Isaiah 60:3

Isa 60:3 And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.

Ver. 3. And the Gentiles shall come to thy light.] The apostles, those shining luminaries, were Christ’s Dαδουχοι, holding forth the light of life to all people, as Simeon said. {Luk 2:34-35} And we may well say, as our Saviour did, {Luk 4:21} This day is this Scripture fulfilled in our ears, and made good to our hearts, praised be his holy name throughout all eternity.

And kings to the brightness of thy rising.] As did our King Lucius, who is reckoned to be the first Christian king; our Constantine, the first Christian emperor; our Edward VI, the first reforming prince, and many others. Facit hoc contra Anabaptistas, qui exclusos putant reges ab ecclesia. {a}

{a} Scultet.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Isa_60:3

And the Gentiles shall come to thy light

The attractiveness of an enlightened and light-giving Church

What shall invite such multitudes to the Church?

They shall be allowed to join themselves to thee--

1. By the light that shines upon thee.

2. By the light with which thou shinest. (M. Henry.)

The Jews unconsciously giving light to the Gentiles

I have read in one of George Macdonalds novels of a born blind lamplighter. He illumined the city at night; but he had no sense of what he was doing. So has it been with this land. She has presented the Portrait to the gallery; she has heard the plaudits of the spectators, and she has refused to join in them. In all history there is nothing so unique. It is the enemies of this land that have crowned her world-king; it is the Gentiles that have come to His light. The lamplighter has been blind to the beauty of that throne which she has illuminated. Palestine has lit up the scene; she has listened to the crowd shouting their applause, and she has wondered why. She has been like a deaf mute in a concert-room. She has struck by accident the notes of a harp, and by accident they have burst into music. The audience has cheered the performance to the echo; but the performer knows not her triumph. (G. Matheson, D. D.)

Blessings of light

Miss Florence Nightingale, as the result of her wide observation, remarks:--One of the greatest observers of human things says, Where there is sun there is thought. All physiology goes to confirm this. Where is the shady side of deep valleys, there is cretinism. Where are cellars and the unsunned side of narrow streets, there is the degeneracy of the human race; mind and body equally degenerating. Put the pale, withering plant and human being into the sun, and, if not too far gone, each will recover heart and spirit. In France there are hospitals where they trust almost entirely to light for the cure of disease. Surely there is here an earthly analogue to a spiritual fact. (W. G. Horder.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Isa 60:3. The Gentiles shall come to thy light — Or, shall be allured by thy light to come to thee, as travellers in a dark night, and out of their way, when a light discovers itself make to it; so the doctrine of the gospel shall shine so bright, and be made so conspicuous by preaching and miracles, that well-disposed heathen shall not only congratulate them that profess it, and wish them much joy, but shall rejoice to participate with them in their happiness. A plain prophecy this of the calling of the Gentiles, a promise of which was made to Christ, Isa 49:6. And, or Yea, kings to the brightness of thy rising — That is, the greatness and glories of the church shall attract the eyes of kings, and make them willing to become her proselytes. Or, to add to thy lustre, thou shalt not only be honoured by the conversion of mean persons, but even of honourable personages, yea, of kings, embracing the Christian faith, and submitting themselves to Christ’s sceptre and government: see Isa 49:23.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

60:3 The transformation of all nations and mighty kings will be so radical that all kingdoms will take notice and be drawn to God through his people (see also Rev 21:24).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Meaning, that Judea should be as the morning star, and that the Gentiles should receive light of her.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

(Isa 2:3; Isa 11:10; Isa 43:6; Isa 49:22; Isa 66:12).

kings-- (Isa 49:7, Isa 49:23; Isa 52:15).

thy rising--rather, "thy sun-rising," that is, "to the brightness that riseth upon thee."

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 3. And the Gentiles shall come] This has been in some sort already fulfilled. The Gentiles have received the light of the Gospel from the land of Judea, and the Gentile kings have embraced that Gospel; so that many nations of the earth are full of the doctrine of Christ.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

3. And the Gentiles] And nations (R.V.).

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And the Gentiles shall come to thy light,.... To the Gospel, preached in the midst of her; and to Christ, who is her light and into her church state, and partake of the prosperity and happiness of it. The Targum is,

"and nations shall walk in thy light;''

and so in Rev 21:24, where it is interpreted of the nations of them that are saved, truly regenerated and converted persons:

and kings to the brightness of thy rising; Christ, the sun of righteousness, will rise upon her; and this being the morning of the latter day glory, the church will rise as a bright morning star; and such be the evidence and lustre of Gospel truths and ordinances, that kings shall he enlightened by them, and come and join themselves unto her, and walk with her in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord. Some of this high rank and dignity have been called, and but a few; but in those times the instances will be many, even all kings shall serve and worship the Lord, Psa 72:11.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

And the Gentiles shall come - So splendid shall be that glory, that it will attract the distant nations, and they shall come and participate in the blessings of the gospel. This contains the main statement which it is the design of this chapter to illustrate. The prophet had frequently made this statement before in general terms (compare Isa 2:3; Isa 11:10; Isa 49:22; Isa 54:3); but he here goes into a more particular account, and more fully describes the blessings which would result from this accession to the true church.

And kings - (Compare Isa 49:7, note; Isa 49:23, note; Isa 52:15, note).

To the brightness of thy rising - This does not mean that the church was to arise with the splendor of the sun; but ‘thy rising’ means the rising upon her - called her rising, because it would shed its beams on her. It is correctly rendered by Lowth - ‘The brightness of thy sunrising;’ by Noyes and Herder. ‘The brightness that riseth upon thee.’

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Rising. The three wise men were the first. [Matthew ii.]

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

The Gentiles shall come; either to congratulate thy deliverance, or to note the respect that should be shown them by other nations upon their deliverance; or rather, shall be allured by thy light to come to thee: as travellers in a dark night, and out of their way, when a light discovers itself do make to it; so the doctrine of the gospel shall shine so bright, and be made so conspicuous by preaching and miracles, that they shall not only congratulate them, and wish them much joy, but rejoice and participate with them in their happiness, Rev 21:24. A plain prophecy of the calling of the Gentiles, which promise was made to Christ, Isa 49:6. And, or yea, or even kings, which was fulfilled under Cyrus, Darius, Alexander, and the Egyptian kings.

Kings: to add to thy lustre, thou shalt not be honoured only by the conversion of mean persons, but even of honourable personages, embracing the Christian faith, and submitting themselves to Christ’s sceptre and government; See Poole "Isa 49:23"; to observe thy progress, and how thou shalt increase by degrees, as the sun in its ascending. In Christ’s time there were twelve apostles, afterwards one hundred and twenty disciples, in a short time many thousands, then the church grew into congregations, and then spread to nations.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

The Gentiles shall come to thy light. Plunged in darkness themselves (ver. 2), the Gentiles shall be astonished and attracted by Israel"s radiance, and shall draw near to it and seek to partake of it. Among them shall come even their "kings," drawn by the brightness of the glory. (Isa_49:23)

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The Gentiles - A plain prophecy of the calling of the Gentiles.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

“And nations shall walk in thy light, and kings in the brightness of thy rising,” (i.e., thy rising brightness, or the bright light which shall rise upon thee). The common version, ‘to thy light’, may seem at first sight more exact than the one here given, but is really less so. The Hebrew preposition here used does not correspond to our ‘to’ as a particle of motion or direction, but expresses relation in the widest and most general manner. It is often therefore interchanged with other particles, ‘and to’ among the rest, but is not to be so translated here or in any other case without necessity. In this case it seems to mean that they shall walk with reference to the light in question, which in English may be best expressed by ‘in’, but not as a literal translation. The sense thus yielded is in some respects better than the other, as suggesting the idea not of mere attraction but of general diffusion. By ‘light’ we are then to understand the radiation from the luminous center and not merely the center itself. This explanation of the verse is given by the best of the modern interpreters. Some of these, however, arbitrarily apply it to the restoration of the Jews from exile, who were to be accompanied by heathen kings as their guides and protectors. As a prophecy this never was fulfilled. As a visionary anticipation it could never have been entertained by a contemporary writer, such as these interpreters suppose the author of the book to be.

Joseph Addison Alexander, The Prophecies of Isaiah (1846–1847; New York: Scribner, 1870–1878) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

light

(See Scofield "Isa 42:6")

The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And nations shall come to thy light. He who is in darkness usually sees those that are dwelling in light.

Ibn Ezra on the Tanakh — English translations: “Sefaria Community Translation” (CC0 1.0 (public-domain dedication)); “Yalkut, Sifsei Chachomim Chumash, Metsudah Publications, 2009” (CC BY 4.0); and “Commentary of Ibn Ezra on Isaiah - trans. by M. Friedlander, 1873” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.