Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Isaiah 60:16

Thou shalt also suck the milk of the Gentiles, and shalt suck the breast of kings: and thou shalt know that I the LORD [am] thy Savior and thy Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob.

16. For the figure in the first half of the verse, cf. ch. Isa 49:23; the second half is repeated from Isa 49:26.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

Thou shalt suck the milk of the Gentiles – This expression means, Whatever is valuable and rich which they possess shall contribute to your welfare. The idea is the same substantially which occurs in the previous parts of the chapter, that the riches of the pagan world would become tributary to the advancement of the true religion.

And thou shall suck the breast of kings – The Chaldee renders this, And thou shalt be satisfied with the riches of the people, and shalt delight thyself with the spoil of kings. The phrase to suck the breast of kings is unusual; but the sense is simple and plain, that kings and their wealth should be made to contribute to sustain the church. See the sentiment explained in the notes at Isa 49:23.

And thou shalt know – By the protection which shall be extended to thee, and by the accession which shall be made to thee, thou shalt have full proof that Yahweh is thy protector and friend. The conversion of the pagan world shall demonstrate that Yahweh is the friend of his church and people.

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

Isa 60:16

Thou shalt also suck the milk of the Gentiles

The Church served by nations and kings

The nations and their kings now give up to the Church their vital substance, as a mother or nurse gives to the child the milk of her breasts; and the Church thereby has rich nourishment for prosperous growth, ever fresh material for joy and thanksgiving.

We can by no means think of enrichment by plunder; the sucking is that of a child, not a vampire. (F. Delitzsch, D. D.)

Religion advanced by wealth and power

All interpreters agree with the Targum in applying this verse to the influx of wealth and power and whatever else the kings and nations of the earth can contribute to the progress of the true religion. The figure is derived from De
33:19. (J. A. Alexander.)

The perpetual excellencies of the Gospel Church

(Isa 60:15-16):–Considering how short Jerusalems excellency was, and how short it came of the vast compass of this promise, we must look for the full accomplishment of it in the perpetual excellencies of the Gospel Church, far exceeding those of the Old Testament Church, and the glorious privileges and advantages of the Christian religion, which are indeed the joy of many generations. Two things are here spoken of as her excellency and joy, in opposition to her having been forsaken and hated.

1. She shall find herself countenanced by her neighbours. The nations and their kings that are brought to embrace Christianity shall lay themselves out for the good of the Church, and maintain its interests with the tenderness and affection that the nurse shows to the child at her breast.

2. She shall find herself countenanced by her God. Thou shalt know that I, the Lord, I am thy Saviour, etc. (M. Henry.)

Sucking the milk of the nations

Not suck their blood–that is not the spirit of the Gospel. (M. Henry.)

Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell

Thou shalt also suck, & c.; a metaphor taken from children sucking nourishment from the breast. The sense is, that the church should draw or drain the wealth of nations, and the riches and power of kings, and whatever is most excellent, and that it should come freely and affectionately, as milk flows from the breast of the mother; the same thing intended Isa 49:23, and in the foregoing verses. Thou shalt know, i.e. experience it; knowing is often put for an experimental knowing.

The mighty one of Jacob; styled so either with reference to Jacobs person, he being the first that gave God this title, Gen 49:24; or with reference to Jacobs posterity, viz. the Jews. These things will certainly be accomplished; for he is the mighty God, and so able; and the God of Jacob, so obliged by covenant and relation.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

16. suckThou shalt draw tothyself and enjoy all that is valuable of the possessions of theGentiles, c. (Isa 49:23 Isa 61:6;Isa 66:11; Isa 66:12).

knowby the favorsbestowed on thee, and through thee on the Gentiles.

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

Thou shalt also suck the milk of the Gentiles,…. Partake of their riches and wealth; so the Targum,

“and ye shall be satisfied with the substance of the people:”

or drink of the sincere milk of the word of the Gospel, which Gentiles have been favoured with for many ages; for this seems to have regard to Jewish converts, though not to them only, but as they, with the converted Gentiles, will make up one church state, and partake of the same privileges:

and shall suck the breast of kings; who shall now be converted in various places, come into the church, and be nursing fathers to it; help and assist the people of God with their riches to carry on divine worship in an honourable manner; and to protect and defend them with their power; see Ps 72:9. The Targum is,

“in the spoil of kings ye shall delight yourselves;”

and it may also design the breasts of consolation, the ordinances of the Gospel, such as Christian kings will suck, and Jews and Gentiles shall do the same, Isa 66:11,

and thou shalt know that I the Lord am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob; the Jews, being called, shall seek the Lord their God, the true Messiah, and shall look unto him by faith, whom they have pierced; shall know, own, and acknowledge him to be their Redeemer and Saviour; who must be fit and qualified for such an office and work, and equal to it, being the mighty One of Jacob, whom before they and their ancestors rejected and despised.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

16. And thou shalt suck the milk of the Gentiles. He speaks of the extension of the Church which he had formerly mentioned; but it was of great importance that the same things should be frequently repeated, because it appeared to be incredible that the Church, which had been reduced to calamities so great and so numerous, would be restored and spread throughout the whole world. Her condition was desperate; but at length, out of that slender remnant which had been, as it were, snatched from the burning, to the great astonishment of all she was restored, and her seed was spread far and wide through every part of the world. And therefore it is as if he had said, “Although thou art confined within narrow limits, and thou hast had no intercourse with the Gentiles, yet thou wilt obtain very abundant fruit from them.”

Thou shalt suck the breast of kings. (161) By “milk” and “breasts” he means nothing else than service and obedience, which the Gentiles shall render to the Church for supporting her offspring; for, having formerly said that at one birth she would bring forth innumerable children, he now gives them milk for nourishment till they grow up. And he speaks expressly of “kings,” because it was more difficult to be believed. Here, too, in passing, “kings” are reminded of their duty; and if they wish to discharge it in a proper manner, they must be the servants of the Church; otherwise the Lord will call them to account. We see also what David says of them,

“

And now, O ye kings, be wise; and ye judges of the earth, be instructed. Serve Jehovah with fear, and rejoice with trembling.” (Psa 2:10)

But we ought carefully to observe in what manner the Church sucks “the milk” and “the breasts” of the Gentiles; for she is not at liberty to exhaust the wealth of the whole world, but to preserve her own condition safe and sound. What is more inconsistent with the nature of a Church than to be an insatiable gulf, and to draw the wealth of all to herself? Those things, therefore, must relate to her spiritual condition, that God may be purely worshipped in her, that the ministry of the word may prosper and flourish, and that some discipline may be maintained, which shall serve as a bridle to restrain all. Yet let believers remember that (Act 20:35) “it is more blessed to give than to receive,” and that they ought to bear poverty so patiently as to enrich others abundantly with spiritual benefits.

And thou shalt know that I Jehovah am thy Redeemer. At length he adds that what had been concealed for a time shall be made manifest, that the Jews were not elected in vain, because they shall know by undoubted experience that God takes care of their salvation. It may be asked, Did they not know this even before they were led into captivity? I answer, that captivity was like the thick darkness to which also the Prophet compared it in the beginning of this chapter. Since, therefore, during that harsh tyranny, they could not behold God’s majesty and power, the Lord led them out into open day, not that faith gives way amidst afflictions, but that the feeling of faith is different from that of experience. When we appear to be ruined, faith raises itself above the present condition and the thick darkness in which we are involved; and if God restore us perfectly, then we see it, not by the eyes of faith, but by actual experience. And this is the clear knowledge of which he speaks; as if he had said, “When I shall have acted so kindly towards you, then you shall actually know that I am your Redeemer.”

The mighty one of Jacob. He expressly claims the title of “the mighty one of Jacob,” because he had often shown that he was so; and not only had Jacob experience in various ways of the power of God, but Jacob’s posterity had also known that in the power of God there was abundant protection. He therefore calls himself the “mighty one,” that they may know that God will henceforth be to them what he formerly was to their fathers.

(161) “Sucking the breast of kings is unusual, and by fastidious critics may be deemed unnatural: but the phrase is merely employed for the purpose of carrying out more efficiently the idea taught in the preceding clause; namely, that abundant contributions would be made by the inhabitants of the different nations to the sustenance of Zion.” ­ Henderson

Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary

(16) Thou shalt also suck the milk of the Gentiles . . .The metaphor is bold, but the prophet had already presented it in a less startling form in Isa. 49:23. What is meant in either case is that the new Jerusalem shall be supported by the offerings of the Gentiles.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

16. Suck the milk the breast, etc. The meaning here is, that Zion-Jerusalem, or the Messianic Church, shall draw on the resources of the more wealthy Gentiles as well as of kings: allegorical of being cherished with tenderest regard by them. From this, Zion is made to know that Jehovah is her all-compensating Lord and Saviour, mighty to save.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments