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A New Day for Jerusalem

60 Jerusalem, stand up! Shine!
    Your new day is dawning.
The glory of the Lord
    shines brightly on you.
The earth and its people
    are covered with darkness,
but the glory of the Lord
    is shining upon you.
Nations and kings
will come to the light
    of your dawning day.

Crowds Are Coming to Jerusalem

The Lord said:

(A) Open your eyes! Look around!
    Crowds are coming.
Your sons are on their way
    from distant lands;
your daughters are being carried
    like little children.
When you see this,
    your faces will glow;
your hearts will pound
    and swell with pride.[a]
Treasures from across the sea
and the wealth of nations
    will be brought to you.
Your country will be covered
with caravans of young camels
    from Midian and Ephah.[b]
The people of Sheba[c]
will bring gold and spices
    in praise of me, the Lord.
Every sheep of Kedar
    will come to you;
rams from Nebaioth[d]
    will be yours as well.
I will accept them as offerings
    and bring honor to my temple.

What is that sailing by
like clouds
    or like doves flying home?
On those distant islands
your people are waiting
    for me, the Lord.[e]
Seagoing ships[f] lead the way
to bring them home
    with their silver and gold.
I, the holy Lord God of Israel,
do this to honor your people,
    so they will honor me.

Jerusalem Will Be Rebuilt

The Lord said:

10 Jerusalem, your city walls
    will be rebuilt by foreigners;
their rulers will become
    your slaves.
I punished you in my anger;
now I will be kind
    and treat you with mercy.

11 (B) Your gates will be open
    day and night
to let the rulers of nations
lead their people to you
    with all their treasures.
12 Any nation or kingdom
that refuses to serve you
    will be wiped out.
13 Wood from Lebanon's best trees
will be brought to you—
    the pines, the firs,
    and the cypress trees.
It will be used in my temple
to make beautiful the place
    where I rest my feet.

14 (C) The descendants of enemies
who hated and mistreated you
    will kneel at your feet.
They will say, “You are Zion,
the city of the Lord,
    the holy One of Israel.”

15 You were hated and deserted,
    rejected by everyone.
But I will make you beautiful,
a city to be proud of
    for all time to come.
16 You will drain the wealth
    of kings and foreign nations.
You will know that I,
the mighty Lord God of Israel,
    have saved and rescued you.

17 I will bring bronze and iron
    in place of wood and stone;
in place of bronze and iron,
    I will bring gold and silver.
I will appoint peace and justice
    as your rulers and leaders.
18 Violence, destruction, and ruin
will never again be heard of
    within your borders.
“Victory” will be the name
    you give to your walls;
“Praise” will be the name
    you give to your gates.

19 (D) You won't need the light
    of the sun or the moon.
I, the Lord your God,
will be your eternal light
    and bring you honor.
20 Your sun will never set
    or your moon go down.
I, the Lord, will be
    your everlasting light,
and your days of sorrow
    will come to an end.
21 Your people will live right
    and always own the land;
they are the trees I planted
    to bring praise to me.
22 Even the smallest family
    will be a powerful nation.
I am the Lord,
and when the time comes,
    I will quickly do all this.

Footnotes

  1. 60.5 swell with pride: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  2. 60.6 Midian … Ephah: Midian was the ancestor of a nomadic tribe of the Arabian desert, east of the Gulf of Aqaba. Ephah was a clan within the tribe of Midian.
  3. 60.6 Sheba: Perhaps a place in what is now southwest Arabia. The Queen of Sheba brought gifts to Solomon (1 Kings 10.1-13).
  4. 60.7 Kedar … Nebaioth: Regions in northern Arabia.
  5. 60.9 On … Lord: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  6. 60.9 Seagoing ships: See the note at 2.16.

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