Isaiah 60:6

Amplified Bible

"A multitude of camels [from the eastern trading tribes] will cover you [Jerusalem], The young camels of Midian and Ephah; All those from Sheba [who once came to trade] will come Bringing gold and frankincense And proclaiming the praises of the LORD.

Parallel Translations

Easy-to-Read Version
Herds of camels from Midian and Ephah will cross your land. Long lines of camels will come from Sheba. They will bring gold and incense. People will sing praises to the Lord .

New Living Translation
Vast caravans of camels will converge on you, the camels of Midian and Ephah. The people of Sheba will bring gold and frankincense and will come worshiping the Lord .

Update Bible Version
The multitude of camels shall cover you, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; all those from Sheba shall come; they shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall proclaim the praises of Yahweh.

New Century Version
Herds of camels will cover your land, young camels from Midian and Ephah. People will come from Sheba bringing gold and incense, and they will sing praises to the Lord .

New English Translation
Camel caravans will cover your roads, young camels from Midian and Ephah. All the merchants of Sheba will come, bringing gold and incense and singing praises to the Lord .

Webster's Bible Translation
The multitude of camels shall cover thee, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; all they from Sheba shall come: they shall bring gold and incense; and they shall show forth the praises of the LORD.

World English Bible
The multitude of camels shall cover you, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; all they from Sheba shall come; they shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall proclaim the praises of Yahweh.

English Standard Version
A multitude of camels shall cover you, the young camels of Midian and Ephah; all those from Sheba shall come. They shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall bring good news, the praises of the Lord .

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
the flowyng of camels schal hile thee, the lederis of dromedis of Madian and of Effa; alle men of Saba schulen come, bryngynge gold and encense, and tellynge heriyng to the Lord.

English Revised Version
The multitude of camels shall cover thee, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; they all shall come from Sheba: they shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall proclaim the praises of the LORD.

Berean Standard Bible
Caravans of camels will cover your land, young camels of Midian and Ephah, and all from Sheba will come, bearing gold and frankincense and proclaiming the praises of the LORD.

Contemporary English Version
Your country will be covered with caravans of young camels from Midian and Ephah. The people of Sheba will bring gold and spices in praise of me, the Lord .

American Standard Version
The multitude of camels shall cover thee, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; all they from Sheba shall come; they shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall proclaim the praises of Jehovah.

Bible in Basic English
You will be full of camel-trains, even the young camels of Midian and Ephah; all from Sheba will come, with gold and spices, giving word of the great acts of the Lord.

Complete Jewish Bible
Caravans of camels will cover your land, young camels from Midyan and ‘Eifah, all of them coming from Sh'va, bringing gold and frankincense, and proclaiming the praises of Adonai .

Darby Translation
A multitude of camels shall cover thee, young camels of Midian and Ephah; all they from Sheba shall come: they shall bring gold and incense; and they shall publish the praises of Jehovah.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
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.

King James Version (1611)
The multitude of camels shall couer thee, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah: all they from Sheba shall come: they shal bring gold and incense, and they shall shew forth the praises of the Lord.

New Life Bible
Many camels will cover your land, the young camels of Midian and Ephah. All those from Sheba will come. They will bring gold and special perfume, and will carry good news of the praises of the Lord.

New Revised Standard
A multitude of camels shall cover you, the young camels of Midian and Ephah; all those from Sheba shall come. They shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall proclaim the praise of the Lord .

Geneva Bible (1587)
The multitude of camels shall couer thee: and the dromedaries of Midian and of Ephah: all they of Sheba shall come: they shall bring golde and incense, and shewe foorth the prayses of the Lorde.

George Lamsa Translation
A multitude of camels shall cover you, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; all those from Sheba shall come; they shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall publish abroad the praises of the LORD.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
The multitude of camels, shall cover thee The young camels of Midian and Ephah, All they of Sheba, shall come, - Gold and frankincense, shall they bring, And, the praises of Yahweh, shall they joyfully tell:

Douay-Rheims Bible
The multitude of camels shall cover thee, the dromedaries of Madian and Epha: all they from Saba shall come, bringing gold and frankincense: and shewing forth praise to the Lord.

Revised Standard Version
A multitude of camels shall cover you, the young camels of Mid'ian and Ephah; all those from Sheba shall come. They shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall proclaim the praise of the LORD.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
The multitude of camels shall couer thee, the dromedaries of Madian and Epha: all they of Saba shall come, bringing gold and incense, and shewing the prayse of the Lorde.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
and the camels of Madiam and Gaepha shall cover thee: all from Saba shall come bearing gold, and shall bring frankincense, and they shall publish the salvation of the Lord.

Good News Translation
Great caravans of camels will come, from Midian and Ephah. They will come from Sheba, bringing gold and incense. People will tell the good news of what the Lord has done!

Christian Standard Bible®
Caravans of camels will cover your land—young camels of Midian and Ephah—all of them will come from Sheba.They will carry gold and frankincenseand proclaim the praises of the Lord.

Hebrew Names Version
The multitude of camels shall cover you, the dromedaries of Midyan and `Efah; all they from Sheva shall come; they shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall proclaim the praises of the LORD.

King James Version
The multitude of camels shall cover thee, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; all they from Sheba shall come: they shall bring gold and incense; and they shall shew forth the praises of the Lord .

Lexham English Bible
A multitude of camels shall cover you, the young male camels of Midian and Ephah. All those from Sheba shall come; they shall bring gold and frankincense, and they shall proclaim the praise of Yahweh.

Literal Translation
A host of camels shall cover you, young camels of Midian and Ephah. All of them shall come from Sheba, they shall bear gold and incense; and they shall proclaim the praises of Jehovah.

Young's Literal Translation
A company of camels covereth thee, Dromedaries of Midian and Ephah, All of them from Sheba do come, Gold and frankincense they bear, And of the praises of Jehovah they proclaim the tidings.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
The multitude of Camels shal couer ye, the Dromedaries of Madia and Epha. All they of Saba shal come, bringinge golde & incense, & shewinge the prayse of the LORDE.

New American Standard Bible
"A multitude of camels will cover you, The young camels of Midian and Ephah; All those from Sheba will come; They will bring gold and frankincense, And proclaim good news of the praises of the LORD.

New King James Version
The multitude of camels shall cover your land, The dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; All those from Sheba shall come; They shall bring gold and incense, And they shall proclaim the praises of the LORD.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"A multitude of camels will cover you, The young camels of Midian and Ephah; All those from Sheba will come; They will bring gold and frankincense, And will bear good news of the praises of the LORD.

Legacy Standard Bible
A multitude of camels will cover you,The young camels of Midian and Ephah;All those from Sheba will come;They will bring gold and frankincense,And will bear good news of the praises of Yahweh.

Contextual Overview

¹"Arise [from spiritual depression to a new life], shine [be radiant with the glory and brilliance of the LORD]; for your light has come, And the glory and brilliance of the LORD has risen upon you. ²"For in fact, darkness will cover the earth And deep darkness will cover the peoples; But the LORD will rise upon you [Jerusalem] And His glory and brilliance will be seen on you. ³"Nations will come to your light, And kings to the brightness of your rising. ⁴"Lift up your eyes around you and see; They all gather together, they come to you. Your sons will come from far away, And your daughters will be looked after at their side. ⁵"Then you will see and be radiant, And your heart will tremble [with joy] and rejoice Because the abundant wealth of the seas will be brought to you, The wealth of the nations will come to you. ⁶"A multitude of camels [from the eastern trading tribes] will cover you [Jerusalem], The young camels of Midian and Ephah; All those from Sheba [who once came to trade] will come Bringing gold and frankincense And proclaiming the praises of the LORD. ⁷"All the flocks of Kedar will be gathered to you [as the eastern pastoral tribes join the trading tribes], The rams of Nebaioth will serve you; They will go up with acceptance [as sacrifices] on My altar, And I will glorify the house of My honor and splendor. ⁸"Who are these who fly like a cloud And like doves to their windows?

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

multitude: Isaiah 30:6, Judges 6:5, Judges 7:12, 1 Kings 10:2, 2 Kings 8:9

Midian: Genesis 25:4, Genesis 25:13

all: Isaiah 45:14, Genesis 10:7, Genesis 25:3, 2 Chronicles 9:1, Psalms 72:10, Psalms 72:15

bring: Isaiah 61:6, Malachi 1:11, Matthew 2:11

they shall show: Romans 15:9, Philippians 2:17, 1 Peter 2:5, 1 Peter 2:9, Revelation 5:9, Revelation 5:10, Revelation 7:9-12

Reciprocal: Genesis 37:28 - Midianites Numbers 7:84 - the dedication Deuteronomy 16:16 - and they shall 1 Kings 10:1 - Sheba 1 Chronicles 1:32 - Sheba 1 Chronicles 1:33 - Ephah 1 Chronicles 16:29 - bring Ezra 6:4 - the expenses Ezra 7:15 - the silver Esther 8:10 - young dromedaries Psalms 9:1 - show Psalms 45:12 - with Psalms 68:29 - shall Psalms 68:31 - Princes Psalms 96:8 - bring Psalms 120:5 - the tents Song of Solomon 7:13 - I have Isaiah 18:7 - to the Isaiah 23:18 - her merchandise Jeremiah 6:20 - Sheba Ezekiel 27:22 - Sheba Micah 4:13 - I will consecrate Zechariah 14:16 - that every Acts 8:27 - a man James 3:13 - let

Gill's Notes on the Bible

The multitudes of camels shall cover thee, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah,.... That is, multitudes of people riding on these creatures from the parts mentioned, which, abounded with them, should come and cover or fill Jerusalem, and the places about it. Midian was a son of Abraham by Keturah, and a son of Midian, Genesis 25:4 these and their posterity inhabit Arabia; and so this is a prophecy of the conversion of the Arabians that dwell in Arabia Felix, Petraea, and Deserts; and so the Targum,

"a multitude of Arabians shall cover thee round about.''

A dromedary is a lesser camel, and swifter than the others; and both are very frequent in these countries, and used in travelling. Strabo y calls the Arabian Scenites feeders of camels.

All they from Sheba shall come: they shall bring gold and incense; Sheba was another of the posterity of Abraham by Keturah, Genesis 25:3 and lived near the others; the queen of this country came to hear the wisdom of Solomon; but the people of it in the latter, day will come to a greater than he; even to Christ and to his church, and bring their gold and incense, as the wise men did to Christ, and shall honour the Lord with their substance; see Psalms 72:10:

and they shall show forth the praises of the Lord; who has called them by his grace out of Mahometan darkness, into the marvellous light of the Gospel. These were the things the Sabaeans abounded with. Strabo z says, that frankincense, myrrh, and cinnamon, grew with them; and that they have such an abundance of spices, that they use the branches of cinnamon, cassia, and other things, for fuel; and that some of them are so rich through merchandise, that they have very sumptuous houses, and much furniture of gold and silver, as vessels, beds, tripods, cups with covers; and even that their gates, and walls, and roofs, are adorned with ivory, gold and silver, and precious stones. And so Pliny a observes: that the Sabaeans are very rich in fruitful and odoriferous woods, and in mines of gold, and other things; see

Ezekiel 27:22. Vitringa understands both these clauses of the camels bringing gold and incense, and praising the Lord in their way, or being the occasion of it.

y Geograph. l. 16. p. 528. Ed. Casaub. z Geograph. I. 16. p. 535. a Nat. Hist. l. 6. c. 28.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The multitude of camels - Lowth renders this, ‘An inundation of camels.’ The Hebrew word properly denotes an inundation or overflowing of waters, but it is not improperly applied to a numerous caravan or company of animals. The camel is a well-known useful animal that constitutes the principal beast of burden in Arabia, and that may, indeed, be said to constitute its wealth. It is frequently spoken of as ‘the ship of the desert.’ The description here is strictly applicable to Arabia; and, undoubtedly, the prophet meant to say, that that country would be blessed with the true religion, and that her merchandise and wealth would become tributary to the church of God.

Shall cover thee - Shall come in such multitudes as to fill thee. and to be spread out all over thee. Thus we speak of a land being covered with flocks and herds.

The dromedaries - The dromedary is a species of camel that is found principally in Arabia, with one bunch or protuberance on its back, in distinction from the Bactrian camel, which has two bunches (Webster). ‘It is found,’ says Dr. Shaw, ‘in Barbary, though much more rarely there than in the Levant. It is chiefly remarkable for its prodigious swiftness; the Arabs affirming that it will run over as much ground in one day as one of their best horses will perform in eight or ten. The Shiekh who conducted us to Mount Sinai rode upon a camel of this kind, and would frequently divert us with an instance of its great abilities. For he would depart from our caravan, reconnoitre another just in view, and return to us again in less than a quarter of an hour. It differeth from the common camel in being of a finer and rounder shape, and in having on its back a lesser bunch or protuberance.’ (Shaw’s Travels, p. 240.) Hence, in Jeremiah 2:23, the prophet speaks of the ‘swift dromedary.’ The idea here is, that these fleet animals, so valuable to the inhabitants of Arabia, would come bringing their merchandise for the service of the church of God; that is, the wealth of Midian and Ephah would be devoted to him.

Midian - Midian was the fourth son of Abraham and Keturah Genesis 25:2, and was the father of the Midianites. The Midianites are frequently mentioned in the Scriptures (Genesis 37:28-36; Numbers 25:17; Numbers 31:2; Judges 6:7-16; Judges 7:23, Judges 7:25, et al.) As early as the time of Jacob they were employed in traffic, and were associated with the Ishmaelites in this business, for it was to a company of these people that Joseph was sold by his brethren Genesis 37:28. ‘The original and appropriate district of the Midianites seems to have been on the east side of the Elanitic branch of the Red Sea, where the Arabian geographers place the city of Madian. But they appear to have spread themselves northward, probably along the desert coast of Mount Seir, to the vicinity of the Moabites; and on the other side, also, they covered a territory extending to the neighborhood of Mount Sinai’ (Robinson’s Calmet). Generally, the names Midianites and Ishmaelites seem to have been nearly synonymous.

Ephah - Ephah was the oldest son of Midian Genesis 25:4, and dwelt in Arabia Petraea, and gave name to the city of Ephah, called here by the Septuagint, Γαιφά Gaipha (Goepha). This city, and the small extent of country around it, constituted a part of Midian on the eastern shore of the Dead Sea, to which the territories of Midian extended. It abounded in dromedaries and camels Judges 6:6.

All they from Sheba shall come - Sheba is celebrated in the Scriptures chiefly as the place from where the Queen of that country came to visit Solomon 1Ki 10:1; 2 Chronicles 9:1. That it abounded in wealth, may be inferred from the train which accompanied her, and from the presents with which she came to Solomon. ‘And she came to Jerusalem with a very great train, with camels that bare spices, and much fine gold, and precious stones’ 1 Kings 10:2. Whether it was the same country as Seba has been a matter of uncertainty (compare the notes at Isaiah 43:3). It is elsewhere Psalms 72:10 mentioned as a place from where presents should be brought to Solomon:

The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents;

The kings of Sheba and Seha shall offer gifts.

It is usually mentioned as a place in which gold and incense abounded. ‘To him shall be given the gold of Sheba Psalms 72:15; ‘To what purpose cometh there to me incense from Sheba’ Jeremiah 6:20; ‘The merchants of Sheba were thy merchants’ Ezekiel 27:22. According to Bruce, it was situated in Abyssinia in Ethiopa, and this has been the common opinion. It was south of Egypt, and the contact between Sheba and Jerusalem was not difficult; and probably a constant traffic was maintained between the two countries. In the time of the Mamclukes, before the conquest of Egypt and Arabia by Selim, a caravan constantly set out from Abyssinia for Jerusalem (compare the notes at Isaiah 45:14).

They shall bring gold and incense - That this country abounded in incense, see the passages of Scripture referred to above. On the meaning of the wood ‘incense,’ see the notes at Isaiah 1:13. The idea is, that they would bring the most valuable productions of their country and devote them to God - perhaps designed to show that the wealth of Africa should yet be consecrated to the cause of the true religion.

And they shall show forth - These distant lands shall join in the worship of Yahweh.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Isaiah 60:6. The praises of the Lord - "And the praise of JEHOVAH."] Thirty-three MSS. and three editions have ותהלת uthehillath, in the singular number; and so read the ancient versions, and one of my own MSS.