60
Israel's future glory
1 You people of Jerusalem, stand up!
God has done glorious things for you,
and he has acted powerfully for you,
so show others how great he is.
2 Spiritual darkness has covered all the people on the earth
like complete darkness,
but Yahweh will show you how great he is,
and other people will also see it.
3 People of all people-groups will see how great he is by seeing what he has done for you,
and kings will come to see the wonderful things that have happened to you.
4 Look around and see the people who will be returning from exile!
Your sons will come from distant lands;
others will carry your little daughters home.
5 Your eyes will shine;
you will be very joyful in your inner beings,
because people will bring goods to you from all around the world.
They will bring in ships valuable things from many nations.
6 People will also bring goods to you on herds/caravans of camels:
camels from the Midian and Ephah areas of northern Arabia.
And from Sheba in southern Arabia they will come, bringing gold and frankincense;
they will all come to praise Yahweh.
7 They will bring flocks of sheep and goats from Kedar in northern Arabia and give them to you.
They will bring rams from Nebaioth for you to sacrifice on my altars,
and I will accept them happily.
At that time I will make my temple very beautiful.
8 And what are those things that are
moving swiftly like clouds?
They look like doves returning to their nests.
9 But they are really ships from Tarshish that are bringng your people back here.
Your people will bring with them all the valuable possessions that they have acquired,
and they will do that to honor me, Yahweh, your God, the Holy One of Israel,
because I will have made you glorious.
10 Foreigners will come and rebuild the walls of your cities,
and their kings will serve/help you.
Although I destroyed your cities because I was angry with you,
these things will happen because I desire to act mercifully toward you because I am kind.
11 The gates of your cities will be open during the day and also during the night,
in order that they may bring into your cities cargo from many countries,
with their kings being led in the processions.
12 And the kingdoms and nations that refuse to allow you to rule them will be destroyed.
13 The glorious things in Lebanon will be brought to you —
the lumber from cypress trees and fir trees and pine trees —
to make my temple beautiful.
Then my temple [MTY] will truly be glorious!
14 The descendants of those who oppressed you will come and bow down to you;
those who despised you will prostrate themselves in front of your feet.
They will say that your city is the City of Yahweh,
on Zion Hill, where the Holy One of Israel lives.
15 Previously everyone despised you and hated you and ignored you,
but your city will be majestic forever;
and I will cause you to be joyful forever.
16 People of all nations and their kings will gladly bring [MET] their wealth to you,
and then you will realize that truly am Yahweh, the one who
saves you and rescues you from your enemies,
the mighty one to whom you Israeli people belong.
17 Instead of metals that are not valuable, like bronze and iron,
I will bring to you silver and gold.
Instead of wood and stones,
I will bring you bronze and iron for your buildings.
18 People in your land will no longer act violently,
and people will longer destroy your land and cause it to become desolate.
The people in the city will be safe,
and everyone there will praise me.
19 And you will no longer need the sun and moon to give you light,
because I, Yahweh, will give you more light than the sun and moon;
I will be a glorious light for you forever.
20 It will seem as though the sun and moon will never set,
because I, Yahweh, will be an everlasting light.
You will never again be sad about bad things that happen to you.
21 Your people will all be righteous,
and they will occupy the land forever,
because I myself have put them there like people plant trees [MET]
in order that they will show others how great I am.
22 Then the groups that are very small now will become very large clans,
and small clans will become great nations.
All those things will happen because, I, Yahweh, will cause them to happen at the right time.
Note: The Old Testament in this translation is still being worked on, and is in draft form. Updates will be posted at eBible.org/t4t/.