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Isaiah 62

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Zion's Righteousness and New Name 1–5

1
For Zion's sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth. ​
2
And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory: and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the LORD shall name. ​
3
Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the LORD, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God. ​
4
Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate: but thou shalt be called Hephzibah, and thy land Beulah: for the LORD delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married. ​
5
For as a young man marrieth a virgin, so shall thy sons marry thee: and as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee. ​

Watchmen Appointed on the Walls 6–9

6
I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day nor night: ye that make mention of the LORD, keep not silence, ​
7
And give him no rest, till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth. ​
8
The LORD hath sworn by his right hand, and by the arm of his strength, Surely I will no more give thy corn to be meat for thine enemies; and the sons of the stranger shall not drink thy wine, for the which thou hast laboured: ​
9
But they that have gathered it shall eat it, and praise the LORD; and they that have brought it together shall drink it in the courts of my holiness.

The Triumphant Return Announced 10–12

10
Go through, go through the gates; prepare ye the way of the people; cast up, cast up the highway; gather out the stones; lift up a standard for the people. ​
11
Behold, the LORD hath proclaimed unto the end of the world, Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy salvation cometh; behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him. ​
12
And they shall call them, The holy people, The redeemed of the LORD: and thou shalt be called, Sought out, A city not forsaken. ​

Bible text: King James Version (1769 Blayney text) · Public domain

Study Notes for Isaiah 62

Verse 1

will I not hold my peace — Two verbs of keeping still, chashah (hold peace) and shaqat (rest), are refused until Zion's righteousness goes forth 'as brightness' (nogah, the word of 'the brightness of thy rising', 60:3) and her salvation 'as a lamp that burneth' (lappid, the burning lamp of Gen 15:17). The watchmen of v.6 'hold their peace' with the same verb.

Verse 2

a new name — The Gentiles and 'all kings' see Zion's righteousness and glory, as 60:3 foretold: 'the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.' The new name comes from 'the mouth of the LORD', as Abram's did (Gen 17:5), and is spelled out in vv.4 and 12.

Verse 3

a crown of glory — The crown (atarah) lies 'in the hand of the LORD': Zion is held, not worn. The 'royal diadem' is tsaniph, a wound head-dress, found only four times (Job 29:14; Isa 3:23; here; Zech 3:5, the 'fair mitre' set on Joshua's head). Zech 9:16 likewise calls the saved flock 'the stones of a crown'.

Verse 4

Hephzibah… Beulah — Chephtsi-bah, 'my delight is in her', is also the name of King Manasseh's mother (2 Kings 21:1). Beulah comes from ba'al, to be master or husband, the verb translated 'shall be married' at the end of the verse. Both names answer 'Forsaken' and 'Desolate'; Hos 2:19 says, 'I will betroth thee unto me for ever.'

Verse 5

so shall thy sons marry thee — The verb is again ba'al, as in v.4, so the name Beulah is carried into a wedding. The last clause is the LORD's own joy: 'as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee', matching Zeph 3:17, 'he will joy over thee with singing.'

Verse 6

I have set watchmen — The LORD himself sets them 'upon thy walls'. They are 'ye that make mention of the LORD' (zakar, to remember, here in the form 'bring to remembrance'). 'Keep not silence' is dami, the word of Ps 83:1, 'Keep not thou silence, O God'; in v.7 the same noun is translated 'rest'.

Verse 7

give him no rest — 'Rest' is dami, the noun rendered 'silence' in v.6, so the watchmen's unbroken speech and God's rest are set against each other. What they ask is what he has promised: that he 'establish' (kun) Jerusalem and make it 'a praise' (tehillah) in the earth. Christ speaks of 'his own elect, which cry day and night unto him' (Luke 18:7).

Verse 8

The LORD hath sworn — He swears 'by his right hand, and by the arm of his strength', staking his own power on the promise. It reverses the curse of Deut 28:33, where 'a nation which thou knowest not' would eat up 'the fruit of thy land, and all thy labours'. The grain and wine, v.9 adds, are eaten and drunk in 'the courts of my holiness'.

Verse 10

prepare ye the way — The call repeats 57:14 almost exactly: 'Cast ye up, cast ye up, prepare the way.' 'Gather out the stones' is sagal, the verb of the vineyard in 5:2, 'gathered out the stones thereof'. The 'standard' (nes) is the ensign raised for the nations in 11:12 and 49:22. Compare 'Prepare ye the way of the LORD' (40:3).

Verse 11

thy salvation cometh — The proclamation goes 'unto the end of the world', yet it is spoken to 'the daughter of Zion'; Matt 21:5 opens with the same address, 'Tell ye the daughter of Sion', at Christ's entry into Jerusalem. 'His reward is with him, and his work before him' is word for word 40:10; Christ says, 'my reward is with me' (Rev 22:12).

Verse 12

The holy people, The redeemed of the LORD — The titles echo Israel's first: 'an holy people unto the LORD thy God' (Deut 7:6), 'an holy nation' (Ex 19:6). 'Redeemed' is ga'al, the kinsman's word. 'Sought out' (darash) answers the neglect of v.4, and 'not forsaken' uses the verb behind 'Forsaken' there (azab).