Judaism
Isaiah 60
Text
Arise, shine, for thy light is come, And the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee.
For, behold, darkness shall cover the earth, And gross darkness the peoples; But upon thee the LORD will arise, And His glory shall be seen upon thee.
And nations shall walk at thy light, And kings at the brightness of thy rising.
Lift Up thine eyes round about, and see: They all are gathered together, and come to thee; Thy sons come from far, And thy daughters are borne on the side.
Then thou shalt see and be radiant, And thy heart shall throb and be enlarged; Because the abundance of the sea shall be turned unto thee, The wealth of the nations shall come unto thee.
The caravan of camels shall cover thee, And of the young camels of Midian and Ephah, All coming from Sheba; They shall bring gold and incense, And shall proclaim the praises of the LORD.
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 My glorious house.
Who are these that fly as a cloud, And as the doves to their cotes?
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 the LORD thy God, And for the Holy One of Israel, because He hath glorified thee.
And aliens shall build up thy walls, And their kings shall minister unto thee; For in My wrath I smote thee, But in My favour have I had compassion on thee. .
Thy gates also shall be open continually, Day and night, they shall not be shut; That men may bring unto thee the wealth of the nations, And their kings in procession.
For that nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish; Yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted.
The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee, The cypress, the plane-tree and the larch together; To beautify the place of My sanctuary, And I will make the place of My feet glorious.
And the sons of them that afflicted thee Shall come bending unto thee, And all they that despised thee shall bow down At the soles of thy feet; And they shall call thee The city of the LORD, The Zion of the Holy One of Israel.
Whereas thou hast been forsaken and hated, So that no man passed through thee, I will make thee an eternal excellency, A joy of many generations.
Thou shalt also suck the milk of the nations, And shalt suck the breast of kings; And thou shalt know that I the LORD am thy Saviour, And I, the Mighty One of Jacob, thy Redeemer.
For brass I will bring gold, And for iron I will bring silver, And for wood brass, And for stones iron; I will also make thy officers peace, And righteousness thy magistrates.
Violence shall no more be heard in thy land, Desolation nor destruction within thy borders; But thou shalt call thy walls Salvation, And thy gates Praise.
The sun shall be no more thy light by day, Neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee; But the LORD shall be unto thee an everlasting light, And thy God thy glory.
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.
Thy people also shall be all righteous, They shall inherit the land for ever; The branch of My planting, the work of My hands, Wherein I glory.
The smallest shall become a thousand, And the least a mighty nation; I the LORD will hasten it in its time.
Text: The Holy Scriptures, Jewish Publication Society (1917), public domain, via Sefaria.
✦ Connected Across Traditions
Divine Compassion & Mercy
Quran 1:1
“In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.”
Luke 6:36
“Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.”
Snp 1.8 (trans. Bhikkhu Sujato)
“Even as a mother would protect with her life her child, her only child, so too for all creatures unfold a boundless heart.”
Guru Granth Sahib, Ang 1
“ik oankaar sat naam: one Creator, whose Name is Truth, beyond fear and enmity.”
Impermanence & Letting Go
Dhammapada 20:277 (trans. F. Max Müller)
“‘All created things perish,’ he who knows and sees this becomes passive in pain; this is the way to purity.”
Tao Te Ching 76 (trans. James Legge)
“Man at his birth is supple and weak; at his death, firm and strong. (So it is with) all things. Trees and plants, in their early growth, are soft and brittle; at their death, dry and withered.”
Ecclesiastes 3:1
“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.”
Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 2 (trans. Edwin Arnold)
“Nay, but as when one layeth His worn-out robes away, And taking new ones, sayeth, "These will I wear to-day!" So putteth by the spirit Lightly its garb of flesh, And passeth to inherit A residence afresh.”
Good vs Evil / Light vs Darkness
Yasna 30:3
“Now the two primal Spirits, who reveal themselves as Twins, are the Better and the Bad, in thought and word and action.”
John 1:5
“And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.”
Dhammapada 2 (trans. Bhikkhu Sujato)
“Intention is the leader of things; intention is first, they’re made by intention. If with pure intent you speak or act, happiness follows you like a shadow that never leaves.”
Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 16 (trans. Edwin Arnold)
“The Doors of Hell Are threefold, whereby men to ruin pass, The door of Lust, the door of Wrath, the door Of Avarice. Let a man shun those three!”