Isaiah 60:18 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Isaiah 60:18
Violence shall no more be heard in thy land, wasting nor destruction within thy borders; but thou shalt call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise.
violence · noun, common masculine singular absolute
heard
יִשָּׁמַ֨עyi.sha.Ma'
H8085
to hear intelligently (often with implication of attent… · verb, niphal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
land
בְּאַרְצֵ֔ךְbe.'ar.Tzekh
H776
the earth (at large · preposition + noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person feminine singular
wasting
שֹׁ֥דshod
H7701
violence · noun, common masculine singular absolute
destruction
וָשֶׁ֖בֶרva.She.ver
H7667
a fracture · conjunction + noun, common masculine singular absolute
borders
בִּגְבוּלָ֑יִךְbig.vu.La.yikh
H1366
properly · preposition + noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person feminine singular
call
וְקָרָ֤אתve.ka.Rat
H7121
to call out to (i.e. properly · conjunction + verb, qal sequential perfect, 2nd person feminine singular
walls
חוֹמֹתַ֔יִךְcho.mo.Ta.yikh
H2346
a wall of protection · noun, common feminine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person feminine singular
Salvation
יְשׁוּעָה֙ye.shu.'Ah
H3444
something saved · noun, common feminine singular absolute
gates
וּשְׁעָרַ֖יִךְu.she.'a.Ra.yikh
H8179
an opening · conjunction + noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person feminine singular
Praise
תְּהִלָּֽהte.hi.Lah
H8416
laudation · noun, common feminine singular absolute
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 26:1 In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah; We have a strong city; salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks.
Isaiah 11:9 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the s…
Zechariah 9:8 And I will encamp about mine house because of the army, because of him that passeth by, and because of him that returneth: and no oppressor…
Psalms 72:3-7 The mountains shall bring peace to the people, and the little hills, by righteousness.
Isaiah 2:4 And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into…
Micah 4:3 And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears…
Revelation 19:1-6 And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto t…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Isaiah 60:15–end
The happy and glorious state of the church is here further foretold, referring principally and ultimately to the Christian church and the spiritual peace of that, but under the type of that little gleam of outward peace which the Jews sometimes enjoyed after their return out of captivity. This is here spoken of,
I. As compared with what it had been. This made her peace and honour the more pleasant, that her condition had been much otherwise.
1. She had been despised, but now she should be honoured, Isa 60:15, Isa 60:16. Jerusalem had been forsaken and hated, abandoned by her friends, abhorred by her enemies; no man went through that desolate city, but declined it as a rueful spectacle; it wa…
(Isa 2:4). Not only shall thy walls keep thee safe from foes, but "Salvation" shall serve as thy walls, converting thy foes into friends, and so ensuring thee perfect safety (Isa 26:1-2).
gates--once the scene of "destruction" when victorious foes burst through them (Neh 1:3); henceforth to be not only the scene of praises, but "Praise" itself; the "gates," as the place of public concourse, were the scene of thanksgivings (Ch2 31:2; Psa 9:14; Psa 24:7; Psa 100:4). "Judah," the favored tribe, means "praise."
Adam Clarke on Isaiah 60:13
And I will make the place of my feet glorious "And that I may glorify the place whereon I rest my feet" - The temple of Jerusalem was called the house of God, and the place of his rest or residence. The visible symbolical appearance of God, called by the Jews the schechinah, was in the most holy place, between the wings of the cherubim, above the ark. This is considered as the throne of God, presiding as King over the Jewish state; and as a footstool is a necessary appendage to a throne, (see note on Isa 52:2 (note)), the ark is considered as the footstool of God, and is so called, Psa 99:6; Ch1 28:2.
The glory of Lebanon - That is, the cedar.
John Gill on Isaiah 60:18
Violence shall no more be heard in thy land,.... It shall be no more committed; no instances of it will be heard of, or any complaints concerning it; neither public nor private oppression: antichristian persecution will now be at an end; those that destroyed the earth with violence and oppression shall be no more; "there will be none to hurt in all the holy mountain", Isaiah 11:9,
wasting nor destruction within thy borders; no more wars, nor rumours of wars; no more blood shed; no more depopulation of cities, nor destruction of the lives of men; the whore of Rome will have drank up her full cup; and the vials of wrath being poured out upon the antichristian states, there will be a profound…
The Church Fathers
Everyone will see a truer fulfillment of these promises in the future life. That life is free from all injustice. That life is adorned with the highest justice. That life is in truth without sorrow and exempt from troubles. However, one also finds, as it were, a prefigurement of a similar state of affairs even now in the church of God. It has been freed from the error of idols, it continually extols the God of the universe in hymns and its leaders watch (insofar as it is in their power) over the interests of those who are victims of injustice.
Some give the definition that a city is an established community, administered according to law. And the definition that has been handed down of the city is in harmony with the celestial city, Jerusalem above. For there it is a community of the firstborn who have been enrolled in heaven, and this is established because of the unchanging manner of life of the saints, and it is administered according to the heavenly law. Therefore, it is not the privilege of human nature to learn the arrangement of that city and all this adornment. Those are the things "eye has not seen or ear heard, nor has it entered into the heart of humanity, what things God has prepared for those who love him." But there are myriads of angels there, and an assembly of saints and a church of the firstborn that are enrolled in heaven.… Therefore, having raised the eyes of your souls, seek, in a manner worthy of things above, what pertains to the city of God. What could anyone consider as deserving of the happiness in that city, which the river of God makes joyful and of which God is the craftsman and creator?
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Wall — Cities were surrounded by walls, as distinguished from “unwalled villages” (Ezek. 38:11; Lev. 25:29-34). They were made thick and strong (Num. 13:28; Deut. 3:5). Among the Jews walls were built of…
Nation · Promises of peace to — Promises of peace to
Salvation · .Walls and bulwarks — .Walls and bulwarks
Walls · Illustrative: Of salvation — Illustrative: Of salvation
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).
Oppression shall no longer be heard in thy land. Here he states more clearly what we have already said, namely, that, while the Prophet discourses concerning the prosperous condition of the Church, he indirectly contrasts the miseries and calamities by which they had been afflicted in various ways. He promises, therefore, that they shall never afterwards be subjected to such afflictions. Yet nevertheless various afflictions afterwards befell them. This is undoubtedly true; but the people were never scattered in such a manner as not to have some remaining form of the Church, and thus to enjoy peace, and to feel that they were protected and kept by the hand of God. These words did not contain…
The outward and inward beauty of the new Jerusalem is now depicted by the materials of her structure, and the powers which prevail within her. "For copper I bring gold, and for iron I bring silver, and for wood copper, and for stones iron, and make peace thy magistracy, and righteousness thy bailiffs. Injustice is no more seen in thy land, wasting and destruction in thy borders; and thou callest salvation thy walls, and renown thy gates." Wood and stone are not used at all in the building of the new Jerusalem. Just as in the time of Solomon silver was counted as nothing (Kg1 10:21) and had only the value of stones (Kg1 10:27), so here Jehovah gives her gold instead of copper, silver instead…
praise will be on the lips of all who enter there (literally they will call your gates “praise”): Entrance into the city of salvation will be through the metaphorical gates of praise to the Lord for his great salvation.
Rashi on Isaiah 60:17
Instead of the copper that they took from you.
and I will make your officers peace [Jonathan renders:] And I will make your officers peace and your rulers with righteousness.
פְקֻדָּתֵךְ Your appointed officers. Our Rabbis stated: The officers who came upon you in your exile and the rulers who pressed you will be counted for you as peace and charity (Baba Bathra 9a). [That is, the money they have exacted from you will be counted as charity.]
