Isaiah 60-62
The Voice
Once again the scene shifts. The exile is receding in the past and the remnant of Israel—those who survived God’s judgment and Babylon’s cruelty—are working hard to rebuild their lives and communities. But life back in Jerusalem under Persian rule is not faring as well as they hoped. So once again a prophetic voice breaks the silence to address a discouraged population. Most people are facing terrific difficulties. Despite what their prophets have spoken, Jerusalem is a mere shadow of the great city their parents and grandparents knew. People doubt whether God is really alive, or really all that powerful, or really even cares. But the faithful know that God is powerful and does care; they are determined to convince their countrymen that He has their well-being in mind. He can make this people and this place great again, if they just trust and follow Him. Soon the whole world will be caught up in this brand new thing God is doing.
This section of Isaiah is written to a singular female as if she is the mother of the Jews. But this woman isn’t just any woman—she is Jerusalem. Cities are often described as female because they are like mothers supporting a brood of children (the population). This capital city of God’s special favor, of God’s presence, is filled with His people of the promise and is poised to become something new and glorious.
60 Arise, shine, for your light has broken through!
The Eternal One’s brilliance has dawned upon you.
2 See truly; look carefully—darkness blankets the earth;
people all over are cloaked in darkness.
But God will rise and shine on you;
the Eternal’s bright glory will shine on you, a light for all to see.
3 Nations north and south, peoples east and west, will be drawn to your light,
will find purpose and direction by your light.
In the radiance of your rising, you will enlighten the leaders of nations.
4 Don’t be shy; don’t be doubtful; lift up your eyes and look around.
They have gathered all around you, eager to come and be close to you.
And your children will come back to this land:
your sons from the farthest places of wandering,
and your daughters gently carried home.
5 And when you see it, your face will glow;
your heart will race and be filled with joy;
For great ships will arrive with gifts from across the sea,
and the wealth of nations will make their way to you.
6 Herd after herd of camels will cover the land,
caravans arriving daily from south and southwest: Midian, Ephah,
Even Sheba with gifts of gold and frankincense.
They will announce for all the world to hear, “The Eternal be praised!”
7 Kedar’s flocks will be gathered for you;
Nebaioth’s rams will be available for sacrifices.
Eternal One: When they are offered on My altar, I will accept them.
I will make My glorious house even more glorious.
8 Who are these sailing to our ports like clouds through the sky,
like doves winging their way home to their window sills?
9 Breezy coastlands will wait expectantly for Me; the ships of Tarshish arrive first
to bring your children back from distant lands
Carrying in their holds the silver and gold—
to honor the name of the Eternal your God,
The Holy One of Israel who has made you beautiful.
10 People will come from different countries and different cultures
to rebuild Jerusalem’s walls and make her strong again.
Their kings will help you however you need.
Eternal One: I punished you because I was furious with you,
reduced you to little on account of your persistent wrongdoing;
But I will restore you, reclaim you, and rebuild you because I cannot help but love you.
11 Now your gates will stay open to a constant stream of gifts;
all day and night they will not be shut
As the wealth of nations is brought to you
with their kings leading the processions.
12 Any nations that abstain, any peoples who decline from serving you
will simply disappear;
they will be destroyed.
13 Eternal One: Meanwhile, the most beautiful materials will arrive from Lebanon—
cypress, box, and pine—to rebuild and decorate the place where I promised to be,
My house where I will rest in glory among you.
14 And all the children of those who had bullied you, attacked and abused you,
all those who hated you will come crawling on their knees and bowing at your feet.
And they will address you as “city of God, place of the Eternal,
the Holy One of Israel’s Zion, sweet heaven on earth.”
15 Eternal One: Although you have suffered abandonment, hatred, and hopeless despair,
and no one dared to pass through,
I will make you a place of lofty beauty for all time,
filled and overflowing with joy from generation to generation.
16 You will be enriched by the world and its kings,
and you will know for certain that I am the Eternal,
Your Liberator, your Redeemer, the Strong One of Jacob.
17 I will bring you gold instead of bronze, silver instead of iron,
bronze instead of wood, iron instead of stone.
Your government will be founded and grounded;
I will make peace your governor, and righteousness your ruler.
18 You’ll never hear again, “Help! Call the guards!”
Violence, destruction, and ruin will be things of the past in Jerusalem.
You will name the city walls Salvation, and the city gates Praise.
19 You won’t need the sun to brighten the day
or the moon and lamps to give you light.
This Hebrew title “Messiah” is based on a verb rightly translated “to anoint.” Kings and priests are “messiah-ed” during this period. But prophets like Isaiah and those who stand in the tradition of the great Hebrew prophets are also anointed. Living and working in Jerusalem in these days is much different than in earlier times. Wracked by the ages and ruined by overt destruction and covert neglect, the citizens of the holy city face disillusionment and disappointment. The people who come back after exile in Babylon do not return to a gloriously restored city and temple, but to a difficult land and contentious neighbors. The prophet is inspired by the spirit of God to restore hope, to help, and to comfort. As a spiritual guide he is compelled to convince people that God remains with them and that He still desires what is good, right, and true for and within them. Centuries later, in a synagogue in Nazareth, Jesus will pick up the scroll of Isaiah and read these inspiring words. He will say in no uncertain terms that the Scriptures are being fulfilled right then and there in their hearing (Luke 4:16-21). The year of jubilee will have arrived.
The Eternal One will be all the light you ever need.
Your God will provide your glory, brilliance for all time.
20 Your sun will never set;
your moon will never be eclipsed in shadow,
For you’ll bask in the Eternal’s light and silver splendor forever.
Never again will you suffer the dark night of despair and gloom of mourning.
21 All the people will be right with God,
and they’ll stay in the land they possess forever.
Eternal One: I will plant them there like a sturdy sapling with My own hands.
I will tend them and take pride in their growing.
22 Just watch, they will develop robustly;
from so small a beginning, they will multiply and become a mighty nation.
I, the Eternal One, will make it happen soon.
61 The Spirit of the Lord, the Eternal, is on me.
The Lord has appointed me for a special purpose.
He has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to repair broken hearts,
And to declare to those who are held captive and bound in prison,
“Be free from your imprisonment!”
2 He has sent me to announce the year of jubilee, the season of the Eternal’s favor:
for our enemies it will be a day of God’s wrath;
For those who mourn it will be a time of comfort.[a]
3 As for those who grieve over Zion,
God has sent me to give them a beautiful crown in exchange for ashes,
To anoint them with gladness instead of sorrow,
to wrap them in victory, joy, and praise instead of depression and sadness.
People will call them magnificent, like great towering trees
standing for what is right.
They stand to the glory of the Eternal
who planted them.
4 And they will rebuild this place from its ancient ruins;
they will restore the ages-old, once-splendid structures;
They will renew Israel’s ruined cities
from the ashes and debris that laid untouched for many generations.
5 And people will come from all over to serve you:
Outsiders will tend your flocks, plough your fields, and prune your vines.
6 You will be known as the ones specially chosen by the Eternal as priests;
people will speak of you as ministers of our God.
And the wealth of nations will come to you for your delight and enrichment.
7 Many called you disgraced and defiled and said that shame should be your share of things.
Yet you suffered doubly and lived in disgrace;
So double will be your share, and with joy everlasting.
8 Eternal One: For I, the Eternal, love justice.
I hate stealing and all manner of wrongdoing.
In faithfulness to those who do justice, I promise they will be rewarded for their work;
and I will establish an everlasting covenant with them.
9 Furthermore, I will promise them My support for their children,
so that all nations and everyone around
Will see that they are the children blessed by the Eternal God.
10 I am filled with joy and my soul vibrates with exuberant hope,
because of the Eternal my God;
For He has dressed me with the garment of salvation,
wrapped me with the robe of righteousness.
It’s as though I’m dressed for my wedding day,[b]
in the very best: a bridegroom’s garland and a bride’s jewels.
11 The whole earth sprouts newness and life in the springtime,
and green shoots break through the well-seeded garden soil.
That’s what it is like with the Eternal’s victory—
the Lord will cause justice and praise to sprout up before all the nations, for all peoples to see.
62 I will not keep quiet for Zion’s sake;
I will not remain silent
Until Jerusalem’s justice shines like the light of a new day
and her liberation blazes like a torch in the dead of night.
2 Jerusalem, the nations of the world will witness your righteousness,
the most powerful world leaders will see your brilliance,
And you will be called something new, something brand new,
a name given by none other than the Eternal One.
3 And you will be the crowning glory of the Eternal’s power,
a royal crown cradled in His palm and held aloft by your God for all to see.
4 People won’t talk about you anymore
using words like “forsaken” or “empty.”
Instead, you will be called “My delight” and the land around you “Married,”
because the Eternal is pleased with you and has bound Himself to your land.
5 As a young man marries the woman he loves,
so your sons will marry you, Jerusalem.
As a groom takes joy in his bride,
so your God will take joy in you.
6 I have stationed watchmen on your walls, Jerusalem.
Day and night, they never stop calling out.
You, too, must not rest or grow silent;
keep reminding the Eternal to watch over Jerusalem.
7 Tirelessly pester God—give Him no rest—until He reestablishes Jerusalem
and makes it worthy of praise throughout the whole world.
8 The Eternal has promised with all divine power and might:
Eternal One: I will never again turn over your assets to your enemies,
never feed them from your grain stores
Or give them the wine you have labored to produce.
9 Instead, those who harvest the grain will eat its bounty,
and offer praise to the Eternal;
And those who gather the grapes will drink of their richness
in the courtyards outside the temple.
10 So ready yourselves to pass through the gates, from old to new.
Clear the way for the people;
Make it clear, easy, and straight.
Unfurl the banners that proclaim these people are renewed!
11 For none other than the Eternal has announced for all to hear—
A divine drama is played out with the chorus on one side, the soloist on the other. The “people” ask a question, and God rings out a response. Dramatic, to say the least. What trials and tribulations the Israelites have been through! What highs and lows! It is all God’s doing in response to their faithlessness. But this is history, and now they find themselves living and working in a brand new time; a new day is coming—of restoration, peace, and glorious reputation for God’s people such as they’ve never had before. The renewal is international in scope, without peer in the world. And this, too, is God’s doing. His capacity for mercy is great. He loves His people beyond comprehension. This is why He should be recognized and appreciated by all as the one True God. He keeps saving and delivering, restoring and supporting the people, just as God has done since that moment of binding promise made so long ago.
Eternal One: Say to the daughter of Zion
“See, your salvation is coming; your liberation is on the way—
God’s reward is with Him: His work is by His side.”
12 And they will be called “The Holy People, Redeemed by the Eternal”;
Jerusalem’s new name will be “Desirable City, No Longer Forsaken.”
Footnotes
- 61:1–2 Luke 4:18–19
- 61:10 Meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
