John Gill Bible Commentary

The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents,.... Tarshish either signifies the sea, as it is sometimes rendered in the Targum; and then the sense is, the kings of the sea, that is, of the islands of the sea, as it follows, shall be subject to the kingdom of Christ; and, as a token of it, bring presents to him, as the Moabites and Syrians did to David, and as several nations and kings did to Solomon, Sa2 8:2; or it designs a large country inhabited by the Celtae (b), and so is distinct from the islands; and then the sense is, that kings, both of the continent, and of the islands of the sea, shall do homage to the Messiah; and the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts; the Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, Ethiopic, and Arabic versions, render it, "the kings of the Arabians and Saba"; and so Apollinarius, the Arabians, and Sabeans, these being places in Arabia Felix and Petraea (c): this will be fulfilled when the kings of the earth shall bring their honour and glory into the New Jerusalem, Rev 21:24. This, and the preceding verse, are interpreted of the Messiah by the ancient Jews (d); who say (e), that all the gifts that Jacob their father gave to Esau, the nations of the world shall return them to the King Messiah in time to come, according to the sense of these words; where it is not written "they shall bring"; but (f), "they shall return presents". (b) Hiller. Onomast. p. 944. (c) Hiller. ibid. p. 165, 920. (d) Zohar in Gen. fol. 71. 1. (e) Bereshit Rabba, s. 78. fol. 69. 1. Bemidbar Rabba, s. 13. fol. 210. (f) "Redire facient, vel reddant", Muis.