< Isaiah 60 >

1 Arise, be bright, for come hath thy light, And the honour of Jehovah hath risen on 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, 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.
[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 come have nations to thy light, And kings to the brightness of thy rising.
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 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.
[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 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.
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 A 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.
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 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.
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 — as a thick cloud they fly, And as doves unto their windows?
And what are those things that are moving swiftly like [SIM] clouds? They resemble [SIM] doves [returning] to their nests.
9 Surely 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.
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 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.
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 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.
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 do not serve thee perish, Yea, the nations are utterly wasted.
And the kingdoms and nations whose [people] refuse to allow you to rule them will be completely destroyed [DOU].
13 The 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.
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 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.'
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 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.
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 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.
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 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.
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 Violence 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.'
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 To 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.
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 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.
[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 [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.
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 doth become a chief, And the small one a mighty nation, I, Jehovah, in its own time do hasten it!
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.”

< Isaiah 60 >