Isaiah 60:10 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Isaiah 60:10
And the sons of strangers shall build up thy walls, and their kings shall minister unto thee: for in my wrath I smote thee, but in my favour have I had mercy on thee.
a son (as a builder of the family name) · noun, common masculine plural construct
strangers
נֵכָר֙ne.Khar
H5236
foreign · noun, common masculine singular absolute
up
וּבָנ֤וּu.va.Nu
H1129
to build (literally and figuratively) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential perfect, 3rd person common plural
walls
חֹמֹתַ֔יִךְcho.mo.Ta.yikh
H2346
a wall of protection · noun, common feminine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person feminine singular
kings
וּמַלְכֵיהֶ֖םu.mal.khei.Hem
H4428
a king · conjunction + noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine plural
minister
יְשָׁרְת֑וּנֶךְye.sha.re.Tu.nekh
H8334
to attend as a menial or worshipper · verb, piel imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural + pronominal suffix, 2nd person feminine singular
wrath
בְקִצְפִּי֙ve.kitz.Pi
H7110
a splinter (as chipped off) · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix
smote
הִכִּיתִ֔יךְhi.ki.Tikh
H5221
to strike (lightly or severely · verb, hiphil perfect, 1st person common singular + pronominal suffix, 2nd person feminine singular
favour
וּבִרְצוֹנִ֖יu.vir.tzo.Ni
H7522
delight (especially as shown) · conjunction + preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix
mercy
רִֽחַמְתִּֽיךְRi.cham.Tikh
H7355
to fondle · verb, piel perfect, 1st person common singular + pronominal suffix, 2nd person feminine singular
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Isaiah 61:5 And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the alien shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers.
Isaiah 49:23 And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers: they shall bow down to thee with their face toward the earth,…
Revelation 21:26 And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it.
Isaiah 14:1-2 For the LORD will have mercy on Jacob, and will yet choose Israel, and set them in their own land: and the strangers shall be joined with th…
Isaiah 60:3 And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.
Zechariah 6:15 And they that are far off shall come and build in the temple of the LORD, and ye shall know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto you. An…
Revelation 21:24 And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it.
Psalms 30:5 For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Isaiah 60:9-14
The promises made to the church in the foregoing verses are here repeated, ratified, and enlarged upon, designed still for the comfort and encouragement of the Jews after their return out of captivity, but certainly looking further, to the enlargement and advancement of the gospel church and the abundance of spiritual blessings with which it shall be enriched.
I. God will be very gracious and propitious to them. We must begin with that promise, because thence all the rest take rise. The sanctuary that was desolate begins to be repaired when God causes his face to shine upon it, Dan 9:17. All the favour that the people of God find with men is owing to the light of God's countenance and his fa…
kings . . . minister unto thee--(See on Isa 60:7; Isa 49:23).
in my wrath I smote thee-- (Isa 54:7-8; Isa 57:17).
Adam Clarke on Isaiah 60:9
The ships of Tarshish first "The ships of Tarshish among the first" - For בראשנה barishonah twenty-five MSS. and the Syriac read כבראשנה kebarishonah, "as at the first." The ships of Tarshish AS at the first; that is, as they brought gold and silver in the days of Solomon.
John Gill on Isaiah 60:10
And the sons of strangers shall build up thy walls,.... The sons of the people; or Gentiles, as the Targum; who were strangers from the covenants of promise, and aliens from the commonwealth of Israel; strangers to God and Christ, and the Spirit of Christ, and to the Gospel, and all that is good; yet the sons of these, being in great numbers converted everywhere, will be useful in building up the church of God, in strengthening, protecting, and defending it; these are the same with those afar off, that shall come and build in the temple of the Lord, Zechariah 6:15, such there have been among the Gentiles in all ages, more or less, since the times of the apostles, who have been instruments of…
Cyrus ordained the reconstruction of Jerusalem, but the work remained unfinished. Under Darius, the son of Hystapis, only the temple of God was reconstructed. Under Artaxerxes the Long-armed, Nehemiah—who was not a stranger but a Jew—was engaged in the reconstruction of the walls. The money that he possessed to cover the expense was not provided from royal riches, but he had gathered it as the result of a collection; and, after the conquest of the Jews, the Roman emperors rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem. Whoever would wish, however, to understand [the text] more precisely will find that these are the teachers who have come from foreign nations who watch over it and guard it by their prayers and their instructions. "For by reason of my wrath I struck you, and by reason of mercy I loved you." That applies both to the ancient Jerusalem, which had been destroyed by reason of [their] sins, and to the reconstruction by reason of the singular [divine] benevolence, and to the church of God, which was formerly like a desert, since it did not benefit from divine solicitude but which has enjoyed the result of the Savior's providence.
(Verse 10 and following) And the sons of strangers will build your walls, and their kings will serve you. In my indignation I struck you, but in my mercy I have shown you compassion; and your gates will always be open, never closed day or night, so that the strength of the nations may come to you and their kings may be brought. Indeed, any nation or kingdom that does not serve you will perish, and the nations will be devastated. For because of my anger I struck you, and because of my mercy I have loved you. And your gates shall always be open; they shall not be shut day or night, so that the strength of the nations may come to you, and their kings who are to be brought. For the nations and kings who do not serve you shall perish; the nations shall be devastated in their desolation. Among the many things with which the Church is enriched, and the city of the Savior is built, foreigners and sons of foreigners also build its walls, so that the enemy cannot enter and find a place for treachery. But aliens and foreigners properly signify the people of nations who have truly built the Church of Christ, to such an extent that their kings and princes serve and assist her. This is either understood in a literal sense or in a spiritual sense. If understood literally, we see that the Roman Caesars submit their necks to the yoke of Christ and build churches at public expense, and rely on the laws against the persecutions of the nations and the snares of the heretics. If, spiritually, those who possess self-control, eloquence, holiness, are leaders, and through the power of their souls subjugate the servitude of the flesh, they themselves govern and assist, they come to the aid of him whom he often abandons due to negligence or strikes with the rod of persecutors, so that again, out of his own mercy, he may love him. Or certainly this must be said, that he may reconcile to himself the once afflicted and handed over to captivity among the people of the Jews, in the calling of the Gentiles, so that its gates may always be open, and neither day nor night be closed, and may continually be open to those who desire salvation, that is, that the entrance may not be denied to those who wish to believe in joy and in tribulation. And let strength be brought to her, whether it be the wealth of nations; and let her kings serve her or be led to her as captives. Then you will…
Dictionary and topics
Church — Derived probably from the Greek kuriakon (i.e., “the Lord’s house”), which was used by ancient authors for the place of worship. In the New Testament it is the translation of the Greek word ecclesia,…
Prophecy — Or prediction, was one of the functions of the prophet. It has been defined as a “miracle of knowledge, a declaration or description or representation of something future, beyond the power of human…
Excellency And Glory Of The Church, The · Augmented by increase of its members — Augmented by increase of its members
Favour Of God, The · Is the source of: Mercy — Is the source of: Mercy
Gentiles · PROPHECIES OF THE CONVERSION OF — PROPHECIES OF THE CONVERSION OF
Jews, The · Promises respecting: Gentiles assisting in their restoration — Promises respecting: Gentiles assisting in their restoration
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
John Calvin on Isaiah 60:10
And the sons of the stranger shall build thy walls. He continues the same subject. As he formerly said that foreigners shall submit to his authority, in order to build the temple; so he now says that "the sons of the stranger" shall bestow their labor in building the walls. Various are the comparisons by which he promises the restoration of the Church. It is customary in Scripture, when the Church is spoken of, to exhibit sometimes the temple, and sometimes Jerusalem. He promises that foreigners and strangers shall assist in rearing this building, that the Jews may not be terrified by their poverty or their small number, and consequently lose heart; for they might be tempted to distrust duri…
The first turn (Isa 60:1-3) described the glorification of Zion through the rising of the glory of Jehovah; the second (Isa 60:4-9) her glorification through the recovery of her scattered children, and the gifts of the Gentiles who bring them home; and now the third depicts her glorification through the service of the nations, especially of her former persecutors, and generally through the service of all that is great and glorious in the world of nature and the world of men. Not only do the converted heathen offer their possessions to the church on Zion, but they offer up themselves and their kings to pay her homage and render service to her. "And sons of strangers build thy walls, and their…
Those who previously oppressed the people of God will one day participate in restoring the holy city (see 2:2-4; 19:18-25; Neh 2:8; Amos 9:12).
60:10 their kings will serve you: God’s people who were previously humiliated (2:11) will be exalted.
Rashi on Isaiah 60:10
and in my grace Because I favored you; in old French, en mon apayemant.