The Glory of Yahweh rises upon you
1 Arise, shine, for your light has come.
The Glory of Yahweh rises upon you.
2 Night still covers the earth
and gloomy clouds veil the peoples,
but Yahweh now rises
and over you his glory appears.
3 Nations will come to your light
and kings to the brightness of your dawn.
4 Lift up your eyes round about and see:
they are all gathered and come to you,
your sons from afar,
your daughters tenderly carried.
5 This sight will make your face radiant,
your heart throbbing and full;
the riches of the sea will be turned to you,
the wealth of the nations will come to you.
6 A flood of camels will cover you,
caravans from Midian and Ephah.
Those from Sheba will come,
bringing with them gold and incense,
all singing in praise of Yahweh.
7 The flocks of Kedar will be gathered for you,
the rams of Nebaioth put at your service:
they are acceptable offerings on my altar
and will enhance the glory of my house.
8 Who are these as thick as clouds,
flying like doves to their cote?
9 Ah, they are ships, with those of Tarshish in the front,
for the islands now trust in me.
They bear your sons from far away
bringing their gold and silver with them,
for the name of Yahweh your God,
for the Holy One of Israel,
for he has glorified you.
10 Foreigners will rebuild your walls,
and their kings will attend to you.
For though in anger I have struck you,
in love I will have mercy on you.
11 Your gates will forever be open
and never be shut by night or day,
that you may receive the wealth of the nations,
their kings leading them in procession;
( 12 for the nations and kingdoms that refuse to serve you will perish; they will be destroyed.)
13 The glory of Lebanon will come to you,
the pine, the fir and the cypress, too,
to adorn the place of my sanctuary,
to give glory to the resting place of my feet.
14 The sons of those who oppressed you will come bending low;
all who despised you will fall before your feet.
They will call you the City of Yahweh,
Zion of the Holy One of Israel.
15 Though you have been forsaken, hated and avoided,
I will make of you an everlasting pride,
a joy for all generations.
16 You will suck the milk of nations
and be nursed at royal breasts.
You will know that I, Yahweh, am your savior,
your redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.
17 Instead of bronze I will bring you gold;
instead of iron I will bring silver;
instead of wood, bronze;
instead of stones, iron.
Peace will be overseers,
justice your taskmasters.
18 Violence will no more be heard in your land,
nor ruin and destruction within your borders.
You will call your walls Salvation,
and your gates Praise.
19 No more will the sun give you light by day,
nor the moon shine on you by night.
For Yahweh will be your everlasting light
and your God will be your glory.
20 No more will your sun go down,
never will your moon wane.
For Yahweh will be your everlasting light,
and your days of mourning will come to an end.
21 Your people will be upright;
forever they will possess the land –
they the shoot of my planting,
the work of my hand –
in them I shall be glorified.
22 The least of them will become a clan,
the smallest a mighty nation.
I, Yahweh, will do this,
swiftly, in due time.
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Comments Isaiah, Chapter 60
• 60.1 As the prophet looks at the humble Jerusalem which is barely rising from its ruins, he suddenly has a vision of the future Jeru salem, filled with the Lord’s riches, the city that will be the bride of the Lord.
There all the aspirations of a humanity purified and gathered in the light of God will be achieved (see Rev 21). There all people will delight in the fullness everything they ever longed for.
These promises point to the goals on which the Church must focus. It is in the Church that all the real riches of humanity – faith, under stand ing, community – are and must be gathered.
“Raise your head, O Jerusalem. Contem plate the great multitude who are building and seek ing: In laboratories and through studies, in deserts and in factories, in the enormous social melting pot.
“Do you see all these who are working hard? Well then, all that is bubbling in them, in the arts, science and thoughts, all of this is for you! Come now, open your arms and your heart and welcome this surge, this overflowing of human vitality as your Lord Jesus! Welcome this sap be cause, without its baptism, you will fade without aspirations, like a flower without water; and save it because, without your sun, it will be scat tered in sterile branches” (Teilhard de Chardin).