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Isaiah

About this book
Chapter 60

1 “Arise! Shine! For your light arrives! The splendor of the Lord shines on you!⁠ 2 For, look, darkness covers the earth and deep darkness covers the nations, but the Lord shines on you; his splendor appears over you.⁠ 3 Nations come to your light, kings to your bright light.⁠ 4 Look all around you! They all gather and come to you—your sons come from far away, and your daughters are escorted by guardians.⁠ 5 Then you will look and smile, you will be excited and your heart will swell with pride. For the riches of distant lands will belong to you, and the wealth of nations will come to you.⁠ 6 Camel caravans will cover your roads, young camels from Midian and Ephah. All the merchants of Sheba will come, bringing gold and incense and singing praises to the Lord.⁠ 7 All the sheep of Kedar will be gathered to you; the rams of Nebaioth will be available to you as sacrifices. They will go up on my altar acceptably, and I will bestow honor on my majestic temple. 8 Who are these who float along like a cloud, who fly like doves to their shelters? 9 Indeed, the coastlands look eagerly for me; the large ships are in the lead, bringing your sons from far away, along with their silver and gold, to honor the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, for he has bestowed honor on you. 10 Foreigners will rebuild your walls; their kings will serve you. Even though I struck you down in my anger, I will restore my favor and have compassion on you. 11 Your gates will remain open at all times; they will not be shut during the day or at night so that the wealth of nations may be delivered, with their kings leading the way.⁠ 12 Indeed, nations or kingdoms that do not serve you will perish; such nations will definitely be destroyed. 13 The splendor of Lebanon will come to you, its evergreens, firs, and cypresses together, to beautify my palace; I will bestow honor at the place of my feet24.⁠ 14 The children of your oppressors will come bowing to you; all who treated you with disrespect will bow down at your feet. They will call you, ‘The City of the Lord, Zion of the Holy One of Israel.’ 15 You were once abandoned and despised, with no one passing through, but I will make you a permanent source of pride and joy to coming generations. 16 You will drink the milk of nations; you will nurse at the breasts of kings.⁠ Then you will recognize that I, the Lord, am your Deliverer, your Protector, the Powerful One of Jacob. 17 Instead of bronze, I will bring you gold; instead of iron, I will bring you silver; instead of wood, I will bring you bronze; instead of stones, I will bring you iron. I will make prosperity your overseer, and vindication your sovereign ruler. 18 Sounds of violence will no longer be heard in your land, or the sounds of destruction and devastation within your borders. You will name your walls, ‘Deliverance’ and your gates, ‘Praise.’ 19 The sun will no longer supply light for you by day, nor will the moon’s brightness shine on you; the Lord will be your permanent source of light—the splendor of your God will shine upon you.⁠ 20 Your sun will no longer set; your moon will not disappear; the Lord will be your permanent source of light; your time of sorrow will be over. 21 All your people will be godly; they will possess the land permanently. I will plant them like a shoot; they will be the product of my labor, through whom I reveal my splendor.⁠ 22 The least of you will multiply into a thousand; the smallest of you will become a large nation. When the right time comes, I the Lord will quickly do this!”⁠

Texts in conversation

Compare Isaiah 60:21 and Matthew 15:13

Hebrew Bible · New Testament

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Summary

In Matthew, Jesus echoes the language of Isaiah 60 that describes removing plants not planted by God, making a point in a Jewish debate over the proper way to understand and follow the Torah.

Passages

Isaiah 60:21

Hebrew Bible
19 The sun will no longer supply light for you by day, nor will the moon’s brightness shine on you; the Lord will be your permanent source of light—the splendor of your God will shine upon you. 20 Your sun will no longer set; your moon will not disappear; the Lord will be your permanent source of light; your time of sorrow will be over. 21 All your people will be godly; they will possess the land permanently. I will plant them like a shoot; they will be the product of my labor, through whom I reveal my splendor. 22 The least of you will multiply into a thousand; the smallest of you will become a large nation. When the right time comes, I the Lord will quickly do this!”
740–450 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Isaiah

Matthew 15:13

New Testament
11 What defiles a person is not what goes into the mouth; it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles a person.” 12 Then the disciples came to him and said, “Do you know that when the Pharisees heard this saying they were offended?” 13 And he replied, “Every plant that my heavenly Father did not plant will be uprooted. 14 Leave them! They are blind guides. If someone who is blind leads another who is blind, both will fall into a pit.” 15 But Peter said to him, “Explain this parable to us.”
70–90 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Matthew

References

"... Matthew 15:12-14 ... These verses are peculiar to Matthew and reflect what took place after Jesus and his disciples had retired from the crowd and entered the house (compare Mark 7:17). The disciples' question shows that the Pharisees understood enough of Jesus' parable to take offense (verse 12). The disciples' request to have the parable explained (verse 15) does not reveal them as being more obtuse than the Pharisees but shows that, in common with most Jews at the time, they held the Pharisees in high regard and therefore wanted to be certain of exactly what Jesus had said that had offended them so badly. Therefore verses 12-14 are not out of place. Jesus must disillusion his disciples as to the reliability of the Pharisees and teachers of the law as spiritual guides, as well as explain the parable. This is not to say that these verses turn the entire section (verses 1-20) into a personal attack on the Pharisees rather than on their use of the law; for the chief point for which they are blamed relates to their misunderstanding of the law. Jesus uses two images. The first (verse 13) predicts the rooting up of any plant the heavenly Father has not planted. Israel often saw herself as a plant God had planted (Psalm 1:3; Isaiah 60:21; compare 1QS 8:5; CD 1:7; 1 Enoch 10:16; Psalms of Solomon 14:2), and the prophets turned the image against them (Isaiah 5:1-7) ..."
Frank Ely Gaebelein, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Matthew, Mark, Luke (Pickering & Inglis, 1984), 350.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Isaiah 60:21 and Matthew 15:13

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