Add parallel Print Page Options

Zion's future glory

60 Stand up! Shine brightly!
    Now your light has come![a]
The Lord's glory has risen to shine on you.
Look! Darkness covers all the earth and its people.
But the Lord shines his light on you,
    so that his glory appears over you.
People of other nations will come to your light.
    Kings will come to see the light of a new day that shines on you.

Look all round you!
All your people are coming together to return to you.
Your sons are coming from far away,
    and they carry your daughters in their arms.
As you see this, your eyes will shine with joy.
Your hearts will beat fast,
    and you will be proud to see them.
Traders will bring valuable things to you
    from lands across the seas.
The riches of other nations will come to you.
Traders will bring things on their camels
    so that your roads are full.
Young camels will come from Midian
    and from Ephah.
People will come from Sheba.
    They will bring gold and incense.
They will sing aloud to praise the Lord.
All the sheep and goats in Kedar will come to you.
They will give you sheep from Nebaioth,
    and I will accept them as sacrifices on my altar.
I will make my temple great and beautiful.
See those ships that sail along like clouds!
    They come like doves that are flying to their homes.
People from lands across the seas are coming to find me.
    Their big ships are leading them.
They are bringing your children from far away,
    as well as silver and gold.
They come to give honour to the name of the Lord your God.
    He is Israel's Holy God.
They come here because he has shown that you are great.
10 Foreign people will build your walls again.
    Their kings will be your servants.
I punished you when I was angry with you.
But now I will show my grace
    and I will be kind to you.
11 The gates of your city will always be open.
People will never close them,
    during the day or during the night.
Then other nations will bring their riches to you,
    and their kings will lead them.
12 Any nation or kingdom that refuses to serve you
    will come to an end.
Enemies will completely destroy those nations.
13 The beautiful things of Lebanon will come to you.
They will bring you its pine trees,
    its fir trees and its cypress trees.
The wood will make my temple beautiful.
    I will cause my home on earth to be great!
14 The descendants of your cruel enemies will come to you.
    They will bend down low in front of you.
Everybody who insulted you before
    will now give you honour.
They will call you, ‘The City of the Lord,
    Zion that is home for Israel's Holy God.’
15 At one time, people kept away from you,
    and they hated you.
    Nobody travelled through you.
But now I will make you a great city,
    so that people will be proud of you for ever.
Your people and their descendants will be very happy.
16 Other nations and their kings
    will give you everything that you need.
They will be like mothers
    who feed their babies with their milk.
Then you will know that I, the Lord,
    have made you safe.
You will know that I am your Redeemer,
    the Mighty One of Jacob.
17 I will bring you gold instead of bronze.
    I will bring you silver instead of iron.
I will give you bronze to use, instead of wood.
    I will give you iron instead of stones.
I will cause peace to be your city's leader.
    Righteousness will rule over you.
18 You will not hear the noise of violence in your land any more.
Inside its borders,
    nobody will fight wars or destroy things.
You will call your city's walls ‘Salvation’,
    and you will call your city's gates ‘Praise’.
19 You will no longer need the sun
    to give you light in the day again.
You will not need the moon to shine at night.
Instead, the Lord will be the light
    that shines on you for ever.
Yes, your God will be the light
    that brings you honour.
20 Your sun will never go down again
    and your moon will never disappear.
That is because the Lord will be the light
    that shines on you for ever.
Then your sad days will come to an end.
21 All your people will be righteous.
    The land will belong to them for ever.
I myself will plant them in the ground
    like a young plant.
As they grow, they will show how great I am.
22 The least important person among you
    will become a great family.
The smallest person will become a large nation.
I am the Lord.
When the right time comes,
    I will cause it to happen quickly!

Footnotes

  1. 60:1 See Isaiah 59:9; John 9:5.

The Glory of Zion

60 “Arise,(A) shine, for your light(B) has come,
    and the glory(C) of the Lord rises upon you.
See, darkness(D) covers the earth
    and thick darkness(E) is over the peoples,
but the Lord rises upon you
    and his glory appears over you.
Nations(F) will come to your light,(G)
    and kings(H) to the brightness of your dawn.

“Lift up your eyes and look about you:
    All assemble(I) and come to you;
your sons come from afar,(J)
    and your daughters(K) are carried on the hip.(L)
Then you will look and be radiant,(M)
    your heart will throb and swell with joy;(N)
the wealth(O) on the seas will be brought to you,
    to you the riches of the nations will come.
Herds of camels(P) will cover your land,
    young camels of Midian(Q) and Ephah.(R)
And all from Sheba(S) will come,
    bearing gold and incense(T)
    and proclaiming the praise(U) of the Lord.
All Kedar’s(V) flocks will be gathered to you,
    the rams of Nebaioth will serve you;
they will be accepted as offerings(W) on my altar,(X)
    and I will adorn my glorious temple.(Y)

“Who are these(Z) that fly along like clouds,(AA)
    like doves to their nests?
Surely the islands(AB) look to me;
    in the lead are the ships of Tarshish,[a](AC)
bringing(AD) your children from afar,
    with their silver and gold,(AE)
to the honor(AF) of the Lord your God,
    the Holy One(AG) of Israel,
    for he has endowed you with splendor.(AH)

10 “Foreigners(AI) will rebuild your walls,
    and their kings(AJ) will serve you.
Though in anger I struck you,
    in favor(AK) I will show you compassion.(AL)
11 Your gates(AM) will always stand open,
    they will never be shut, day or night,
so that people may bring you the wealth of the nations(AN)
    their kings(AO) led in triumphal procession.
12 For the nation or kingdom that will not serve(AP) you will perish;
    it will be utterly ruined.(AQ)

13 “The glory of Lebanon(AR) will come to you,
    the juniper, the fir and the cypress together,(AS)
to adorn my sanctuary;(AT)
    and I will glorify the place for my feet.(AU)
14 The children of your oppressors(AV) will come bowing before you;
    all who despise you will bow down(AW) at your feet
and will call you the City(AX) of the Lord,
    Zion(AY) of the Holy One(AZ) of Israel.

15 “Although you have been forsaken(BA) and hated,
    with no one traveling(BB) through,
I will make you the everlasting pride(BC)
    and the joy(BD) of all generations.
16 You will drink the milk of nations
    and be nursed(BE) at royal breasts.
Then you will know(BF) that I, the Lord, am your Savior,(BG)
    your Redeemer,(BH) the Mighty One of Jacob.(BI)
17 Instead of bronze I will bring you gold,(BJ)
    and silver in place of iron.
Instead of wood I will bring you bronze,
    and iron in place of stones.
I will make peace(BK) your governor
    and well-being your ruler.(BL)
18 No longer will violence(BM) be heard in your land,
    nor ruin or destruction(BN) within your borders,
but you will call your walls Salvation(BO)
    and your gates Praise.(BP)
19 The sun will no more be your light by day,
    nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you,
for the Lord will be your everlasting light,(BQ)
    and your God will be your glory.(BR)
20 Your sun(BS) will never set again,
    and your moon will wane no more;
the Lord will be your everlasting light,
    and your days of sorrow(BT) will end.
21 Then all your people will be righteous(BU)
    and they will possess(BV) the land forever.
They are the shoot I have planted,(BW)
    the work of my hands,(BX)
    for the display of my splendor.(BY)
22 The least of you will become a thousand,
    the smallest a mighty nation.(BZ)
I am the Lord;
    in its time I will do this swiftly.”(CA)

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 60:9 Or the trading ships