Isaiah 60–62

¹Arise, be bright, for come hath thy light, And the honour of Jehovah hath risen on thee. ²For, lo, the darkness doth cover the earth, And thick darkness the peoples, And on thee rise doth Jehovah, And His honour on thee is seen. ³And come have nations to thy light, And kings to the brightness of thy rising. ⁴Lift up round about thine eyes and see, All of them have been gathered, they have come to thee, Thy sons from afar do come, And thy daughters on the side are supported. ⁵Then thou seest, and hast become bright, And thine heart hath been afraid and enlarged, For turn unto thee doth the multitude of the sea, The forces of nations do come to thee. ⁶A company of camels covereth thee, Dromedaries of Midian and Ephah, All of them from Sheba do come, Gold and frankincense they bear, And of the praises of Jehovah they proclaim the tidings. ⁷All the flock of Kedar are gathered to thee, The rams of Nebaioth do serve thee, They ascend for acceptance Mine altar, And the house of My beauty I beautify. ⁸Who are these—as a thick cloud they fly, And as doves unto their windows?

⁹Surely for Me isles do wait, And ships of Tarshish first, To bring thy sons from afar, Their silver and their gold with them, To the name of Jehovah thy God, And to the Holy One of Israel, Because He hath beautified thee. ¹⁰And sons of a stranger have built thy walls, And their kings do serve thee, For in My wrath I have smitten thee, And in My good pleasure I have pitied thee. ¹¹And opened have thy gates continually, By day and by night they are not shut, To bring unto thee the force of nations, Even their kings are led. ¹²For the nation and the kingdom that do not serve thee perish, Yea, the nations are utterly wasted. ¹³The honour of Lebanon unto thee doth come, Fir, pine, and box together, To beautify the place of My sanctuary, And the place of My feet I make honourable. ¹⁴And come unto thee, bowing down, Have sons of those afflicting thee, And bowed themselves to the soles of thy feet Have all despising thee, And they have cried to thee: ‘City of Jehovah, Zion of the Holy One of Israel.’

¹⁵Instead of thy being forsaken and hated, And none passing through, I have made thee for an excellency age-during, A joy of generation and generation. ¹⁶And thou hast sucked the milk of nations, Yea, the breast of kings thou suckest, And thou hast known that I, Jehovah, Thy Saviour, and Thy Redeemer, Am the Mighty One of Jacob. ¹⁷Instead of the brass I bring in gold, And instead of the iron I bring in silver, And instead of the wood brass, And instead of the stone iron, And I have made thy inspection peace, And thy exactors righteousness. ¹⁸Violence is not heard any more in thy land, Spoiling and destruction in thy borders, And thou hast called ‘Salvation’ thy walls, And thy gates, ‘Praise.’ ¹⁹To thee no more is the sun for a light by day, And for brightness the moon giveth not light to thee, And Jehovah hath become to thee A light age-during, and thy God thy beauty. ²⁰Thy sun goeth no more in, And thy moon is not removed, For Jehovah becometh to thee a light age-during. And the days of thy mourning have been completed. ²¹And thy people are all of them righteous, To the age they possess the earth, A branch of My planting, A work of My hands, to be beautified. ²²The little one doth become a chief, And the small one a mighty nation, I, Jehovah, in its own time do hasten it!

Chapter 61

¹The Spirit of the Lord Jehovah is on me, Because Jehovah did anoint me To proclaim tidings to the humble, He sent me to bind the broken of heart, To proclaim to captives liberty, And to bound ones an opening of bands. ²To proclaim the year of the good pleasure of Jehovah, And the day of vengeance of our God, To comfort all mourners. ³To appoint to mourners in Zion, To give to them beauty instead of ashes, The oil of joy instead of mourning, A covering of praise for a spirit of weakness, And He is calling to them, ‘Trees of righteousness, The planting of Jehovah—to be beautified.’

⁴And they have built the wastes of old, The desolations of the ancients they raise up, And they have renewed waste cities, The desolations of generation and generation. ⁵And strangers have stood and fed your flock, Sons of a foreigner are your husbandmen, And your vine-dressers. ⁶And ye are called ‘Priests of Jehovah,’ ‘Ministers of our God,’ is said of you, The strength of nations ye consume, And in their honour ye do boast yourselves. ⁷Instead of your shame and confusion, A second time they sing of their portion, Therefore in their land A second time do they take possession, Joy age-during is for them. ⁸For I am Jehovah, loving judgment, Hating plunder for a burnt-offering, And I have given their wage in truth, And a covenant age-during I make for them. ⁹And known among nations hath been their seed, And their offspring in the midst of the peoples, All their beholders acknowledge them, For they are a seed Jehovah hath blessed.

¹⁰I greatly rejoice in Jehovah, Joy doth my soul in my God, For He clothed me with garments of salvation, With a robe of righteousness covereth Me, As a bridegroom prepareth ornaments, And as a bride putteth on her jewels. ¹¹For, as the earth bringeth forth her shoots, And as a garden causeth its sown things to shoot up, So the Lord Jehovah causeth righteousness and praise To shoot up before all the nations!

Chapter 62

¹For Zion’s sake I am not silent, And for Jerusalem’s sake I do not rest, Till her righteousness go out as brightness, And her salvation, as a torch that burneth. ²And nations have seen thy righteousness, And all kings thine honour, And He is giving to thee a new name, That the mouth of Jehovah doth define. ³And thou hast been a crown of beauty in the hand of Jehovah, And a diadem of royalty in the hand of thy God, ⁴It is not said of thee any more, ‘Forsaken!’ And of thy land it is not said any more, ‘Desolate,’ For to thee is cried, ‘My delight is in her,’ And to thy land, ‘Married,’ For Jehovah hath delighted in thee, And thy land is married. ⁵For a young man doth marry a virgin, Thy Builders do marry thee, With the joy of a bridegroom over a bride, Rejoice over thee doth thy God.

⁶‘On thy walls, O Jerusalem, I have appointed watchmen, All the day, and all the night, Continually, they are not silent.’ O ye remembrancers of Jehovah, Keep not silence for yourselves, ⁷And give not silence to Him, Till He establish, and till He make Jerusalem A praise in the earth. ⁸Sworn hath Jehovah by His right hand, Even by the arm of His strength: ‘I give not thy corn any more as food for thine enemies, Nor do sons of a stranger drink thy new wine, For which thou hast laboured. ⁹For, those gathering it do eat it, and have praised Jehovah, And those collecting it do drink it in My holy courts.’

¹⁰Pass ye on, pass on through the gates, Prepare ye the way of the people, Raise up, raise up the highway, clear it from stones, Lift up an ensign over the peoples. ¹¹Lo, Jehovah hath proclaimed unto the end of the earth: ‘Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Lo, thy salvation hath come,’ Lo, his hire is with him, and his wage before him. ¹²And they have cried to them, ‘People of the Holy One, Redeemed of Jehovah,’ Yea, to thee is called, ‘Sought out one, a city not forsaken!’

Chapter 63