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60. Glory of Zion

1 “Arise, shine, for your light has come,
   and the glory of the LORD rises upon you.
2 See, darkness covers the earth
   and thick darkness is over the peoples,
but the LORD rises upon you
   and his glory appears over you.
3 Nations will come to your light,
   and kings to the brightness of your dawn.

    4 “Lift up your eyes and look about you:
   All assemble and come to you;
your sons come from afar,
   and your daughters are carried on the hip.
5 Then you will look and be radiant,
   your heart will throb and swell with joy;
the wealth on the seas will be brought to you,
   to you the riches of the nations will come.
6 Herds of camels will cover your land,
   young camels of Midian and Ephah.
And all from Sheba will come,
   bearing gold and incense
   and proclaiming the praise of the LORD.
7 All Kedar’s flocks will be gathered to you,
   the rams of Nebaioth will serve you;
they will be accepted as offerings on my altar,
   and I will adorn my glorious temple.

    8 “Who are these that fly along like clouds,
   like doves to their nests?
9 Surely the islands look to me;
   in the lead are the ships of Tarshish, Or the trading ships
bringing your children from afar,
   with their silver and gold,
to the honor of the LORD your God,
   the Holy One of Israel,
   for he has endowed you with splendor.

    10 “Foreigners will rebuild your walls,
   and their kings will serve you.
Though in anger I struck you,
   in favor I will show you compassion.
11 Your gates will always stand open,
   they will never be shut, day or night,
so that people may bring you the wealth of the nations—
   their kings led in triumphal procession.
12 For the nation or kingdom that will not serve you will perish;
   it will be utterly ruined.

    13 “The glory of Lebanon will come to you,
   the juniper, the fir and the cypress together,
to adorn my sanctuary;
   and I will glorify the place for my feet.
14 The children of your oppressors will come bowing before you;
   all who despise you will bow down at your feet
and will call you the City of the LORD,
   Zion of the Holy One of Israel.

    15 “Although you have been forsaken and hated,
   with no one traveling through,
I will make you the everlasting pride
   and the joy of all generations.
16 You will drink the milk of nations
   and be nursed at royal breasts.
Then you will know that I, the LORD, am your Savior,
   your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.
17 Instead of bronze I will bring you gold,
   and silver in place of iron.
Instead of wood I will bring you bronze,
   and iron in place of stones.
I will make peace your governor
   and well-being your ruler.
18 No longer will violence be heard in your land,
   nor ruin or destruction within your borders,
but you will call your walls Salvation
   and your gates Praise.
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,
   and your God will be your glory.
20 Your sun will never set again,
   and your moon will wane no more;
the LORD will be your everlasting light,
   and your days of sorrow will end.
21 Then all your people will be righteous
   and they will possess the land forever.
They are the shoot I have planted,
   the work of my hands,
   for the display of my splendor.
22 The least of you will become a thousand,
   the smallest a mighty nation.
I am the LORD;
   in its time I will do this swiftly.”

THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

12. For the nation and kingdom. The Prophet dwells largely on confirming the hearts of believers, that they may not doubt that the restoration shall be such as he has described. Those events were altogether incredible; and we ourselves, though we have obtained abundant confirmation of them from the actual event, (for they have been made manifest to the eyes of all,) yet, unless we are guided by the Spirit of the Lord, could hardly conceive of them in our mind. He shows, therefore, that there is no reason why the Jews should doubt as to the restoration of the temple, because the Gentiles will aid them to the utmost of their power But here Isaiah looks at something higher than the building of the visible temple; for he intends to speak of that obedience which kings and nobles and the common people render to the Church when they promote, as far as they are able, pure doctrine.

Shall perish. He goes still farther, and confirms his statement the more by declaring that “the kingdoms and nations which will not serve the Church shall be destroyed.” And if so dreadful a punishment was pronounced against those who did not aid the Church, what shall we say of the tyrants who rush upon her with furious attack, and labor with all their might to destroy her? If careless and slothful men do not pass unpunished, does not a fearful vengeance await the ungodly, who disturb and overturn the work of the Lord?

The nations, I say, shall be utterly destroyed. What he had said in the singular number he immediately repeats in the plural, in order to show that even the whole world, if it be involved in the same guilt, shall likewise perish; for their multitude will not be able to prevent all who are estranged from God from perishing, and ungodly men will have no excuse for throwing obstacles in each other’s way, or for encouraging each other to impiety and wickedness. Kings and nations are said, as we have already seen, to “serve the Church;” not that she exercises any dominion over them, but because God has committed to her the scepter of his word by which he rules.
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