Isaiah 60:18 is a promise that the people of God will one day live without violence, ruin, or destruction. Their walls will be called “Salvation” and their gates “Praise,” meaning that the very places that once marked danger will now name what God has done for them. The words come from the prophet Isaiah, who spoke to the people of Judah in the years after their return from exile, a community that had seen its city broken and its hopes deferred.
Violence shall no more be heard in your land, nor desolation or destruction within your borders; but you will call your walls Salvation, and your gates Praise.
Isaiah 60:18 (WEB)
What Isaiah 60:18 Means
The verse begins with a negative promise: violence will no longer be heard in the land. In ancient Israel, the sounds of raiding armies, clashing swords, and wailing survivors were tragically familiar. Isaiah says those sounds will fade. The phrase “desolation or destruction within your borders” widens the picture beyond battle to the emptiness left behind when a community is torn apart, when fields lie fallow and houses stand empty.
The second half turns from what is gone to what is named. Walls and gates were the working heart of a walled city: the walls protected, and the gates controlled who came and went and where trade and justice happened. Isaiah says these structures will be called “Salvation” and “Praise.” The city’s own architecture will testify to God’s rescue and goodness. The verse does not spell out a timetable or a political program. It describes a restored community whose ordinary life will speak of God’s faithfulness.
The Context of Isaiah 60:18
Isaiah 60 belongs to the latter part of the book, often associated with the period after the exile when Jerusalem was rebuilding and its people were discouraged. The book is traditionally attributed to the eighth-century prophet Isaiah, though many scholars recognize later material in these chapters. Chapter 60 is written as a glorious poem of light and restoration, addressed to Zion, the city of God, and it calls the people to see that the Lord, not foreign powers, will be their light and glory.
The verses just before and after bring this out. Verse 15 speaks of a city once forsaken and hated, and verse 16 says the nations will bring their wealth and the people will know that the LORD is their Savior and Redeemer. Verse 18 sits in the middle of this reversal, and verse 19 goes on to say that the LORD himself will be their everlasting light. Read in that setting, the walls named “Salvation” are not a boast about human strength but a sign of God’s own rescue.
Key Phrases in Isaiah 60:18
Psalm 46:9
He makes wars cease to the end of the earth. He breaks the bow, and shatters the spear. He burns the chariots in the fire.
(WEB)
This psalm also imagines a world where God brings an end to war and destruction. Read alongside Isaiah 60:18, it shows that the peace God promises is something he actively brings about, not something people achieve on their own.
Revelation 21:4
He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; neither will there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain, any more. The first things have passed away.”
(WEB)
The vision in Revelation echoes Isaiah’s hope of a world without suffering and loss. Reading the two together shows how the New Testament carries forward the Old Testament picture of God’s final restoration of his people.
A Short Prayer From Isaiah 60:18
Lord, you have promised a day when violence will no longer be heard and destruction will no longer mark the places where we live. I bring you the homes, streets, and workplaces that feel heavy with conflict or fear. Make them quieter and more peaceful, and let the things we build and the places we gather speak of your rescue. Teach me to look for your faithfulness in ordinary moments, and to turn my daily life toward thanks. I trust that you are the one who saves and who is worthy of praise. Amen.
