and turning away from following our
God, talking oppression and revolt,
conceiving lying words and uttering them from the heart.
14Justice is turned back,
and righteousness stands at a distance;
for truth stumbles in the public square,
and uprightness cannot enter.
15Truth is lacking,
and whoever turns from evil is despoiled.
The LORD saw it, and it displeased him
that there was no justice.
16He saw that there was no one,
and was appalled that there was no one to intervene;
so his own arm brought him victory,
and his righteousness upheld him.
17He put on righteousness like a breastplate,
and a helmet of salvation on his head;
he put on garments of vengeance for clothing, and wrapped himself in fury as in a mantle.
18According to their deeds, so will he repay;
wrath to his adversaries, requital to his enemies;
to the coastlands he will render requital.
19So those in the west shall fear the name of the LORD,
and those in the east, his glory;
for he will come like a pent-up stream
that the wind of the LORD drives on.
20And he will come to Zion as Redeemer,
to those in Jacob who turn from transgression, says the LORD.
21And as for me, this is my covenant with them, says the LORD: my spirit that is upon you, and my words that I have put in your mouth, shall not depart out of your mouth, or out of the mouths of your children, or out of the mouths of your children’s children, says the LORD, from now on and forever.
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a Meaning of Heb uncertain
59.1–21 Although salvation is God’s work, it may be hastened or delayed by Israel’s response.
59.1–8 It is not God’s lack of power, but Israel’s wickedness, that prevents its salvation.
59.2–3 Hidden his face, does not hear, hands…defiled with blood. See 1.15.
59.4 No one. Israel’s wickedness is so great, a single righteous person cannot be found (Ps 14.1–4; Jer 5.1–5; Rom 3.10–18).
59.5 Adder, viper, standard metaphors for the wicked (Pss 58.3–4; 140.1–3; Mt 3.7; 12.34; 23.33).
59.6 Their webs. The machinations of the wicked will not stand (Job 8.13–15).
59.7–8 The ways of the wicked will not lead to peace (cf. Ps 34.11–14).
59.9–15a Israel’s sin is the reason it stumbles about groaning and oppressed.
59.9 See Job 30.26.
59.10 This was the proverbial fate of the wicked (Job 5.14).
59.12–15 Israel confesses its sins.
59.15a Injustice is so rampant in the postexilic community that it is an extremely hostile environment to anyone who turns from evil (see Am 5.10).
59.15b–21 Finding no human concerned with righteousness to help deliver Israel, God established his victory on his own.
59.17 God dressed himself in the armor that brings victory (cf. Eph 6.14–17).
59.18–20 God, the Divine Warrior, will punish his enemies, redeem Zion, and save the Israelites who turn from their sins.
59.18 According to their deeds. The judgment is just.
59.19 Pent-up stream. Cf. 30.28.
59.21 God’s new covenant with Israel (Jer 31.31–34; Ezek 36.26–27).
ISAIAH 60
The Ingathering of the Dispersed
1Arise, shine; for your light has come,
and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you.
2For darkness shall cover the earth,
and thick darkness the peoples;
but the LORD will arise upon you,
and his glory will appear over you.
3Nations shall come to your light,
and kings to the brightness of your dawn.
4Lift up your eyes and look around;
they all gather together, they come to you;
your sons shall come from far away,
and your daughters shall be carried on their nurses’ arms.
5Then you shall see and be radiant;
your heart shall thrill and rejoice,a
because the abundance of the sea shall be brought to you,
the wealth of the nations shall come to you.
6A multitude of camels shall cover you,
the young camels of Midian and Ephah;
all those from Sheba shall come.
They shall bring gold and frankincense,
and shall proclaim the praise of the LORD.
7All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered to you,
the rams of Nebaioth shall minister to you;
they shall be acceptable on my altar,
and I will glorify my glorious house.
8Who are these that fly like a cloud,
and like doves to their windows?
9For the coastlands shall wait for me,
the ships of Tarshish first,
to bring your children from far away,
their silver and gold with them,
for the name of the LORD your God,
and for the Holy One of Israel,
because he has glorified you.
10Foreigners shall build up your walls,
and their kings shall minister to you;
for in my wrath I struck you down,
but in my favor I have had mercy on you.
11Your gates shall always be open;
day and night they shall not be shut,
so that nations shall bring you their wealth,
with their kings led in procession.
12For the nation and kingdom
that will not serve you shall perish;
those nations shall be utterly laid waste.
13The glory of Lebanon shall come to you,
the cypress, the plane, and the pine,
to beautify the place of my sanctuary;
and I will glorify where my feet rest.
14The descendants of those who oppressed you
shall come bending low to you,
and all who despised you
shall bow down at your feet;
they shall call you the City of the LORD,
the Zion of the Holy One of Israel.
15Whereas you have been forsaken and hated,
with no one passing through,
I will make you majestic forever,
a joy from age to age.
16You shall suck the milk of nations,
you shall suck the breasts of kings;
and you shall know that I, the LORD, am your Savior
and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.
17Instead of bronze I will bring
instead of iron I will bring silver;
instead of wood, bronze,
instead of stones, iron.
I will appoint Peace as your overseer
and Righteousness as your taskmaster.
18Violence shall no more be heard in your land,
devastation or destruction within your borders;
you shall call your walls Salvation,
and your gates Praise.
God the Glory of Zion
19The sun shall no longer be
your light by day,
nor for brightness shall the moon
give light to you by night;b
but the LORD will be your everlasting light,
and your God will be your glory.
20Your sun shall no more go down,
or your moon withdraw itself;
for the LORD will be your everlasting light,
and your days of mourning shall be ended.
21Your people shall all be righteous;
they shall possess the land forever.
They are the shoot that I planted, the work of my hands,
so that I might be glorified.
22The least of them s
hall become a clan,
and the smallest one a mighty nation;
I am the LORD;
in its time I will accomplish it quickly.
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a Heb be enlarged
b Q Ms Gk Old Latin Tg: MT lacks by night
60.1–22 A vision of Jerusalem’s coming exaltation.
60.1–3 The light of God’s glory has dawned for Jerusalem (4.5; 9.2), and the nations will be drawn to that light (2.2–5; 11.10; 42.6–7; 49.6).
60.4 The nations will return Jerusalem’s children, the Israelite exiles (11.12; 49.18, 22–23).
60.5–7 Jerusalem will be enriched by the tribute of the nations, including that of several northern Arabian tribal groups from the east: Midian (Ex 2.15); Ephah (Gen 25.4); Sheba (Gen 10.7; one might also think of the southern Arabian kingdom of the same name, 1 Kings 10.1–13); Kedar (21.13–17; Jer 49.28–29); and Nebaioth (Gen 25.13).
60.8–9 Other nations from the west will send their tribute and return the Israelite exiles by ship. Tarshish. See note on 23.1.
60.10 Jerusalem, destroyed by foreigners because of God’s anger, will be rebuilt by them because of God’s favor.
60.11 Cf. Rev 21.24–26.
60.12 Cf. Zech 14.16–19.
60.13 Glory of Lebanon. The fine lumber of Lebanon (cf. 1 Kings 5.8–10) will be used in the rebuilding of the temple.
60.14 Even its former oppressors will acknowledge and exalt Jerusalem as the special City of the LORD, the Holy One of Israel.
60.15 God will once again make Jerusalem majestic and a joy (Ps 48.2; Lam 2.15), but this time forever.
60.16 Suck the milk of nations. Jerusalem will be nourished by the wealth of the nations.
60.17–18 Wealth (cf. 1 Kings 10.21) and tranquility will characterize the restored city.
60.19–20 God will be the city’s light (vv. 1–2; Rev 21.23).
60.21 The inhabitants of the renewed Jerusalem will all be righteous (1.26–28), God’s special planting that brings God glory (see 4.2–4). This is a clear reversal of the judgment on Israel as the worthless vineyard (5.1–7).
60.22 A mighty nation. Like Abraham (see 51.2), even the most insignificant member of the restored postexilic community will have numerous progeny, and it is God who will accomplish this rebuilding of the nation.
ISAIAH 61
The Good News of Deliverance
1The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me,
because the LORD has anointed me;
he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed,
to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and release to the prisoners;
2to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor,
and the day of vengeance of our God;
to comfort all who mourn;
3to provide for those who mourn in Zion—
to give them a garland instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
the planting of the LORD, to display his glory.
4They shall build up the ancient ruins,
they shall raise up the former devastations;
they shall repair the ruined cities, the devastations of many generations.
5Strangers shall stand and feed your flocks,
foreigners shall till your land and dress your vines;
6but you shall be called priests of the LORD,
you shall be named ministers of our God;
you shall enjoy the wealth of the nations,
and in their riches you shall glory.
7Because theira shame was double,
and dishonor was proclaimed as their lot,
therefore they shall possess a double portion;
everlasting joy shall be theirs.
8For I the LORD love justice,
I hate robbery and wrongdoing;b
I will faithfully give them their recompense,
and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.
9Their descendants shall be known among the nations,
and their offspring among the peoples;
all who see them shall acknowledge
that they are a people whom the LORD has blessed.
10I will greatly rejoice in the LORD,
my whole being shall exult in my God;
for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation,
he has covered me with the robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland,
and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
11For as the earth brings forth its shoots,
and as a garden causes what is sown in it to spring up,
so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise
to spring up before all the nations.
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a Heb your
b Or robbery with a burnt offering
61.1–11 The prophet brings good news to Zion of its deliverance and glorification.
61.1 The speaker, either the prophet or the servant portrayed by the prophet, announces that God has commissioned him through an anointing with the spirit (see 11.2; 42.1–4). The portrayal of the speaker’s task could be described as either royal or prophetic and is reminiscent of that of the servant in Second Isaiah (42.1–9). Luke saw this passage fulfilled in Jesus’ ministry (Lk 4.16–21).
61.2 Year of the LORD’s favor. See 49.8.
61.3 Oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD. The agricultural metaphor of Israel as God’s planting is common in the book of Isaiah (4.2; 5.7; 27.2–6; 60.21).
61.4–5 Israelites will rebuild the ruined cities, and foreigners will serve them (cf. 60.10–12).
61.6 Priests. In contrast to the other nations, Israel will have a special priestly relationship to God (Ex 19.6).
61.7 Double portion, a double reward in place of the double punishment Jerusalem once received (40.2).
61.8–9 When God has redeemed his people, the nations will change their estimate of Israel (52.13–53.12) and acknowledge that God has blessed Israel. Everlasting covenant. See 54.9–10.
61.10 While God dresses himself in salvation and righteousness as armor for battle (59.17), God dresses Israel or Zion in garments of salvation and robes of righteousness as the festive clothing or ornaments of a bridegroom or bride.
61.11 Zion’s righteousness (or “salvation”) and praise before the nations will spring up like the green shoots of a garden in springtime.
ISAIAH 62
The Vindication and Salvation of Zion
1For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent,
and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest,
until her vindication shines out like the dawn,
and her salvation like a burning torch.
2The nations shall see your vindication,
and all the kings your glory;
and you shall be called by a new name
that the mouth of the LORD will give.
3You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the LORD,
and a royal diadem in the hand of your God.
4You shall no more be termed Forsaken,a
and your land shall no more be termed Desolate;b
but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her,c
and your land Married;d
for the LORD delights in you,
and your land shall be married.
5For as a young man marries a young woman,
so shall your buildere marry you,
and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride,
so shall your God rejoice over you.
6Upon your walls, O Jerusalem,
I have posted sentinels;
all day and all night
they shall never be silent.
You who remind the LORD,
take no rest,<
br />
7and give him no rest
until he establishes Jerusalem
and makes it renowned throughout the earth.
8The LORD has sworn by his right hand
and by his mighty arm:
I will not again give your grain
to be food for your enemies,
and foreigners shall not drink the wine
for which you have labored;
9but those who garner it shall eat it
and praise the LORD,
and those who gather it shall drink it
in my holy courts.
10Go through, go through the gates,
prepare the way for the people;
build up, build up the highway,
clear it of stones,
lift up an ensign over the peoples.
11The LORD has proclaimed
to the end of the earth:
Say to daughter Zion,
“See, your salvation comes;
his reward is with him,
and his recompense before him.”
12They shall be called, “The Holy People,
The Redeemed of the LORD”
and you shall be called, “Sought Out,
A City Not Forsaken.”
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a Heb Azubah
b Heb Shemamah
c Heb Hephzibah
d Heb Beulah
e Cn: Heb your sons
62.1–12 Anticipation of the vindication and restoration of the holy city.
62.1–5 The prophet will not cease reminding God of the Lord’s promise to redeem Zion (vv. 6–7) until God has vindicated the city before the whole world.
62.2 Your glory. See 60.1–3. A new name implies a change in status (1.26).
62.3 Crown of beauty. The encircling walls of a city set on the crest of a hill lie behind this image of Jerusalem as a crown (see 28.1–5).
62.4–5 City and land will no longer be like an abandoned wife (54.5–6; 60.14–15). Your builder, God. God will delight in Zion and rejoice over her land with all the attention that a bridegroom gives to a new bride.
62.6–9 The prophets must remind God of his sworn promise to glorify Jerusalem.
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