Limitless Word
Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.
Isaiah 60:3 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.
  • KJV And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.
  • NKJV The Gentiles shall come to your light, And kings to the brightness of your rising.
  • NASB “Nations will come to your light, And kings to the brightness of your rising.
  • NLT All nations will come to your light; mighty kings will come to see your radiance.

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

Nations and kings will come to the light and brightness of Zion's rising. God's glory in His people draws the nations to Himself.

Overview

The prophet foresees Gentile nations and their kings streaming to the light that shines on Zion. This anticipates the inclusion of the nations in God's redemptive plan. The promise is fulfilled as the gospel of Christ, the light of the world, draws people from every nation to worship God, gathering a multinational people around the Redeemer.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 37

  • Acts 13:47For this is what the Lord has commanded us: ‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles, to bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’”
  • Isa 49:23Kings 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.”
  • Rev 21:24By its light the nations will walk, and into it the kings of the earth will bring their glory.
  • Isa 2:2–5In the last days the mountain of the house of the LORD will be established as the chief of the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and all nations will stream to it.
  • Mic 4:1–2In the last days the mountain of the house of the LORD will be established as the chief of the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and the peoples will stream to it.
  • Ps 117:1–2Praise the LORD, all you nations! Extol Him, all you peoples!
  • John 12:32And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw everyone to Myself.”
  • Zech 8:20–23This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Peoples will yet come—the residents of many cities—
  • Ps 68:29Because of Your temple at Jerusalem kings will bring You gifts.
  • Isa 45:14This is what the LORD says: “The products of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush, along with the Sabeans, men of stature, will come over to you and will be yours; they will trudge behind you; they will come over in chains and bow down to you. They will confess to you: ‘God is indeed with you, and there is no other; there is no other God.’”
  • Isa 66:19–20I will establish a sign among them, and I will send survivors from among them to the nations—to Tarshish, Put, and the archers of Lud; to Tubal, Javan, and the islands far away who have not heard of My fame or seen My glory. So they will proclaim My glory among the nations.
  • Ps 138:4All the kings of the earth will give You thanks, O LORD, when they hear the words of Your mouth.
  • Ps 72:17–19May his name endure forever; may his name continue as long as the sun shines. In him may all nations be blessed; may they call him blessed.
  • Isa 54:1–3“Shout for joy, O barren woman, who bears no children; break forth in song and cry aloud, you who have never travailed; because more are the children of the desolate woman than of her who has a husband,” says the LORD.
  • Zech 2:11“On that day many nations will join themselves to the LORD, and they will become My people. I will dwell among you, and you will know that the LORD of Hosts has sent Me to you.
  • Isa 11:10On that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples. The nations will seek Him, and His place of rest will be glorious.
  • Isa 49:12Behold, they will come from far away, from the north and from the west, and from the land of Aswan.”
  • Acts 15:17so that the remnant of men may seek the Lord, and all the Gentiles who are called by My name, says the Lord who does these things
  • Rom 11:11–15I ask then, did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Certainly not! However, because of their trespass, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel jealous.
  • Ps 67:1–4For the choirmaster. With stringed instruments. A Psalm. A song. May God be gracious to us and bless us, and cause His face to shine upon us, Selah
  • Ps 72:11May all kings bow down to him and all nations serve him.
  • Ps 22:27All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the LORD. All the families of the nations will bow down before Him.
  • Ps 98:2–3The LORD has proclaimed His salvation and revealed His righteousness to the nations.
  • Gen 49:10The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the staff from between his feet, until Shiloh comes and the allegiance of the nations is his.
  • Rom 15:9–12so that the Gentiles may glorify God for His mercy. As it is written: “Therefore I will praise You among the Gentiles; I will sing hymns to Your name.”
  • Amos 9:12that they may possess the remnant of Edom and all the nations that bear My name,” declares the LORD, who will do this.
  • Rev 11:15Then the seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and loud voices called out in heaven: “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He will reign forever and ever.”
  • Isa 60:16You will drink the milk of nations and nurse at the breasts of royalty; you will know that I, the LORD, am your Savior and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.
  • Isa 19:23–25In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria. The Assyrians will go to Egypt, and the Egyptians to Assyria. The Egyptians and Assyrians will worship together.
  • Ps 2:10Therefore be wise, O kings; be admonished, O judges of the earth.
  • Isa 60:10Foreigners will rebuild your walls, and their kings will serve you. Although I struck you in anger, yet in favor I will show you mercy.
  • Matt 28:19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,
  • Isa 66:12For this is what the LORD says: “I will extend peace to her like a river, and the wealth of nations like a flowing stream; you will nurse and be carried on her arm, and bounced upon her knees.
  • Isa 49:6–7He says: “It is not enough for You to be My Servant, to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the protected ones of Israel. I will also make You a light for the nations, to bring My salvation to the ends of the earth.”
  • John 12:20–21Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the feast.
  • Matt 2:1–11After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem,
  • Luke 24:47and in His name repentance and forgiveness of sins will be proclaimed to all nations, beginning in Jerusalem.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (2)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Isaiah videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Isaiah 60:3YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on IsaiahMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

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 60:3 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.