The Meaning of Isaiah 60:9 Explained

Isaiah 60:9

KJV: Surely 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.

YLT: Surely for Me isles do wait, And ships of Tarshish first, To bring thy sons from afar, Their silver and their gold with them, To the name of Jehovah thy God, And to the Holy One of Israel, Because He hath beautified thee.

Darby: For the isles shall await me, and the ships of Tarshish first, to bring thy sons from afar, their silver and their gold with them, unto the name of Jehovah thy God, and to the Holy One of Israel, for he hath glorified thee.

ASV: Surely 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, for the name of Jehovah thy God, and for the Holy One of Israel, because he hath glorified thee.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Surely 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. 

What does Isaiah 60:9 Mean?

Verse Meaning

They are a combination of Gentiles and Israelites who have come to bring gifts and to escort God"s chosen people back to their land. Watts believed King Artaxerxes of Persia was the speaker in Isaiah 60:9-10 a, Isaiah 60:11-12, Isaiah 60:14, Isaiah 60:17 a, Isaiah 60:18, and Isaiah 60:21 a, as well as in Isaiah 61:4; Isaiah 61:6-7; Isaiah 61:10-11. [1] Gentiles and Israelites are waiting for God because they have come to worship Him for what He has done in Israel"s experience and character. Israel will finally fulfill her calling as a kingdom of priests, bringing all other kingdoms to the Holy One of Israel-her God ( Exodus 19:5-6).

Context Summary

Isaiah 60:1-14 - The Lord Glorifies His People
From this chapter and onward, the prophet predicts the glories of the restored Hebrew people. In a secondary sense, they are also true of the Church, for we are blessed with faithful Abraham. See Galatians 3:8-9.
The summons to arise is addressed to Jerusalem. The seer beholds the flush of dawn on the eastern sky and bids the Holy City catch the earliest beams, Isaiah 60:1-2. While darkness veils the lowlands, the dweller on the plains looks up to the heights of Zion, Isaiah 60:3-4, and finds them bathed in the splendor of dawn. See 2 Corinthians 3:18.
There is a marvelous attractiveness in real religion. Where that is present, men need no driving. From the Far East come the camels, laden with priceless treasures, and from the distant West the ships laden with costly merchandise. The wastes of many years are rebuilt by the labor of strangers, while kings vie with each other in ministering to the beauty of the chosen city. When you are right with God, He will raise up help from unexpected quarters and even from former foes, Isaiah 60:14. [source]

Chapter Summary: Isaiah 60

1  The glory of the church in the abundant access of the Gentiles
15  And the great blessings after a short affliction

What do the individual words in Isaiah 60:9 mean?

surely for Me the coastlands shall wait and the ships of Tarshish [will come] first to bring your sons from afar their silver and their gold with them to the name of Yahweh your God and to the Holy one of Israel because He has glorified you
כִּֽי־ לִ֣י ׀ אִיִּ֣ים יְקַוּ֗וּ וָאֳנִיּ֤וֹת תַּרְשִׁישׁ֙ בָּרִ֣אשֹׁנָ֔ה לְהָבִ֤יא בָנַ֙יִךְ֙ מֵֽרָח֔וֹק כַּסְפָּ֥ם וּזְהָבָ֖ם אִתָּ֑ם לְשֵׁם֙ יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהַ֔יִךְ וְלִקְד֥וֹשׁ יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל כִּ֥י פֵאֲרָֽךְ

כִּֽי־  surely 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: כִּי 
Sense: that, for, because, when, as though, as, because that, but, then, certainly, except, surely, since.
לִ֣י ׀  for  Me 
Parse: Preposition, first person common singular
אִיִּ֣ים  the  coastlands 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: אִי  
Sense: coast, island, shore, region.
יְקַוּ֗וּ  shall  wait 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: קָוָה 
Sense: to wait, look for, hope, expect.
וָאֳנִיּ֤וֹת  and  the  ships 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, feminine plural construct
Root: אֳנִיָּה  
Sense: ship.
תַּרְשִׁישׁ֙  of  Tarshish 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: תַּרְשִׁישׁ 
Sense: son of Javan. 2 a Benjamite, son of Bilhan. 3 one of the wise men close to king Ahasuerus of Persia. 4 a city of the Phoenicians in a distant part of the Mediterranean Sea to which the prophet Jonah was trying to flee.
בָּרִ֣אשֹׁנָ֔ה  [will  come]  first 
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Adjective, feminine singular
Root: רִאשֹׁון  
Sense: first, primary, former.
לְהָבִ֤יא  to  bring 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Hifil, Infinitive construct
Root: בֹּוא 
Sense: to go in, enter, come, go, come in.
בָנַ֙יִךְ֙  your  sons 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, second person feminine singular
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
מֵֽרָח֔וֹק  from  afar 
Parse: Preposition-m, Adjective, masculine singular
Root: רָחֹוק  
Sense: remote, far, distant, distant lands, distant ones.
כַּסְפָּ֥ם  their  silver 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine plural
Root: כֶּסֶף  
Sense: silver, money.
וּזְהָבָ֖ם  and  their  gold 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine plural
Root: זָהָב  
Sense: gold.
אִתָּ֑ם  with  them 
Parse: Preposition, third person masculine plural
Root: אֵת 
Sense: with, near, together with.
לְשֵׁם֙  to  the  name 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: שֵׁם  
Sense: name.
יְהוָ֣ה  of  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
אֱלֹהַ֔יִךְ  your  God 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, second person feminine singular
Root: אֱלֹהִים  
Sense: (plural).
וְלִקְד֥וֹשׁ  and  to  the  Holy  one 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition-l, Adjective, masculine singular construct
Root: קָדֹושׁ  
Sense: sacred, holy, Holy One, saint, set apart.
יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל  of  Israel 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יִשְׂרָאֵל  
Sense: the second name for Jacob given to him by God after his wrestling with the angel at Peniel.
כִּ֥י  because 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: כִּי 
Sense: that, for, because, when, as though, as, because that, but, then, certainly, except, surely, since.
פֵאֲרָֽךְ  He  has  glorified  you 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Perfect, third person masculine singular, second person masculine singular
Root: פָּאַר 
Sense: to glorify, beautify, adorn.