Isaiah 60:16

You will drink the milk of nations and nurse at the breasts of royalty; you will know that I, the LORD, am your Savior and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.

Berean Standard Bible

Follow its threads on the canvas →

Study note

Setting — The Lord addresses Zion, shifting from a declaration of past desolation to a prophetic promise of reversal. I speak to you as your Savior and Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.

The words — The Hebrew verbs יָנַקְתְּ (ya.nakT) and תִּינָקִי (ti.Na.ki) literally mean "you will suck," paired with חֶלֶב (che.Lev, milk) and שׁוֹד (shod, breast). These terms describe a dependent receiving sustenance from a powerful source.

The thread — This nursing imagery recurs in Isaiah 49:23, where kings and queens serve as foster parents, and Isaiah 66:11, which promises satisfaction at Jerusalem's comforting breasts. The motif ties Zion's future honor to divine provision and recognition.

Why it lands — The text demands recognition that material and political reversal stems from divine identity, not human effort. It asks the reader to acknowledge the Lord as the sole source of sustenance and salvation.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

וְיָנַקְתְּ֙ve./ya.nakTand/ you will suck חֲלֵ֣בcha.Lev[the] milk of גּוֹיִ֔םgo.Yimnations וְשֹׁ֥דve./Shodand/ [the] breast of מְלָכִ֖יםme.la.Khimkings תִּינָ֑קִיti.Na.kiyou will suck וְיָדַ֗עַתְּve./ya.Da.'atand/ you will know כִּ֣יkithat אֲנִ֤י'a.NiI יְהוָה֙Yah.wehYahweh מֽוֹשִׁיעֵ֔ךְmo.shi.'E/kh[am] deliverer/ your וְגֹאֲלֵ֖ךְve./go.'a.Le/khand/ redeemer/ your אֲבִ֥יר'a.Vir[the] mighty one of יַעֲקֹֽב׃ya.'a.KoJacob

King James Version

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 Saviour and thy Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob.

Cross-references

Isaiah 49:23 Kings will be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers. They will bow to you facedown and lick the dust at your feet. Then you will know that I am the LORD; those who hope in Me will never be put to shame.”
Isaiah 66:11 so that you may nurse and be satisfied at her comforting breasts; you may drink deeply and delight yourselves in her glorious abundance.
Isaiah 66:14 When you see, you will rejoice, and you will flourish like grass; then the hand of the LORD will be revealed to His servants, but His wrath will be shown to His enemies.
Isaiah 61:6 But you will be called the priests of the LORD; they will speak of you as ministers of our God; you will feed on the wealth of nations, and you will boast in their riches.
Isaiah 43:3 For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I give Egypt for your ransom, Cush and Seba in your place.
Ezekiel 34:30 Then they will know that I, the LORD their God, am with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are My people,’ declares the Lord GOD.
Isaiah 59:20 “The Redeemer will come to Zion, to those in Jacob who turn from transgression,” declares the LORD.