At that time the root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the people ⌞to gather around⌟. The nations will come to him. His resting place will be glorious.
I will say to the north, “Give them up,” and to the south, “Do not keep them.” Bring my sons from far away and my daughters from the ends of the earth.
Certainly, the coastlands wait with hope for me. The ships from Tarshish are the first to bring your children from far away. Their silver and their gold comes with them to honor the name of the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, because he has honored you.
I will set up a sign among them and send some of their survivors to the nations: to Tarshish, Put and Lud, Meshech, Rosh, Tubal, Javan, and to the distant coastlands who have not heard of my fame or seen my glory. They will tell about my glory among the nations.
The Lord is my strength and my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble. Nations come to you from the most distant parts of the world and say, “Our ancestors have inherited lies, worthless and unprofitable gods.”
I also have other sheep that are not from this pen. I must lead them. They, too, will respond to my voice. So they will be one flock with one shepherd.
You will open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light and from Satan’s control to God’s. Then they will receive forgiveness for their sins and a share among God’s people who are made holy by believing in me.’
That’s what some of you were! But you have been washed and made holy, and you have received God’s approval in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.
Also, at that time you were without Christ. You were excluded from citizenship in Israel, and the pledges ⌞God made in his⌟ promise were foreign to you. You had no hope and were in the world without God.
This is true because Christ suffered for our sins once. He was an innocent person, but he suffered for guilty people so that he could bring you to God. His body was put to death, but he was brought to life through his spirit.
Then they sang a new song, “You deserve to take the scroll and open the seals on it, because you were slaughtered. You bought people with your blood to be God’s own. They are from every tribe, language, people, and nation.