Isaiah 60:22
in Isaiah 60The least of you will become a thousand, and the smallest a mighty nation. I am the LORD; in its time I will accomplish it quickly.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
The little one shall become a thousand, and the small one a strong nation; I, Jehovah, will hasten it in its time.
KJV
A little one shall become a thousand, and a small one a strong nation: I the Lord will hasten it in his time.
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This verse in Isaiah 60
Commentary
9 notes on this verse(Vers. 21, 22.) But your people, all the righteous, will inherit the land forever, the offspring of my planting: the work of my hands for glorification. The least will become a thousand, and the smallest will become a mighty nation. I, the Lord, will do this suddenly in its time. LXX: Your people, all the righteous, will always possess the land: preserving the plantation, the works of their hands for glory. The one who is small will become a thousand, and the least will become a great nation. I, the Lord, will gather them in due time.
This site's exposition
Then all your people will be righteous
on Isaiah 60:21-22
“Then all your people will be righteous”, named “the branch of My planting”, the branch word of 11:1. Verse 22 closes with growth: “The least of you will become a thousand”. The last line holds the time and the speed together: “in its time I will accomplish it quickly”.
This site's exposition
The least of you will become a thousand
Aquinas compares the least becoming a thousand to the mighty nation that came from Abraham. Clarke separates the LORD's time, already fixed, from how quickly the LORD will accomplish it once that time arrives. Barnes names it the fullness of time in Galatians 4:4.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
Third, the multiplication of their descendants: the least shall become a thousand, that is, from one man, so many shall be born successively, just as one nation came from Abraham. Mystically, one person from the Church will be put in charge as superior over a …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
And so wonderful is all this promise that it needed the ratification with which it is closed: I the Lord will hasten it in his time --all that is here said relating to the Jewish and Christian church, to the militant and triumphant church, and to every particular believer.
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
A little one shall become a thousand,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
I the Lord will hasten it in his time - There is a time set for the fulfillment of this prophecy: that time must come before it begins to take place; but when it does begin, the whole will be performed in a short space. It is not, therefore, the time determined for the event that shall be hastened, but all the circumstances of the event; all the parts of the prediction shall be speedily completed. I the Lorde in hys tyme sodeynly schal boun thys. - Old MS. Bible.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
A little one shall become a thousand - There shall be a great increase, as if one, and that the smallest, should be multiplied to a thousand. The idea is, that the people, then small in number, would be greatly increased by the accession of the Gentile world. Lowth and Noyes render this, ‘The little one.’ Grotius, ‘The least one.’ So the Septuagint, Ο ὀλιγιστὸς Ho oligistos. I the Lord will hasten it in his time - Noyes, ‘Its time.’ Lowth ‘Due time.’ Septuagint, ‘I will do it in the proper time’ (κατα καιρὸν kata kairon). The sense is, that this would be done at the proper time - called, in Gal 4:4, ‘the fullness of time.’ There was a proper season when this was to be accomplished. There were important preparations to be made before it could be done. The nations, under the divine arrangement, were to be put into a proper position to receive the Messiah. He was not to come until: 1. The experiment had been fairly made to show how weak and feeble man was without a rerelation - to show that philosophy, and learning, and the policy of statesmen, could do nothing effectual for the salvation of men. 2. He was not to come until the world should be at peace, and until there would be facilities for the rapid propagation of religion in all lands. 3. Or was he to come until all that had been said in prophecy should be fulfilled - until all the circumstances should combine, which had been foretold as favorable to the introduction of the reign of the Messiah. But when that period should arrive, then the Lord would ‘hasten’ it. There would be no unnecessary delay; none which the circumstances of the case did not call for. So it will be in the universal spread of the gospel referred to in this chapter. […]
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הַקָּטֹן֙ | hakaton | the small | H6996 → | 101 times |
| יִֽהְיֶ֣ה | yihyeh | he will become | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| לָאֶ֔לֶף | laelef | <into> [the] thousand | H505 → | 505 times |
| וְהַצָּעִ֖יר | vehatzair | and the little | H6810 → | |
| לְג֣וֹי | legoy | <into> a nation | H1471 → | 561 times |
| עָצ֑וּם | ʾatzum | mighty | H6099 → | 31 times |
| אֲנִ֥י | ʾani | I | H589 → | 874 times |
| יְהוָ֖ה | yahweh | [am] Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| בְּעִתָּ֥הּ | beitah | at appropriate time its | H6256 → | 296 times |
| אֲחִישֶֽׁנָּה׃ ס | ʾachishenah | I will hasten it | H2363 → | 20 times |
הַקָּטֹן֙the small
hakatonH6996 →101 times
יִֽהְיֶ֣הhe will become
yihyehH1961 →3559 times
לָאֶ֔לֶף<into> [the] thousand
laelefH505 →505 times
וְהַצָּעִ֖ירand the little
vehatzairH6810 →
לְג֣וֹי<into> a nation
legoyH1471 →561 times
עָצ֑וּםmighty
ʾatzumH6099 →31 times
אֲנִ֥יI
ʾaniH589 →874 times
יְהוָ֖ה[am] Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
בְּעִתָּ֥הּat appropriate time its
beitahH6256 →296 times
אֲחִישֶֽׁנָּה׃ סI will hasten it
ʾachishenahH2363 →20 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
Habakkuk 2:3For the vision awaits an appointed time; it testifies of the end and does not lie. Though it lingers, wait for it, since it will surely come and will not delay.
it leads to
- Psalms 27:14
Wait patiently for the LORD; be strong and courageous. Wait patiently for the LORD!
- Hebrews 10:36–37
You need to persevere, so that after you have done the will of God, you will receive what He has promised.
- Ezekiel 12:25
because I, the LORD, will speak whatever word I speak, and it will be fulfilled without delay. For in your days, O rebellious house, I will speak a message and bring it to pass,…
- Lamentations 3:25–26
The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him.
- Psalms 27:14
Through
2 Peter 3:8Beloved, do not let this one thing escape your notice: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.
it leads to
- Psalms 90:4
For in Your sight a thousand years are but a day that passes, or a watch of the night.
- Psalms 90:4
Through
Hebrews 10:36You need to persevere, so that after you have done the will of God, you will receive what He has promised.
it leads to
- Hebrews 12:1
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off every encumbrance and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with endurance the race set…
- Psalms 37:7
Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for Him; do not fret when men prosper in their ways, when they carry out wicked schemes.
- James 5:7–11
Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer awaits the precious fruit of the soil—how patient he is for the fall and spring rains.
- Hebrews 12:1
Where this verse is studied
About Isaiah
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; 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 and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.