Isaiah 60–62

Chapter 60

Future Glory for Jerusalem

¹“Arise, Jerusalem! Let your light shine for all to see.

For the glory of the Lord rises to shine on you.

²Darkness as black as night covers all the nations of the earth,

but the glory of the Lord rises and appears over you.

³All nations will come to your light;

mighty kings will come to see your radiance.

⁴“Look and see, for everyone is coming home!

Your sons are coming from distant lands;

your little daughters will be carried home.

⁵Your eyes will shine,

and your heart will thrill with joy,

for merchants from around the world will come to you.

They will bring you the wealth of many lands.

⁶Vast caravans of camels will converge on you,

the camels of Midian and Ephah.

The people of Sheba will bring gold and frankincense

and will come worshiping the Lord.

⁷The flocks of Kedar will be given to you,

and the rams of Nebaioth will be brought for my altars.

I will accept their offerings,

and I will make my Temple glorious.

⁸“And what do I see flying like clouds to Israel,

like doves to their nests?

⁹They are ships from the ends of the earth,

from lands that trust in me,

led by the great ships of Tarshish.

They are bringing the people of Israel home from far away,

carrying their silver and gold.

They will honor the Lord your God,

the Holy One of Israel,

for he has filled you with splendor.

¹⁰“Foreigners will come to rebuild your towns,

and their kings will serve you.

For though I have destroyed you in my anger,

I will now have mercy on you through my grace.

¹¹Your gates will stay open day and night

to receive the wealth of many lands.

The kings of the world will be led as captives

in a victory procession.

¹²For the nations that refuse to serve you

will be destroyed.

¹³“The glory of Lebanon will be yours—

the forests of cypress, fir, and pine—

to beautify my sanctuary.

My Temple will be glorious!

¹⁴The descendants of your tormentors

will come and bow before you.

Those who despised you

will kiss your feet.

They will call you the City of the Lord,

and Zion of the Holy One of Israel.

¹⁵“Though you were once despised and hated,

with no one traveling through you,

I will make you beautiful forever,

a joy to all generations.

¹⁶Powerful kings and mighty nations

will satisfy your every need,

as though you were a child

nursing at the breast of a queen.

You will know at last that I, the Lord,

am your Savior and your Redeemer,

the Mighty One of Israel.

¹⁷I will exchange your bronze for gold,

your iron for silver,

your wood for bronze,

and your stones for iron.

I will make peace your leader

and righteousness your ruler.

¹⁸Violence will disappear from your land;

the desolation and destruction of war will end.

Salvation will surround you like city walls,

and praise will be on the lips of all who enter there.

¹⁹“No longer will you need the sun to shine by day,

nor the moon to give its light by night,

for the Lord your God will be your everlasting light,

and your God will be your glory.

²⁰Your sun will never set;

your moon will not go down.

For the Lord will be your everlasting light.

Your days of mourning will come to an end.

²¹All your people will be righteous.

They will possess their land forever,

for I will plant them there with my own hands

in order to bring myself glory.

²²The smallest family will become a thousand people,

and the tiniest group will become a mighty nation.

At the right time, I, the Lord, will make it happen.”

Chapter 61

Good News for the Oppressed

¹The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me,

for the Lord has anointed me

to bring good news to the poor.

He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted

and to proclaim that captives will be released

and prisoners will be freed.

²He has sent me to tell those who mourn

that the time of the Lord’s favor has come,

and with it, the day of God’s anger against their enemies.

³To all who mourn in Israel,

he will give a crown of beauty for ashes,

a joyous blessing instead of mourning,

festive praise instead of despair.

In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks

that the Lord has planted for his own glory.

⁴They will rebuild the ancient ruins,

repairing cities destroyed long ago.

They will revive them,

though they have been deserted for many generations.

⁵Foreigners will be your servants.

They will feed your flocks

and plow your fields

and tend your vineyards.

⁶You will be called priests of the Lord,

ministers of our God.

You will feed on the treasures of the nations

and boast in their riches.

⁷Instead of shame and dishonor,

you will enjoy a double share of honor.

You will possess a double portion of prosperity in your land,

and everlasting joy will be yours.

⁸“For I, the Lord, love justice.

I hate robbery and wrongdoing.

I will faithfully reward my people for their suffering

and make an everlasting covenant with them.

⁹Their descendants will be recognized

and honored among the nations.

Everyone will realize that they are a people

the Lord has blessed.”

¹⁰I am overwhelmed with joy in the Lord my God!

For he has dressed me with the clothing of salvation

and draped me in a robe of righteousness.

I am like a bridegroom dressed for his wedding

or a bride with her jewels.

¹¹The Sovereign Lord will show his justice to the nations of the world.

Everyone will praise him!

His righteousness will be like a garden in early spring,

with plants springing up everywhere.

Chapter 62

Isaiah’s Prayer for Jerusalem

¹Because I love Zion,

I will not keep still.

Because my heart yearns for Jerusalem,

I cannot remain silent.

I will not stop praying for her

until her righteousness shines like the dawn,

and her salvation blazes like a burning torch.

²The nations will see your righteousness.

World leaders will be blinded by your glory.

And you will be given a new name

by the Lord’s own mouth.

³The Lord will hold you in his hand for all to see—

a splendid crown in the hand of God.

⁴Never again will you be called “The Forsaken City”

or “The Desolate Land.”

Your new name will be “The City of God’s Delight”

and “The Bride of God,”

for the Lord delights in you

and will claim you as his bride.

⁵Your children will commit themselves to you, O Jerusalem,

just as a young man commits himself to his bride.

Then God will rejoice over you

as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride.

⁶O Jerusalem, I have posted watchmen on your walls;

they will pray day and night, continually.

Take no rest, all you who pray to the Lord.

⁷Give the Lord no rest until he completes his work,

until he makes Jerusalem the pride of the earth.

⁸The Lord has sworn to Jerusalem by his own strength:

“I will never again hand you over to your enemies.

Never again will foreign warriors come

and take away your grain and new wine.

⁹You raised the grain, and you will eat it,

praising the Lord.

Within the courtyards of the Temple,

you yourselves will drink the wine you have pressed.”

¹⁰Go out through the gates!

Prepare the highway for my people to return!

Smooth out the road; pull out the boulders;

raise a flag for all the nations to see.

¹¹The Lord has sent this message to every land:

“Tell the people of Israel,

‘Look, your Savior is coming.

See, he brings his reward with him as he comes.’ ”

¹²They will be called “The Holy People”

and “The People Redeemed by the Lord.”

And Jerusalem will be known as “The Desirable Place”

and “The City No Longer Forsaken.”