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Isaiah 60:2

in Isaiah 60

For behold, darkness covers the earth, and thick darkness is over the peoples; but the LORD will rise upon you, and His glory will appear over you.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

For, behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the peoples; but Jehovah will arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee.

KJV

For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee.

This verse in Isaiah 60

Commentary

11 notes on this verse

A commentator

Jerome

Commentary on Isaiah · Written before 420.

(Chapter 60—Verse 1 and following) Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you. And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising. 70: Arise, arise, O Jerusalem, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. Behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples.

This site's exposition

Arise, shine, for your light has come

on Isaiah 60:1-3

“Arise, shine, for your light has come” tells Zion to rise from the darkness of chapter 59, where the people groped. Verse 2 sets her light against a dark world: “darkness covers the earth”. Verse 3 draws the world toward it: “Nations will come to your light”.

This site's exposition

thick darkness is over the peoples

Barnes notes that the Septuagint renders thick darkness as gnophos, a word for cloud. Jamieson, Fausset & Brown read His glory will appear as the Hebrew for seen in full view, and trace the light's spread in Isaiah 9:2. Calvin finds the contrast measuring God's love for his elect.

The record, by era

The Medieval Church1 voice

A commentator

Thomas Aquinas

Commentary on Isaiah · Written before 1274.

proposed

And he sets out the judgment of discretion under the metaphor of perceiving by the light: for behold darkness, of tribulation; the peoples, of Babylon and their other enemies; but the Lord shall arise upon you, like the sun illuminating you: but over them only …

The Reformation1 voice

A commentator

John Calvin

1509–1564

Commentaries (1554)

proposed

For, behold, darkness shall cover the earth. He now exhibits in a stronger light, by means of comparison, that grace which he formerly mentioned; that we may form some idea how much God loves his elect, and how extraordinary is the privilege which he bestows upon them.

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

A commentator

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)

The darkness - All kinds of errors. Shall be seen - Shall be conspicuous; as the Lord's arising, to the darkness covering the earth, so the glory being seen, answers to that gross darkness.
For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people,....

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

For behold - Lo, darkness covers the earth. This is designed to turn the attention to the fact that all the rest of the world would be enveloped in deep spiritual night. Darkness - (See the notes at Isa 45:7). Shall cover the earth - Shall envelope the whole world except where it is illuminated by the gospel. It is needless to say that this was the fact when the Messiah came, and that it is still extensively true also. And gross darkness - Lowth renders this, ‘A thick vapor.’ Herder. ‘Deep obscurity.’ Septuagint, Γνόφος Gnophos - Cloud, shade, tempest.
3 more voices on this verse

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

proposed

darkness . . . earth--the rest of the earth: in contrast with "light . . . upon thee" (Isa 60:1). The earth will be afterwards enlightened through Israel (Isa 9:2). be seen--conspicuously: so the Hebrew.

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

Darkness shall cover the earth - This is the state of the Gentile people.

Modern Voices1 voice

A commentator

GK Chesterton

The Everlasting Man, Chapter III: The Antiquity of Civilisation (1925) (1925)

proposed

The truth, it may be repeated, is that what we really see, as distinct from what we may reasonably guess, in this earliest phase of history is darkness covering the earth and great darkness the peoples, with a light or two gleaming here and there …

The words behind it

13 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • כִּֽי־for

    ki-H3588 →4482 times

  • הִנֵּ֤הthere!

    hinehH2009 →843 times

  • הַחֹ֙שֶׁךְ֙<the> darkness

    hachoshekhH2822 →80 times

  • יְכַסֶּה־it will cover

    yekhaseh-H3680 →152 times

  • אֶ֔רֶץ[the] earth

    ʾeretzH776 →2504 times

  • וַעֲרָפֶ֖לand thick darkness

    vaarafelH6205 →

  • לְאֻמִּ֑יםpeoples

    leumimH3816 →31 times

  • וְעָלַ֙יִךְ֙and on you

    vealayikhH5921 →5755 times

  • יִזְרַ֣חhe will dawn

    yizrachH2224 →18 times

  • יְהוָ֔הYahweh

    yahwehH3068 →6520 times

  • וּכְבוֹד֖וֹand glory his

    ukhevodoH3519 →200 times

  • עָלַ֥יִךְover you

    ʾalayikhH5921 →5755 times

  • יֵרָאֶֽה׃it will appear

    yeraehH7200 →1300 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

The walk

8 stops

Each 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

    1 Peter 2:9

    But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, to proclaim the virtues of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.

    it leads to

    • Exodus 19:5–6

      Now if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, you will be My treasured possession out of all the nations—for the whole earth is Mine.

    • Deuteronomy 7:6

      For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for His prized possession out of all peoples on the face of…

    • Revelation 1:6

      who has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—to Him be the glory and power forever and ever! Amen.

    • Revelation 5:10

      You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign upon the earth.”

    • Isaiah 61:6

      But you will be called the priests of the LORD; they will speak of you as ministers of our God; you will feed on the wealth of nations, and you will boast in their…

  • Through

    Colossians 1:13

    He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of His beloved Son,

    it leads to

    • Ephesians 5:8

      For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light,

    • Acts 26:18

      to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those sanctified…

    • 1 Peter 2:9

      But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, to proclaim the virtues of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.

Where this verse is studied

About Isaiah

The Prophet Isaiah, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
The Prophet Isaiah, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
This page draws on 11 works. Open the list of works

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Isaiah; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Isaiah; GK Chesterton, The Everlasting Man, Chapter III: The Antiquity of Civilisation (1925); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.