Bible Strands
Isaiah 60:21
Then all your people will be righteous; they will possess the land forever; they are the branch of My planting, the work of My hands, so that I may be glorified.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The LORD speaks directly to Israel in a prophetic oracle of final restoration, bracketed by the promise of unsetting light (60:20) and numerical multiplication (60:22).
The words — נֵצֶר (nēṣer, "shoot, young sprout") paired with מַטָּע (maṭṭaʿ, "planting, cultivation") renders the people as a deliberate, ongoing act of divine horticulture, not a static possession.
The thread — Matthew 15:13 inverts the same image: plants not set by the Father are uprooted. Psalms 37:11 and 37:22 tie the inheritance of the land to the righteous, echoing the "righteous…possess the land" formula here.
Why it lands — The verse locates the people's permanence and identity in God's act of planting, not in their own righteousness as achievement; it asks the reader to accept being a cultivated thing rather than a self-made one.
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
King James Version
Thy people also shall be all righteous: they shall inherit the land for ever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified.
Cross-references
- Matthew 15:13 But Jesus replied, “Every plant that My heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by its roots.
- Psalms 37:22 Surely those He blesses will inherit the land, but the cursed will be destroyed.
- Psalms 37:11 But the meek will inherit the land and delight in abundant prosperity.
- Psalms 92:13 Planted in the house of the LORD, they will flourish in the courts of our God.
- Isaiah 29:23 For when he sees his children around him, the work of My hands, they will honor My name, they will sanctify the Holy One of Jacob, and they will stand in awe of the God of Israel.
- Isaiah 61:3 to console the mourners in Zion—to give them a crown of beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, and a garment of praise for a spirit of despair. So they will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.
- John 15:2 He cuts off every branch in Me that bears no fruit, and every branch that does bear fruit, He prunes to make it even more fruitful.
- Isaiah 43:7 everyone called by My name and created for My glory, whom I have indeed formed and made.”
- Isaiah 43:21 The people I formed for Myself will declare My praise.
- Isaiah 45:11 Thus says the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, and its Maker: “Concerning things to come, do you question Me about My sons, or instruct Me in the work of My hands?