Study

a Bible passage

Click a verse to see commentary

Select a resource above

The Ingathering of the Dispersed

Arise, shine; for your light has come,

and the glory of the L ord has risen upon you.

For darkness shall cover the earth,

and thick darkness the peoples;

but the L ord will arise upon you,

and his glory will appear over you.

Nations shall come to your light,

and kings to the brightness of your dawn.

Lift 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.

Then you shall see and be radiant;

your heart shall thrill and rejoice,

because the abundance of the sea shall be brought to you,

the wealth of the nations shall come to you.

A 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 L ord.

All 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.

Who are these that fly like a cloud,

and like doves to their windows?

For 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 L ord your God,

and for the Holy One of Israel,

because he has glorified you.

Foreigners 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.

Your 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.

For the nation and kingdom

that will not serve you shall perish;

those nations shall be utterly laid waste.

The 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.

The 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 L ord,

the Zion of the Holy One of Israel.

Whereas you have been forsaken and hated,

with no one passing through,

I will make you majestic forever,

a joy from age to age.

You shall suck the milk of nations,

you shall suck the breasts of kings;

and you shall know that I, the L ord, am your Savior

and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.

Instead of bronze I will bring gold,

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.

Violence 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

The sun shall no longer be

your light by day,

nor for brightness shall the moon

give light to you by night;

but the L ord will be your everlasting light,

and your God will be your glory.

Your sun shall no more go down,

or your moon withdraw itself;

for the L ord will be your everlasting light,

and your days of mourning shall be ended.

Your 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.

The least of them shall become a clan,

and the smallest one a mighty nation;

I am the L ord;

in its time I will accomplish it quickly.

New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

18. Oppression shall no longer be heard in thy land. Here he states more clearly what we have already said, namely, that, while the Prophet discourses concerning the prosperous condition of the Church, he indirectly contrasts the miseries and calamities by which they had been afflicted in various ways. He promises, therefore, that they shall never afterwards be subjected to such afflictions. Yet nevertheless various afflictions afterwards befell them. This is undoubtedly true; but the people were never scattered in such a manner as not to have some remaining form of the Church, and thus to enjoy peace, and to feel that they were protected and kept by the hand of God. These words did not contain a promise of exemption from every annoyance and distress; but by comparison they held out this solace for future evils, that God spares his Church, and consequently the Church shall be safe under his protection; and during the very course of the deliverance there was exhibited a striking proof of this peace, which the Prophet extols. Finally, we must always keep in remembrance what we have so often said, that; it is only in part that all these things are experienced by us; for the kingdom of Christ has not yet been completed.

And thy gates Praise. He alludes, as we have often said already, to the building of the temple or the city, and shows that the Church shall be safe, not by means of walls, or towers, or any enclosures, but that, although there are no earthly defenses, there shall be abundance of safety and peaceful joy in God alone. Now he connects the safety of the Church with “peace” or “joy;“ because she rejoices at being safe and sound, whereas formerly she lay silently in affliction and despair.