Behold, these shall come from far: and, lo, these from the north and from the west; and these from the land of Sinim.
Parallel translations
- WEB Behold, these shall come from afar; and behold, these from the north and from the west; and these from the land of Sinim.”
- BSB Behold, they will come from far away, from the north and from the west, and from the land of Aswan.”
- NKJV Surely these shall come from afar; Look! Those from the north and the west, And these from the land of Sinim.”
- NASB “Behold, these will come from afar; And behold, these will come from the north and from the west, And these from the land of Aswan.”
- NLT See, my people will return from far away, from lands to the north and west, and from as far south as Egypt.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God's people will come from every direction, from north, west, and distant Sinim, gathered from afar.
Overview
The exiles return not only from Babylon but from all directions, including the remote land of Sinim (possibly the far south, perhaps Aswan, or a distant region). The point is the worldwide ingathering of God's people. This foreshadows the gospel gathering of believers from east and west into the kingdom (Matthew 8:11; Luke 13:29).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- Isa 43:5–6Fear not: for I am with thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west;
- Rev 7:9After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;
- Ps 22:27All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the LORD: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee.
- Isa 60:9–14Surely the isles shall wait for me, and the ships of Tarshish first, to bring thy sons from far, their silver and their gold with them, unto the name of the LORD thy God, and to the Holy One of Israel, because he hath glorified thee.
- Isa 11:10–11And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.
- Mic 4:2And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
- Zech 8:20–23Thus saith the LORD of hosts; It shall yet come to pass, that there shall come people, and the inhabitants of many cities:
- Isa 2:2–3And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.
- Luke 13:29And they shall come from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God.
- Ps 72:10–11The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents: the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts.
- Isa 66:19–20And I will set a sign among them, and I will send those that escape of them unto the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, that draw the bow, to Tubal, and Javan, to the isles afar off, that have not heard my fame, neither have seen my glory; and they shall declare my glory among the Gentiles.
- Ps 72:17His name shall endure for ever: his name shall be continued as long as the sun: and men shall be blessed in him: all nations shall call him blessed.
- Matt 8:11And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.
- Rev 11:15And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.
- Zech 2:11And many nations shall be joined to the LORD in that day, and shall be my people: and I will dwell in the midst of thee, and thou shalt know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto thee.
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Christ at the center
Isaiah sees him most clearly: the virgin's son Immanuel, the child on David's throne, the shoot from Jesse, the light to the nations, and above all the Suffering Servant pierced for our transgressions (ch. 53).
How Isaiah 49:12 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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