Isaiah 60:12
in Isaiah 60For the nation or kingdom that will not serve you will perish; it will be utterly destroyed.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
For that nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish; yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted.
KJV
For the nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish; yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted.
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This verse in Isaiah 60
Commentary
8 notes on this verse(Verse 10 and following) And the sons of strangers will build your walls, and their kings will serve you. In my indignation I struck you, but in my mercy I have shown you compassion; and your gates will always be open, never closed day or night, so that the strength of the nations may come to you and their kings may be brought. Indeed, any nation or kingdom that does not serve you will perish, and the nations will be devastated. For because of my anger I struck you, and because of my mercy I have loved you.
This site's exposition
Foreigners will rebuild your walls
on Isaiah 60:10-12
“Foreigners will rebuild your walls, and their kings will serve you” reverses conquest. Verse 11 gives the reversal a shape: “Your gates will always stand open”, words Revelation 21:25-26 carries forward. Verse 12 stands beside the promise: “For the nation or kingdom that will not serve you will perish”.
This site's exposition
it will be utterly destroyed
Barnes reads the verse as the reason behind verse 11, kings coming to Zion because a nation that refused would perish. Aquinas remarks that the threat seems unfulfilled in a literal sense. Henry reads it through Psalm 2, where an iron rod breaks the kingdom that refuses the King.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
Which power of the nations ran toward the former Jerusalem to worship? Which kings were led to worship the God of the universe? But the gates of the church of God are always open to receive the arrivals, and they receive also the godly kings …
The Medieval Church1 voice
And he assigns the reason: for the nation and the kingdom that will not serve you, shall perish. This does not seem to have been fulfilled literally, unless it is understood to have been those Jews who recognized his dominion, and therefore were venerated by …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
But those who will not by faith submit to Jesus Christ, the King of the church, and serve him, shall perish eternally, Ps. ii. Those that will not be subject to Christ's golden sceptre, to the government of his word and Spirit, that will not be brought under, or kept in, by the discipline of his family, shall be broken in pieces by his iron rod.
For the nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
For the nation and kingdom - Perhaps this is given as a reason for What is said in the previous verse - that kings and their subjects should come to Zion and embrace the true religion, because if it were not done they would perish. This is certainly one reason why sinners hasten to embrace the Saviour; and when this truth becomes deeply impressed on a community, it is one of the means of a revival of religion.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
box trees, firs, and cypresses Species of trees of the forest of Lebanon.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 6 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
10 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| הַגּ֧וֹי | hagoy | the nation | H1471 → | 561 times |
| וְהַמַּמְלָכָ֛ה | vehamamlakhah | and the kingdom | H4467 → | 117 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| לֹא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יַעַבְד֖וּךְ | yaavdukh | they will serve you | H5647 → | 288 times |
| יֹאבֵ֑דוּ | yovedu | they will perish | H6 → | 184 times |
| וְהַגּוֹיִ֖ם | vehagoyim | and the nations | H1471 → | 561 times |
| חָרֹ֥ב | charo | certainly <to be desolate> | H2717 → | 40 times |
| יֶחֱרָֽבוּ׃ | yecheravu | they will become desolate | H2717 → | 40 times |
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
הַגּ֧וֹיthe nation
hagoyH1471 →561 times
וְהַמַּמְלָכָ֛הand the kingdom
vehamamlakhahH4467 →117 times
אֲשֶׁ֥רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
לֹא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
יַעַבְד֖וּךְthey will serve you
yaavdukhH5647 →288 times
יֹאבֵ֑דוּthey will perish
yoveduH6 →184 times
וְהַגּוֹיִ֖םand the nations
vehagoyimH1471 →561 times
חָרֹ֥בcertainly <to be desolate>
charoH2717 →40 times
יֶחֱרָֽבוּ׃they will become desolate
yecheravuH2717 →40 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Isaiah 54:15If anyone attacks you, it is not from Me; whoever assails you will fall before you.
it leads to
- Isaiah 41:11–16
Behold, all who rage against you will be ashamed and disgraced; those who contend with you will be reduced to nothing and will perish.
- Psalms 37:12–13
The wicked scheme against the righteous and gnash their teeth at them,
- Zechariah 12:9
So on that day I will set out to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.
- Isaiah 41:11–16
Through
Psalms 2:12Kiss the Son, lest He be angry and you perish in your rebellion, when His wrath ignites in an instant. Blessed are all who take refuge in Him.
it leads to
- Psalms 40:4
Blessed is the man who has made the LORD his trust, who has not turned to the proud, nor to those who lapse into falsehood.
- John 5:23
so that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.
- Psalms 84:12
O LORD of Hosts, how blessed is the man who trusts in You!
- Psalms 34:8
Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!
- Psalms 40:4
Through
Isaiah 41:11Behold, all who rage against you will be ashamed and disgraced; those who contend with you will be reduced to nothing and will perish.
it leads to
- Exodus 23:22
But if you will listen carefully to his voice and do everything I say, I will be an enemy to your enemies and a foe to your foes.
- Exodus 23:22
Where this verse is studied
About Isaiah
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Isaiah; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Theodoret of Cyrus, COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 19:60.11-16 and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.