1 Arise! Shine! Your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has dawned. 2 Darkness now covers the earth, and thick darkness covers the nations. But the LORD dawns, and his glory appears over you. 3 Nations will come to your light, and kings will come to the brightness of your dawn. 4 "Look up, look around, and watch. All of your people assemble and come to you. Your sons come from far away. Your daughters are carried in their arms. 5 Then you will see this and rejoice, and your heart will be thrilled with joy, because the riches of the sea will be brought to you. The wealth of the nations will come to you. 6 "Many camels will cover your land, young camels from Midian and Ephah. Everyone from Sheba will come. They will bring gold and incense. They will sing the praises of the LORD. 7 All of the flocks from Kedar will gather and come to you. The rams of Nebaioth will serve you. They will be sacrificed as acceptable offerings on my altar. So I will honor my beautiful temple. 8 "Who are these people that fly by like clouds, like doves to their nests? 9 Certainly, the coastlands wait with hope for me. The ships from Tarshish are the first to bring your children from far away. Their silver and their gold comes with them to honor the name of the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, because he has honored you. 10 "Foreigners will rebuild your walls, and their kings will serve you. In my anger I struck you, but in my favor I have compassion on you. 11 Your gates will always be open. They will never be closed day or night so that people may bring you the wealth of nations, with their kings led as prisoners. 12 Nations and kingdoms that do not serve you will be destroyed. The nations will certainly be ruined. 13 "Lebanon's glory will come to you: Cedar, fir, and cypress trees will come to beautify my holy place, and I will honor the place where my feet rest. 14 The descendants of those who oppress you will bow in front of you. All who despise you will bow at your feet. They will call you the city of the LORD, Zion, the city of the Holy One of Israel. 15 "You have been abandoned and hated; no one has passed through you. But now I will make you a source of everlasting pride, a joy for all generations. 16 You will drink milk from other nations and nurse at royal breasts. Then you will know that I am the LORD, your Savior, the Mighty One of Jacob, your Defender. 17 I will bring gold instead of bronze. I will bring silver instead of iron, bronze instead of wood, and iron instead of stone. I will appoint peace as your governor and righteousness as your ruler. 18 No longer will you hear about violence in your land or desolation and destruction within your borders. You will call your walls Salvation and your gates Praise. 19 The sun will no longer be your light during the day, nor will the brightness of the moon give you light, But the LORD will be your everlasting light. Your God will be your glory. 20 Your sun will no longer go down, nor will your moon disappear. The LORD will be your everlasting light, and your days of sadness will be over. 21 Then all your people will be righteous, and they will possess the land permanently. They will be the seedling I have planted, the honored work of my hands. 22 The smallest of them will become a family. The weakest of them will become a mighty nation. At the right time I, the LORD, will make it happen quickly." GOD'S WORD® is a copyrighted work of God's Word to the Nations. Quotations are used by permission. Copyright 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. All rights reserved. | |