Isaiah 60–62: Arise, Shine": The Anointed One, and the City Called Hephzibah
Scripture: Berean Standard Bible
Arise, shine, for your light has come,and the glory of the LORD rises upon you.For behold, darkness covers the earth,and thick darkness is over the peoples;but the LORD will rise upon you,and his glory will appear over you.Nations will come to your light,and kings to the brightness of your dawn.
Lift up your eyes and look around:They all gather and come to you;your sons will come from afar,and your daughters will be carried on the arm.Then you will look and be radiant,and your heart will tremble and swell with joy,because the riches of the sea will be brought to you,and the wealth of the nations will come to you.Caravans of camels will cover your land,young camels of Midian and Ephah,and all from Sheba will come,bearing gold and frankincenseand proclaiming the praises of the LORD.All the flocks of Kedar will be gathered to you;the rams of Nebaioth will serve youand go up on my altar with acceptance;I will adorn my glorious house.
Who are these who fly like clouds,like doves to their shelters?Surely the islands will wait for me,with the ships of Tarshish in the lead,to bring 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 glorified you.
Foreigners will rebuild your walls,and their kings will serve you.Although I struck you in anger,yet in favor I will show you mercy.Your gates will always stand open;they will never be shut, day or night,so that the wealth of the nations may be brought into you,with their kings being led in procession.For the nation or kingdom that will not serve you will perish;it will be utterly destroyed.
The glory of Lebanon will come to you—its cypress, elm, and boxwood together—to adorn the place of my sanctuary,and I will glorify the place of my feet.The sons of your oppressorswill come and bow down to you;all who reviled youwill fall facedown at your feetand call you the City of the LORD,Zion of the Holy One of Israel.
Whereas you have been forsaken and despised,with no one passing through,I will make you an everlasting pride,a joy from age to age.You will drink the milk of nationsand nurse at the breasts of royalty;you will know that I, the LORD, am your Saviorand your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.
Instead of bronze I will bring you gold;I will bring silver in place of iron,bronze instead of wood,and iron instead of stones.I will appoint peace as your governorand righteousness as your ruler.No longer will violence be heard in your land,nor ruin or destruction within your borders.But you will name your walls Salvationand your gates Praise.
No longer will the sun be your light by day,nor the brightness of the moon shine on your night;for the LORD will be your everlasting light,and your God will be your splendor.Your sun will no longer set,and your moon will not wane;for the LORD will be your everlasting light,and the days of your sorrow will cease.
Then all your people will be righteous;they will possess the land forever;they are the branch of my planting,the work of my hands,so that I may be glorified.The least of you will become a thousand,and the smallest a mighty nation.I am the LORD;in its time I will accomplish it quickly.The Spirit of the Lord GOD is on me,because the LORD has anointed meto preach good news to the poor.He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,to proclaim liberty to the captivesand freedom to the prisoners,to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favorand the day of our God’s vengeance,to comfort all who mourn,to console the mourners in Zion—to give them a crown of beauty for ashes,the oil of joy for mourning,and a garment of praise for a spirit of despair.So they will be called oaks of righteousness,the planting of the LORD, that he may be glorified.
They will rebuild the ancient ruins;they will restore the places long devastated;they will renew the ruined cities,the desolations of many generations.Strangers will stand and feed your flocks,and foreigners will be your plowmen and vinedressers.But you will be called the priests of the LORD;they will speak of you as ministers of our God;you will feed on the wealth of nations,and you will boast in their riches.Instead of shame, my people will have a double portion,and instead of humiliation, they will rejoice in their share;and so they will inherit a double portion in their land,and everlasting joy will be theirs.
For I, the LORD, love justice;I hate robbery and iniquity;in my faithfulness I will give them their recompenseand make an everlasting covenant with them.Their descendants will be known among the nations,and their offspring among the peoples.All who see them will acknowledgethat they are a people the LORD has blessed.
I will rejoice greatly in the LORD,my soul will exult in my God;for he has clothed me with garments of salvationand wrapped me in a robe of righteousness,as a bridegroom wears a priestly headdress,as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.For as the earth brings forth its growth,and as a garden enables seed to spring up,so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praiseto spring up before all the nations.For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent,and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not keep still,until her righteousness shines like a bright light,her salvation like a blazing torch.Nations will see your righteousness,and all kings your glory.You will be called by a new namethat the mouth of the LORD will bestow.You will be a crown of glory in the hand of the LORD,a royal diadem in the palm of your God.No longer will you be called Forsaken,nor your land named Desolate;but you will be called Hephzibah,and your land Beulah;for the LORD will take delight in you,and your land will be his bride.For as a young man marries a young woman,so your sons will marry you;and as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride,so your God will rejoice over you.
On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have posted watchmen;they will never be silent day or night.You who call on the LORDshall take no rest for yourselves,nor give him any restuntil he establishes Jerusalemand makes her the praise of the earth.
The LORD has sworn by his right handand by his mighty arm:“Never again will I give your grainto your enemies for food,nor will foreigners drink the new winefor which you have toiled.For those who harvest grainwill eat it and praise the LORD,and those who gather grapeswill drink the wine in my holy courts.”
Go out, go out through the gates;prepare the way for the people!Build it up, build up the highway;clear away the stones;raise a banner for the nations!
Behold, the LORD has proclaimedto the ends of the earth,“Say to Daughter Zion:See, your Savior comes!Look, his reward is with him,and his recompense goes before him.”
And they will be called the Holy People,the Redeemed of The LORD;and you will be called Sought Out,A City Not Forsaken.