Isaiah 60:4

4 1Lift up your eyes all around, and see; they all gather together, they come to you; 2your sons shall come from afar, and your daughters shall be carried on the hip.

Isaiah 60:4 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 60:4

Lift up thine eyes round about, and see
The Gentiles and kings coming to Christ and his church; the vast number of converts flocking from all parts of the world to join themselves to the church of Christ, and to behold the wonderful work of God among the Jews now converted. The Targum is,

``lift up thine eyes O Jerusalem, round about, and see all the children of the people of thy captivity:''
all they gather themselves, and come to thee:
this seems to have respect not to the Gentiles, as before; but to the Jews themselves, who are scattered up and down in the world; but now, being in a wonderful manner converted, shall gather together in a body, and go up to Jerusalem, where a Christian church of them will be formed, and to which they will join themselves; or this may respect the kings, ( Isaiah 60:2 ) : thy sons shall come from far;
such as are of the seed of Abraham, children of the Jews, and now born again, and so Zion's sons; these shall come from the furthest parts of the earth, where they are, and incorporate themselves with their brethren: and thy daughters shall be nursed at thy side;
by the ministers of the word, and with the sincere milk of it, and the breasts of Gospel ordinances; see ( 1 Thessalonians 2:7 ) . The Targum is, "shall be carried at their sides" F19: and the Septuagint and Arabic versions, on their shoulders; and so refers to the manner of their being brought, and not to their bringing up; see ( Isaiah 49:22 ) , but the former sense is best. Ben Melech interprets it of their being nursed up at the side of great personages, kings and queens, according to ( Isaiah 49:23 ) . The word "thy" is not in the original; and it may be as well: rendered "at their side", as is supplied by some F20.
FOOTNOTES:

F19 "Ad latus portabuntur", Vitringa.
F20 (du le) "ad latus illorum", Gataker.

Isaiah 60:4 In-Context

2 For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the LORD will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you.
3 And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.
4 Lift up your eyes all around, and see; they all gather together, they come to you; your sons shall come from afar, and your daughters shall be carried on the hip.
5 Then you shall see and be radiant; your heart shall thrill and exult, because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you, the wealth of the nations shall come to you.
6 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 bring good news, the praises of the LORD.

Cross References 2

  • 1. Isaiah 49:18
  • 2. ver. 9; Isaiah 66:20
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.