Isaiah 60
1 Arise, give light, for thy light is come; and the glory of the Lord is shining forth over thee.
[You people of] Jerusalem [PRS], stand up! Yahweh has done glorious things for you, and he has acted powerfully for you; so show others that he is very great!
2 For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and a gross darkness the people; but over thee will shine forth the Lord, and his glory will be seen over thee.
[But spiritual] darkness has covered [all the other people-groups on] the earth, complete darkness, but Yahweh will show you how great he is, and other people will also see it.
3 And nations shall walk by thy light, and kings by the brightness of thy shining.
By seeing what he has done for you, [people of all] people-groups will see that he is very great, and kings will come to see the wonderful things that have happened to you.
4 Lift up thy eyes round about and see, they all are assembled, they come to thee, thy sons are coming from afar, and thy daughters are brought along in arms.
[Yahweh says], “Look around and you will see the people who will be returning from (exile/countries to which they have been forced to go)! Your sons will come from distant countries; others will carry your [little] daughters home.
5 Then wilt thou see and be filled with light, and thy heart will dread and be enlarged; because unto thee shall be turned the abundance of the sea, the riches of nations shall come unto thee.
When you look at this happening, you will be very joyful [DOU], because people will bring valuable goods to you [from all around the world]. They will bring in ships valuable things from [many] nations.
6 The multitude of camels shall cover thee, the dromedaries of Midian and 'Ephah; they all from Sheba shall come: gold and frankincense shall they carry, and the praises of the Lord shall they announce.
People will [also] bring valuable goods to you on herds/caravans of camels: Camels from the Midian and Ephah [areas of northern Arabia]. And from Sheba [in southern Arabia] they will come, bringing gold and frankincense; they will all come to praise [me], Yahweh.
7 All the flocks of Kedar shall be assembled unto thee, the rams of Nebayoth shall minister unto thee: they shall come for a favorable acceptance [unto me] upon my altar, and the house of my glory will I glorify.
They will bring flocks [of sheep and goats] from Kedar [in northern Arabia and give them] to you. [They will bring] [PRS] rams from Nebaioth for you [to sacrifice] on my altars, and I will accept them [happily]. [At that time] I will cause my temple to be very beautifully decorated.
8 Who are these that fly like a cloud, and like the doves, to their windows?
And what are those things that are moving swiftly like [SIM] clouds? They resemble [SIM] doves [returning] to their nests.
9 Yea, unto me [the inhabitants of] the isles shall hasten, and the ships of Tharshish at first, to bring thy sons from afar, their silver and their gold with them, unto the name of the Lord thy God, and to the Holy One of Israel; because he hath glorified thee.
But they are really ships from Tarshish that are bringing your people back here. When your people come, they will bring with them [all] the valuable possessions that they have acquired, and [they will do that] to honor [me], Yahweh, your God, the Holy One of Israel, because I will have greatly honored you.
10 And the sons of the stranger shall build up thy walls, and their kings shall minister unto thee; for in my wrath did I smite thee, but in my favor have I had mercy on thee.
Foreigners will [come and] rebuild the walls of your [cities], and their kings will serve/help you. Although I punished you because I was angry with you, these things will happen now because I will act mercifully toward you because I am kind.
11 And thy gates shall stand open continually, day and night shall they not be closed, to bring unto thee the wealth of nations, and their kings led [captive].
The gates of your [cities] will be open during the day and [also] during the night, in order that people will be able to bring into your cities valuable things from [many] countries, with their kings being led to you in the processions.
12 For the nation and the kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish; and the nations shall be utterly destroyed.
And the kingdoms and nations whose [people] refuse to allow you to rule them will be completely destroyed [DOU].
13 The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee, the fir, the cypress, and the box together, to adorn the place of my sanctuary, and the [resting] place of my feet will I glorify.
The glorious/beautiful things in Lebanon will be brought to you— [lumber from] cypress [trees] and fir [trees] and pine [trees]— to be used to make my temple beautiful. When that is done, my temple [MTY] will [truly] be glorious!
14 And then shall come unto thee bent down the sons of those who afflicted thee, and there shall bow themselves down at the soles of thy feet all thy revilers; and they shall call thee, The city of the Lord, Zion of the Holy One of Israel.
The descendants of those who (oppressed you/treated you cruelly) will come and bow down to you; those who despised you will prostrate themselves in front of your feet. They will say that your city on Zion Hill is the City of Yahweh, where the Holy One of Israel lives.
15 Instead that thou wast forsaken and hated, without one to pass through [thee], will I render thee an excellency of everlasting, a joy of all generations.
Previously everyone hated you and ignored you, but now your [city] will be majestic/honored forever; and [I will cause you to be] joyful forever.
16 And thou shalt suck the milk of nations, and the breast of kings shalt thou suck; and thou shalt know that I the Lord am thy Saviour, and thy Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.
People of all nations and their kings will gladly bring [MET] their wealth to you. And [when that happens], you will realize that I truly am Yahweh, the one who saves you and rescues you [from your enemies], and that I am the mighty one to whom you Israeli people belong.
17 Instead of the copper will I bring gold, and instead of the iron will I bring silver, and instead of wood copper, and instead of the stones iron; and I will set peace as thy authorities, and righteousness as thy taskmasters.
Instead of [metals that are not valuable, like] bronze and iron, I will bring to you silver and gold. Instead of wood and stones, I will bring you bronze and iron [for your buildings]. There will be peace in your country, and your rulers will do what is fair/just.
18 There shall not be heard any wore violence in thy land, wasting and destruction within thy boundaries; but thou shalt call, Salvation, thy walls, and thy gates, Praise.
People in your country will no longer act violently, and people will no longer destroy your land and cause it to become desolate/ruined. The people in the city will be safe, and everyone there will praise me [MTY].
19 The sun shall not be unto thee any more for a light by day, and for brightness shall the moon not give light unto thee; but the Lord will be unto thee for a light of everlasting, and thy God as thy glory.
And you will no longer need the sun and moon to give you light, because [I], Yahweh, will give you more light [than the sun and moon]; I will be a glorious light for you forever.
20 Thy sun shall not go down any more, and thy moon shall not be withdrawn; for the Lord will be unto thee for a light of everlasting, and ended shall be the days of thy mourning,
[It will seem as though] the sun and moon will always be shining [LIT], because [I], Yahweh, will be an everlasting light for you. You will never again be sad [because of things that happen to you].
21 And thy people—they all will be righteous, for ever shall they possess the land, the sprout of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may glorify myself.
Your people will all be righteous, and they will occupy the land forever, because I myself have put you there [like people plant trees] [MET] in order that you will show others that I am very great.
22 The little one shall become a thousand, and the small, a mighty nation: I the Lord will hasten it in its time.
At that time, the [groups that are] very small now will become [very large] clans, and small clans will become great nations. [All those things will happen because], I, Yahweh, will cause them to happen at the right time.”
