Isaiah 60

1 “Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the LORD’s glory has risen on you!

2 For behold, darkness will cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the LORD will arise on you, and his glory shall be seen on you.

3 Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.

4 “Lift up your eyes all around, and see: they all gather themselves together. They come to you. Your sons will come from far away, and your daughters will be carried in arms.

5 Then you shall see and be radiant, and your heart will thrill and be enlarged; because the abundance of the sea will be turned to you. The wealth of the nations will come to you.

6 A multitude of camels will cover you, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah. All from Sheba will come. They will bring gold and frankincense, and will proclaim the praises of the LORD.

7 All the flocks of Kedar will be gathered together to you. The rams of Nebaioth will serve you. They will be accepted as offerings on my altar; and I will beautify my glorious house.

8 “Who are these who fly as a cloud, and as the doves to their windows?

9 Surely the islands will wait for me, and the ships of Tarshish first, to bring your sons from far away, their silver and their gold with them, for the name of the LORD your God, and for the Holy One of Israel, because he has glorified you.

10 “Foreigners will build up your walls, and their kings will serve you; for in my wrath I struck you, but in my favor I have had mercy on you.

11 Your gates also shall be open continually; they shall not be shut day nor night, that men may bring to you the wealth of the nations, and their kings led captive.

12 For that nation and kingdom that will not serve you shall perish; yes, those nations shall be utterly wasted.

13 “The glory of Lebanon shall come to you, the cypress tree, the pine, and the box tree together, to beautify the place of my sanctuary; and I will make the place of my feet glorious.

14 The sons of those who afflicted you will come bowing to you; and all those who despised you will bow themselves down at the soles of your feet. They will call you the LORD’s City, the Zion of the Holy One of Israel.

15 “Whereas you have been forsaken and hated, so that no one passed through you, I will make you an eternal excellency, a joy of many generations.

16 You will also drink the milk of the nations, and will nurse from royal breasts. Then you will know that I, the LORD, am your Savior, your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.

17 For bronze I will bring gold; for iron I will bring silver; for wood, bronze, and for stones, iron. I will also make peace your governor, and righteousness your ruler.

18 Violence shall no more be heard in your land, nor desolation or destruction within your borders; but you will call your walls Salvation, and your gates Praise.

19 The sun will be no more your light by day, nor will the brightness of the moon give light to you, but the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory.

20 Your sun will not go down any more, nor will your moon withdraw itself; for the LORD will be your everlasting light, and the days of your mourning will end.

21 Then your people will all be righteous. They will inherit the land forever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified.

22 The little one will become a thousand, and the small one a strong nation. I, the LORD, will do this quickly in its time.”

Around Isaiah 60

Context

Context for this book is being written. A note appears here only once it names its sources.

AI explanation

About Isaiah as a whole · Written by an AI model · Not reviewed by a theological reader

This explanation was written by an AI model to help you get started. It names no sources and can contain mistakes. Scripture comes first, and context with sources is shown separately on this page.

What this book is about

It begins with a vision. In the year that King Uzziah died, the prophet sees the Lord on a throne, high and lifted up, and voices call, “Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of Armies!” Then comes a call for someone to go, and the answer, “Here I am. Send me!”

What he is sent to say is hard and then tender. To Judah and Jerusalem, the first part of the book (chapters 1 to 39) warns of the consequences of injustice and false trust, and it promises a child who will rule on David’s throne. The second part (40 to 55) opens with “Comfort, comfort my people” and speaks to a people in exile, and it tells of a servant who suffers for others. The last part (56 to 66) looks ahead to a renewed people and to a new heavens and a new earth.

Background

Isaiah son of Amoz prophesied in Jerusalem in the second half of the eighth century before Christ, while the Assyrian threat hung over the land. Many scholars think chapters 40 to 66 come from later prophets in his tradition, speaking during and after the exile. Others hold that Isaiah wrote the whole book. Either way, the book reads as one long conversation between God and a people who swing between fear and false confidence.

How Christians read it

No prophet is quoted more in the New Testament. Readers have long weighed who the suffering servant is. Christians read the servant of chapter 53 as fulfilled in the death of Jesus, and Jewish interpretation has most often understood the servant as Israel. Passages such as 7:14 and 9:6 are read by Christians as pointing to Christ, while also having a meaning in Isaiah’s own day. These are old readings held by people who love the same pages.

About this explanation

Written by Claude Sonnet 5.5, an AI model, on 20 October 2026. It draws on the WEB text and general knowledge and was not checked against sources by a person. Every quotation from Scripture is checked automatically against the WEB text.

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World English Bible. Public-domain source and edition notes