Isaiah 60:20
in Isaiah 60Your sun will no longer set, and your moon will not wane; for the LORD will be your everlasting light, and the days of your sorrow will cease.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Thy sun shall no more go down, neither shall thy moon withdraw itself; for Jehovah will be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended.
KJV
Thy sun shall no more go down; neither shall thy moon withdraw itself: for the Lord shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended.
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This verse in Isaiah 60
Commentary
13 notes on this verseHe also sets out the eternity of its governor: your sun, which is God, shall go down no more: but you are always the selfsame, and your years shall not fail (Ps 101:28[102:27]). And the days of your mourning shall be ended. This as to …
This site's exposition
No longer will the sun be your light by day
on Isaiah 60:19-20
The LORD takes the place of the created lights: “No longer will the sun be your light”, “for the LORD will be your everlasting light”. Revelation 21:23 keeps the picture for the city that needs no sun. Verse 20 gives its end: “the days of your sorrow will cease”.
This site's exposition
your moon will not wane
Henry sets the verse beside Joshua's day, when the sun stood still for one day, and finds here an everlasting day. Barnes reads it as a promise that no total night of error and calamity will fall on the church again. Spurgeon recalls how Israel's sun set once under idolatry.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers4 voices
(Verse 19, 20.) The sun will no longer be your light by day, nor will the splendor of the moon shine on you; for the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory. Your sun will never set again, and your moon will not decrease; for the LORD will be your everlasting light, and the days of your mourning will be fulfilled.
This is exactly what the future life possesses. It will need neither moon nor sun, since it has the ineffable light of God. But those who believe can take advantage of it in a provisional form. Nevertheless, in a figurative sense, believers enjoy this light …
According to the word of blessing to the one receiving illumination, "The Lord will be your everlasting light." … When this economy was reconstituted, God opened his eyes on the house of Judah, that is, the living church of God, with the Savior sent from …
We must keep in mind, however, that the Word promises to the righteous through the mouth of Isaiah that days will come when not the sun but the Lord will be to them an everlasting light, and God will be their glory. And it is from misunderstanding, I think, some pestilent heresy that gave an interpretation to the words "let there be light," as if they were the expression of a wish merely on the part of the Creator, that Celsus made the remark, "The Creator did not borrow light from above, like those persons who kindle lamps at those of their neighbors."
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
We read of the sun's standing still once, and not hasting to go down for the space of a day, and it was a glorious day, never was the like; but what was that to the day that shall never have a night?
5 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
7 All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered together unto thee, the rams of Nebaioth shall minister unto thee: they shall come up with acceptance on mine altar, and I will glorify the house of my glory. 8 Who are these that fly as a cloud, and as the doves to their windows? It is here promised that the gospel temple shall be very lightsome and very large.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:82%@v6-8
Thy sun shall no more go down,....
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Thy sun shall no more go down - There shall be no total and long night of calamity, error, and sin. This is designed to describe the flourishing and glorious state of the church. It, of course, does not mean that there should be no times of calamity, no period of ignorance, no scenes of persecution; but it means that there should not be total night. Truth should reign on the earth, and there never would be a time when the light of salvation would be extinct.
ISRAEL of old had light while all the rest of the world sat in darkness. In consequence of receiving moral and spiritual light from God, the nation prospered, and under the smile of Heaven it was greatly enriched and multiplied. But, alas, the sun went down and the moon withdrew itself, for Israel turned aside and followed after idols, and the land was terribly smitten by the hostile sword. Upon her repentance her sun arose again and the daughters of Judah rejoiced, but again they went astray, for the zealous judge, or the godly king, or the pious priest died—and the nation, prone to backsliding, again provoked the Lord—and the light of His Countenance was withdrawn. This typical Church of God abode not in the light continually, its history was checkered with alternate brightness and gloom, repentance and relapse, prosperity and adversity. What a change from the glory of Solomon to the captivity of Zedekiah! From the Temple in its glory to the city in ruinous heaps! Truly, to those who knew Israel well, this prophecy of Isaiah must have sounded as rare music, and they must have devoutly cried, "Hasten it, O Lord, in our time." Another dispensation came. Jesus Christ was born at Bethlehem, "a light to lighten the Gentiles, and the Glory of Your people Israel." And the sun shone upon the earth as it had never done before. A visible Church was called out to walk in the light, which Church still exists upon the earth, and from the days of Pentecost until now its sun has never altogether gone down, neither has its moon withdrawn herself. To us, the promise of the text has been fulfilled in a gracious sense, for to the Church of God there has never been an utter suspension of the Divine light. The light has not always been equally clear, but it has still been day.
ISRAEL of old had light while all the rest of the world sat in darkness. In consequence of receiving moral and spiritual light from God, the nation prospered, and under the smile of Heaven it was greatly enriched and multiplied. But, alas, the sun went down and the moon withdrew itself, for Israel turned aside and followed after idols, and the land was terribly smitten by the hostile sword.
The words behind it
16 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| לֹא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יָב֥וֹא | yavo' | it will go | H935 → | 2568 times |
| עוֹד֙ | ʾod | again | H5750 → | 490 times |
| שִׁמְשֵׁ֔ךְ | shimshekh | sun your | H8121 → | 134 times |
| וִירֵחֵ֖ךְ | virechekh | and moon your | H3394 → | 27 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יֵאָסֵ֑ף | yeasef | it will be removed | H622 → | 200 times |
| כִּ֣י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| יְהוָ֗ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| יִֽהְיֶה־ | yihyeh- | he will become | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| לָּךְ֙ | lokh | of you | ||
| לְא֣וֹר | leor | <into> a light of | H216 → | 121 times |
| עוֹלָ֔ם | olam | perpetuity | H5769 → | 438 times |
| וְשָׁלְמ֖וּ | veshalmu | and they will be complete | H7999 → | 116 times |
| יְמֵ֥י | yemei | [the] days of | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| אֶבְלֵֽךְ׃ | ʾevlekh | mourning your | H60 → |
לֹא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
יָב֥וֹאit will go
yavo'H935 →2568 times
עוֹד֙again
ʾodH5750 →490 times
שִׁמְשֵׁ֔ךְsun your
shimshekhH8121 →134 times
וִירֵחֵ֖ךְand moon your
virechekhH3394 →27 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
יֵאָסֵ֑ףit will be removed
yeasefH622 →200 times
כִּ֣יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
יְהוָ֗הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
יִֽהְיֶה־he will become
yihyeh-H1961 →3559 times
לָּךְ֙of you
lokh
לְא֣וֹר<into> a light of
leorH216 →121 times
עוֹלָ֔םperpetuity
olamH5769 →438 times
וְשָׁלְמ֖וּand they will be complete
veshalmuH7999 →116 times
יְמֵ֥י[the] days of
yemeiH3117 →2304 times
אֶבְלֵֽךְ׃mourning your
ʾevlekhH60 →
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
Psalms 27:1The LORD is my light and my salvation— whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life— whom shall I dread?
it leads to
- Psalms 84:11
For the LORD God is a sun and a shield; the LORD gives grace and glory; He withholds no good thing from those who walk with integrity.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Hebrews 13:6
So we say with confidence: “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?”
- Psalms 118:6
The LORD is on my side; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?
- Exodus 15:2
The LORD is my strength and my song, and He has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise Him, my father’s God, and I will exalt Him.
- 2 Corinthians 12:9
But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly in my weaknesses, so that the power of…
- Psalms 84:11
Through
Psalms 84:11For the LORD God is a sun and a shield; the LORD gives grace and glory; He withholds no good thing from those who walk with integrity.
it leads to
- Psalms 34:9–10
Fear the LORD, you His saints, for those who fear Him lack nothing.
- Proverbs 2:7
He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk with integrity,
- Psalms 34:9–10
Through
Revelation 21:4‘He will wipe away every tear from their eyes,’ and there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the former things have passed away.”
it leads to
- Isaiah 25:8
He will swallow up death forever. The Lord GOD will wipe away the tears from every face and remove the disgrace of His people from the whole earth. For the LORD has spoken.
- Isaiah 25:8
Where this verse is studied
About Isaiah
This page draws on 11 works. Open the list of works
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); Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 1176: “The Eternal Day” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); Didymus the Blind, COMMENTARY ON ZECHARIAH 4:200-201; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Isaiah; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Origen of Alexandria, AGAINST CELSUS 6:51; Theodoret of Cyrus, COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 19:60.19 and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.