and Ephah.
They will all come from Sheba,
carrying gold and incense,
proclaiming the Lord’s praises.
7 All Kedar’s sheep will be gathered for you;
rams from Nebaioth will be your offerings;
they will be accepted on my altar,
and I will glorify my splendid house.
8 Who are these who fly like a cloud,
like doves to their shelters?
9 I’m the hope of the coastlands.
Ships from Tarshish are in the lead
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, who has glorified you.
10 Foreigners will rebuild your walls,
and their kings will serve you.
Though in my rage I struck you down,
in my favor I have consoled you.
11 Your gates will be open continually;
day and night they won’t close,
to bring to you the wealth of nations,
and their kings led in procession.
12 The nation and the dynasty
that won’t serve you will perish;
such nations will be devastated.
13 Lebanon’s glory will come upon you,
cypress, elm, and pine,
to glorify the site of my sanctuary,
and I will honor my royal footstool.
14 The children of your tormenters will come bending low to you;
all who despised you will bow down at your feet.
They will call you The Lord’s City,
Zion, of the holy one of Israel.
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