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From: Isaiah 60:1-6
A Radiant New Jerusalem
[4] Lift up your eyes round about, and see;
they all gather together, they come to you;
your sons shall come from far,
and your daughters shall be carried in the arms.
[5] Then you shall see and be radiant,
your heart shall thrill and rejoice;
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.
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Commentary:
60:1-64:11. In the central section of Third Isaiah, the restored Jerusalem has a
wonderful radiance; it is the dwelling place of the glory of the Lord, and from it all
the nations will hear about God’s salvation. These are chapters that shine with
hope and joy. In the opening verses, Jerusalem, the Lord’s spouse, is invited to
leap with joy, for the glory of the Lord will light up the holy city, which will be-
come a beacon for the nations (60:1-22). From there, too, the Lord’s herald pro-
claims the good news of salvation to the poor, the oppressed and all who labor
under some burden (61:1-11). The holy city will radiate righteousness for all the
nations to see (62:1-12). Finally, the Lord, depicted as a conqueror, enthroned
in a glorious Jerusalem, is proclaimed as the sovereign lord who wilt judge and
reward and punish (63:1-64:11).
60:1-22. These verses are a magnificent hymn to Jerusalem, completely resto-
red, idealized; the prophet does not need to identify it by name. The most remar-
kable feature of the city is its radiance, mentioned at the start and end of the po-
em (vv. 1-3 and 19-22): it stems from the glory of the Lord, who has made the ci-
ty’s temple his dwelling-place. The city acts as a magnet for all the nations, not
only because it instructs them by means of the Law and by the word of God, as
we heard at the start of the book (2:2-4; cf. Mic 4:1-3) but also because they are
in awe of its splendor. The central verses of the poem rejoice in the pilgrimages
that make their way to the holy city: first, those of Israelites, who had been scat-
tered across the world: the pilgrims are most happy and they bear rich gifts for
the Lord (vv. 4-9). Foreigners will come, too, and they will bring precious materi-
als to reconstruct and embellish the city they previously destroyed. The obei-
sance they must do corresponds to the harm they did earlier (vv. 10-14). But the
most important event is the arrival of the Lord who will bring gifts in abundance,
the most precious being peace (vv. 15-10) and light (vv. 19-22). This picture of
the new Jerusalem (one would expect) must have raised the spirits of those en-
gaged in the final stages of the rebuilding of the temple.
This poem clearly has resonances with the eschatological description of the hea-
venly Jerusalem in the Revelation to John (cf. Rev 21:9-27). Some of the wording
is virtually the same: cf. v. 3 with Rev 21:24 (”By its light shall the nations work;
and the kings of the earth shall bring their glory into it”); v. 11 with Rev 21:25-26
(”its gates shall never be shut by day — and there will be no night there”); v. 14
with Rev 3:9 (”I will make them come and bow down before your feet”); v. 19 with
Rev 21:23 (”the city has no need of sun or moon to shine upon it, for the glory
of God is its light, and its lamp is the Lamb”) and 22:5 (”night shall be no more;
they need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they
shall reign for ever and ever”). The hopes harbored by the early Christians (and
the consolation to which the new people of God look forward) are in continuity
with the hope felt by the ancient people of Israel. The message of Isaiah and
that of the book of Revelation were each (in different historical contexts) calling
for firm faith in the Savior of all. The New Testament fills out the Old by openly
declaring that God saves us through his Son, Jesus Christ.
60:4-9. The pilgrimage described here comes from all corners of the earth, and
yet it is a familial one. It is made up of people who were scattered throughout the
known world, and not just those exiled in Babylon. Those from the west come by
sea (v. 5), bearing the sort of goods normally transported by sea, particularly by
Greek and Phoenician merchants. Those from the east, from the Arabian penin-
sula (Kedar and Nebaioth) and further afield will travel in caravans bringing pre-
cious commodities typical of the area — silver, gold etc. (v. 6). The visit of the
Magi, who came bearing presents to adore Jesus, is in line with the sort of com-
merce that was current at the time, and it is probably connected with this text
of Isaiah. Certainly, when this passage is read in the liturgy on the Solemnity of
the Epiphany, the implication is that those rich gifts brought to the temple in ho-
nor of the Lord prefigure those that the Magi offered to him who is truly the “Lord
your God”, “the Holy One of Israel” (v. 9). “Today, the wise man finds lying in a
manger the One he had searched for as a brilliant light shining among the stars.
Today, the wise man sees wrapped in swaddling clothes the One he long sought
to find, unveiled, in the heavens. Today, to his great surprise, the wise man dis-
cerns in what he studies: heaven on earth, earth in the heavens, man in God,
and God in man; what the whole universe could not contain inhabits the body of
a child. And seeing all this, he believes and doubts no more; and he announces
it to all, using his mystical powers: incense for God, gold for the King, and myrrh
for the One who will die. Today, the Gentile who was once last is first, because
the faith of the wise man sanctifies the belief of all the peoples” (St Peter Chryso-
logus, “Semones”, 160). And Eusebius of Caesarea comments: “The conversion
of the Gentiles glorifies the Church of God in a special way. The prophecy, “I will
glorify my glorious house” [60:7], is fulfilled. This promise was made to the old
Jerusalem, the mother of the new city, who, as has already been said, was the
community of all among the ancient people who lived righteous lives — the pro-
phets and patriarchs, all just men, those to whom the coming of Christ was first
proclaimed” (”Commentaria in Isaiam”, 60, 6-7).
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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.