Kings shall be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers. They will bow down to you with their faces to the earth, and lick the dust of your feet; Then you will know that I am Yahweh; and those who wait for me shall not be disappointed.”
Parallel translations
- KJV And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers: they shall bow down to thee with their face toward the earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet; and thou shalt know that I am the LORD: for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me.
- BSB Kings will be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers. They will bow to you facedown and lick the dust at your feet. Then you will know that I am the LORD; those who hope in Me will never be put to shame.”
- NKJV Kings shall be your foster fathers, And their queens your nursing mothers; They shall bow down to you with their faces to the earth, And lick up the dust of your feet. Then you will know that I am the Lord, For they shall not be ashamed who wait for Me.”
- NASB “Kings will be your guardians, And their princesses your nurses. They will bow down to you with their faces to the ground And lick the dust from your feet; And you will know that I am the Lord; Those who hopefully wait for Me will not be put to shame.
- NLT Kings and queens will serve you and care for all your needs. They will bow to the earth before you and lick the dust from your feet. Then you will know that I am the Lord. Those who trust in me will never be put to shame.”
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
Kings and queens will honor and care for God's people, and all who wait for the LORD will not be put to shame.
Overview
The mighty of the earth will become nurturing guardians of Zion, bowing in humble homage, so that God's people learn He is Yahweh. The closing promise that those who wait on the LORD will not be ashamed is a recurring assurance (cf. Romans 9:33; 10:11, applied to faith in Christ). The reversal pictures the exaltation of God's lowly people.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 32
- Isa 60:16You will also drink the milk of the nations, and will nurse from royal breasts. Then you will know that I, Yahweh, am your Savior, your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.
- Isa 60:14The sons of those who afflicted you will come bowing to you; and all those who despised you will bow themselves down at the soles of your feet. They will call you Yahweh’s City, The Zion of the Holy One of Israel.
- Isa 60:3Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.
- Mic 7:17They will lick the dust like a serpent. Like crawling things of the earth they shall come trembling out of their dens. They will come with fear to Yahweh our God, and will be afraid because of you.
- Isa 45:14Yahweh says: “The labor of Egypt, and the merchandise of Ethiopia, and the Sabeans, men of stature, shall come over to you, and they shall be yours. They will go after you. They shall come over in chains; and they will bow down to you. They will make supplication to you: ‘Surely God is in you; and there is no one else. There is no other god.
- Isa 60:10–11“Foreigners will build up your walls, and their kings will serve you: for in my wrath I struck you, but in my favor I have had mercy on you.
- Rom 10:11For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in him will not be disappointed.”
- Ps 25:3Yes, no one who waits for you shall be shamed. They shall be shamed who deal treacherously without cause.
- Isa 64:4For from of old men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, nor has the eye seen a God besides you, who works for him who waits for him.
- Isa 49:7Yahweh, the Redeemer of Israel, and his Holy One, says to him whom man despises, to him whom the nation abhors, to a servant of rulers: “Kings shall see and rise up; princes, and they shall worship; because of Yahweh who is faithful, even the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.”
- Rev 3:9Behold, I give some of the synagogue of Satan, of those who say they are Jews, and they are not, but lie. Behold, I will make them to come and worship before your feet, and to know that I have loved you.
- Ps 34:22Yahweh redeems the soul of his servants. None of those who take refuge in him shall be condemned.
- Isa 25:9It shall be said in that day, “Behold, this is our God! We have waited for him, and he will save us! This is Yahweh! We have waited for him. We will be glad and rejoice in his salvation!”
- Ps 2:10–12Now therefore be wise, you kings. Be instructed, you judges of the earth.
- 1 Pet 2:6Because it is contained in Scripture, “Behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, chosen, and precious: He who believes in him will not be disappointed.”
- Rev 21:24–26The nations will walk in its light. The kings of the earth bring the glory and honor of the nations into it.
- Num 11:12Have I conceived all this people? Have I brought them out, that you should tell me, ‘Carry them in your bosom, as a nurse carries a nursing infant, to the land which you swore to their fathers?’
- Isa 62:2The nations will see your righteousness, and all kings your glory, and you will be called by a new name, which Yahweh‘s mouth will name.
- Ps 72:9–11Those who dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him. His enemies shall lick the dust.
- Rom 9:33even as it is written, “Behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and a rock of offense; and no one who believes in him will be disappointed.”
- Rom 5:5and hope doesn’t disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
- Ps 68:31Princes shall come out of Egypt. Ethiopia shall hurry to stretch out her hands to God.
- Isa 52:15so he will cleanse many nations. Kings will shut their mouths at him: for they will see that which had not been told them; and they will understand that which they had not heard.
- Ps 138:4All the kings of the earth will give you thanks, Yahweh, for they have heard the words of your mouth.
- Esth 8:1–10On that day, King Ahasuerus gave the house of Haman, the Jews’ enemy, to Esther the queen. Mordecai came before the king; for Esther had told what he was to her.
- Joel 2:27You will know that I am among Israel, and that I am Yahweh, your God, and there is no one else; and my people will never again be disappointed.
- Ezra 1:2–4“Thus says Cyrus king of Persia, ‘Yahweh, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he has commanded me to build him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah.
- Ezra 6:7–12Leave the work of this house of God alone; let the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews build this house of God in its place.
- Neh 2:6–10The king said to me (the queen was also sitting by him), “How long will your journey be? When will you return?” So it pleased the king to send me, and I set a time for he.
- Ps 69:6Don’t let those who wait for you be shamed through me, Lord Yahweh of Armies. Don’t let those who seek you be brought to dishonor through me, God of Israel.
- Ezra 7:11–28Now this is the copy of the letter that the king Artaxerxes gave to Ezra the priest, the scribe, even the scribe of the words of Yahweh’s commandments, and of his statutes to Israel:
- Gen 43:26When Joseph came home, they brought him the present which was in their hand into the house, and bowed themselves down to him to the earth.
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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).
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Original language
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