The little one will become a thousand, and the small one a strong nation. I, Yahweh, will do this quickly in its time.”
Parallel translations
- KJV A little one shall become a thousand, and a small one a strong nation: I the LORD will hasten it in his time.
- BSB The least of you will become a thousand, and the smallest a mighty nation. I am the LORD; in its time I will accomplish it quickly.
- NKJV A little one shall become a thousand, And a small one a strong nation. I, the Lord, will hasten it in its time.”
- NASB “The smallest one will become a thousand, And the least one a mighty nation. I, the Lord, will bring it about quickly in its time.”
- NLT The smallest family will become a thousand people, and the tiniest group will become a mighty nation. At the right time, I, the Lord, will make it happen.”
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
The smallest will become a mighty nation, and the Lord will accomplish this swiftly in its time. God will fulfill His promise of growth and blessing at the appointed moment.
Overview
God promises that the least will multiply into a thousand and the small into a strong nation, and that He, the Lord, will bring it about quickly in its time. The assurance rests on His sovereign timing and power. Such promised growth and blessing find their fulfillment as God builds His kingdom through Christ, expanding His people from small beginnings.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Hab 2:3For the vision is yet for the appointed time, and it hurries toward the end, and won’t prove false. Though it takes time, wait for it; because it will surely come. It won’t delay.
- Heb 10:36For you need endurance so that, having done the will of God, you may receive the promise.
- Luke 18:7Won’t God avenge his chosen ones, who are crying out to him day and night, and yet he exercises patience with them?
- Matt 13:31–32He set another parable before them, saying, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field;
- 2 Pet 3:8But don’t forget this one thing, beloved, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
- Isa 66:8Who has heard of such a thing? Who has seen such things? Shall a land be born in one day? Shall a nation be born at once? For as soon as Zion travailed, she gave birth to her children.
- Isa 5:19Who say, “Let him make speed, let him hasten his work, that we may see it; and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw near and come, that we may know it!”
- Dan 2:44In the days of those kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed, nor shall its sovereignty be left to another people; but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.
- Rev 7:9After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude, which no man could count, out of every nation and of all tribes, peoples, and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, dressed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands.
- Acts 5:14More believers were added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women.
- Acts 2:41Then those who gladly received his word were baptized. There were added that day about three thousand souls.
- Dan 2:35Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken in pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, so that no place was found for them: and the stone that struck the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole 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).
How Isaiah 60:22 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
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.