At that time the root of Jesse will stand like a banner for the nations. Foreigners will come to him, and the place of where he lives will be glorious.
This is what the Lord God says, Watch as I give the signal to the nations, as I raise my flag to let everyone know. They will bring them back, carrying your sons in their arms, and lifting your daughters onto their shoulders.
He says, “It's nothing much for you to be my servant to bring back the tribes of Jacob, those people of Israel that I've preserved. I'm also going to make you a light for the foreigners so that my salvation may reach everybody.”
He will surprise many nations, and kings will keep quiet because of him—for they'll see what they haven't been told, and they'll understand what they hadn't heard.
No one will need to teach a neighbor or their brother, telling them, “You ought to know the Lord.” For everyone will know me, from the smallest to the greatest. I will forgive them when they do wrong, and I will forget about their sins.
Seventy weeks have been allotted to your people and your holy city to deal with the rebellion, to put an end to sin, to forgive wrongdoing, to bring in everlasting goodness, to confirm the vision and the prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy Place.
How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I let you go, Israel? How can I make you like Admah? How can I treat you like Zeboiim? My heart is breaking; I am full of compassion.
I will ‘sow’ her for myself in the earth. I will love Lo-ruhamah (unloved) and I will say ‘You are my people’ to Lo-ammi (not my people), and they will say, ‘You are my God.’”
Many nations will come and say, “Let's go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the Temple of the God of Jacob. There God will teach us his ways and we will follow his directions.” God's teachings will spread out from Zion, his word from Jerusalem.
I am honored by nations from the farthest east to the distant west; everywhere people make offerings to me of incense and pure sacrifices. I am honored among the nations, says the Lord Almighty.
Oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you kill prophets and stone those who are sent to you! How often I have wanted to gather all your children together just like a hen does with her chicks under her wings, but you refused!
After they had heard this explanation, they didn't argue with him anymore, and praised God, saying, “Now God has granted the opportunity to repent and have eternal life to foreigners as well.”
So Paul and Barnabas spoke out strongly, saying “We had to speak the word of God to you first. But now that you're rejecting it—you're deciding that you're not worthy of eternal life—well now we're turning to the foreigners.
“Repent!” Peter told them. “All of you must be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
to open their eyes so they can turn from darkness to light, from the power of Satan to God, and so they can receive forgiveness for their sins and a place with those who are set right as they trust in me.’
First in Damascus, then in Jerusalem, and then all over Judea and also to the foreigners I shared the message of repentance: how they should turn to God, demonstrating their repentance through their actions.
God exalted him to a position of honor at his right hand as Prince and Savior, as a way to bring repentance to Israel, and for the forgiveness of sins.