Isaiah — Chapter 62
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1For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not keep still, until her righteousness shines like a bright light, her salvation like a blazing torch.
2Nations will see your righteousness, and all kings your glory. You will be called by a new name that the mouth of the LORD will bestow.
3You will be a crown of glory in the hand of the LORD, a royal diadem in the palm of your God.
4No longer will you be called Forsaken, nor your land named Desolate; but you will be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah; for the LORD will take delight in you, and your land will be His bride.
5For as a young man marries a young woman, so your sons will marry you; and as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so your God will rejoice over you.
6On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have posted watchmen; they will never be silent day or night. You who call on the LORD shall take no rest for yourselves,
7nor give Him any rest until He establishes Jerusalem and makes her the praise of the earth.
8The LORD has sworn by His right hand and by His mighty arm: “Never again will I give your grain to your enemies for food, nor will foreigners drink the new wine for which you have toiled.
9For those who harvest grain will eat it and praise the LORD, and those who gather grapes will drink the wine in My holy courts.”
10Go out, go out through the gates; prepare the way for the people! Build it up, build up the highway; clear away the stones; raise a banner for the nations!
11Behold, the LORD has proclaimed to the ends of the earth, “Say to Daughter Zion: See, your Savior comes! Look, His reward is with Him, and His recompense goes before Him.”
12And they will be called the Holy People, the Redeemed of The LORD; and you will be called Sought Out, A City Not Forsaken.
1For 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.
2And 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.
3Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the LORD, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God.
4Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate: but thou shalt be called Hephzi-bah, and thy land Beulah: for the LORD delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married.
5For 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.
6I 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,
7And give him no rest, till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth.
8The 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:
9But 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.
10Go through, go through the gates; prepare ye the way of the people; cast up, cast up the highways; gather out the stones; lift up a standard for the people.
11Behold, 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.
12And they shall call them, The holy people, The redeemed of the LORD: and thou shalt be called, Sought out, A city not forsaken.
1For Zion`s sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem`s sake I will not rest, until her righteousness go forth as brightness, and her salvation as a lamp that burneth.
2And the nations shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory, and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of Jehovah shall name.
3Thou shalt also be a crown of beauty in the hand of Jehovah, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God.
4Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate: but thou shalt be called Hephzi-bah, and thy land Beulah; for Jehovah delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married.
5For 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.
6I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem; they shall never hold their peace day nor night: ye that are Jehovah`s remembrancers, take ye no rest,
7and give him no rest, till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth.
8Jehovah hath sworn by his right hand, and by the arm of his strength, Surely I will no more give thy grain to be food for thine enemies; and foreigners shall not drink thy new wine, for which thou hast labored:
9but they that have garnered it shall eat it, and praise Jehovah; and they that have gathered it shall drink it in the courts of my sanctuary.
10Go through, go through the gates; prepare ye the way of the people; cast up, cast up the highway; gather out the stones; lift up an ensign for the peoples.
11Behold, Jehovah hath proclaimed unto the end of the earth, Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy salvation cometh; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him.
12And they shall call them The holy people, The redeemed of Jehovah: and thou shalt be called Sought out, A city not forsaken.
1For the sake of Zion I will not be silent; for the sake of Jerusalem I will not be quiet, until her vindication shines brightly and her deliverance burns like a torch.
2Nations will see your vindication, and all kings your splendor. You will be called by a new name that the Lord himself will give you.
3You will be a majestic crown in the hand of the Lord, a royal turban in the hand of your God.
4You will no longer be called, “Abandoned,” and your land will no longer be called “Desolate.” Indeed, you will be called “My Delight is in Her” and your land “Married.” For the Lord will take delight in you, and your land will be married to him.
5As a young man marries a young woman, so your sons will marry you. As a bridegroom rejoices over a bride, so your God will rejoice over you.
6I post watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; they should keep praying all day and all night. You who pray to the Lord, don’t be silent!
7Don’t allow him to rest until he reestablishes Jerusalem, until he makes Jerusalem the pride of the earth.
8The Lord swears an oath by his right hand, by his strong arm: “I will never again give your grain to your enemies as food, and foreigners will not drink your wine, which you worked hard to produce.
9“But those who harvest the grain will eat it, and will praise the Lord. Those who pick the grapes will drink the wine in the courts of my holy sanctuary.”
10Come through! Come through the gates! Prepare the way for the people! Build it—build the roadway! Remove the stones. Lift a signal flag for the nations.
11Look, the Lord announces to the entire earth: “Say to Daughter Zion, ‘Look, your deliverer comes! Look, his reward is with him, and his reward goes before him!’”
12They will be called, “The Holy People, the Ones Protected by the Lord.” You will be called, “Sought After, City Not Abandoned.”
1For Zion’s sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, until her righteousness shines out like the dawn, and her salvation like a burning lamp.
2The nations will see your righteousness, and all kings your glory, and you will be called by a new name, which Yahweh‘s mouth will name.
3You will also be a crown of beauty in Yahweh‘s hand, and a royal diadem in your God‘s hand.
4You will not be called Forsaken any more; nor will your land be called Desolate any more: but you will be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah; for Yahweh delights in you, and your land will be married.
5For as a young man marries a virgin, so your sons will marry you. As a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so your God will rejoice over you.
6I have set watchmen on your walls, Jerusalem. They will never be silent day nor night. You who call on Yahweh, take no rest,
7and give him no rest, until he establishes, and until he makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth.
8Yahweh has sworn by his right hand, and by the arm of his strength, “Surely I will no more give your grain to be food for your enemies; and foreigners will not drink your new wine, for which you have labored;
9but those who have harvested it will eat it, and praise Yahweh; and those who have gathered it will drink it in the courts of my sanctuary.”
10Go through, go through the gates! Prepare the way of the people! Build up, build up the highway! Gather out the stones! Lift up a banner for the peoples.
11Behold, Yahweh has proclaimed to the end of the earth, “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your salvation comes. Behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him.’”
12They will call them The holy people, Yahweh’s redeemed. You will be called Sought out, A city not forsaken.
Summary
Isaiah (or the Lord himself) vows not to stay silent until Jerusalem's righteousness shines like a blazing torch and the nations see her vindication (vv. 1-3). Zion receives new names — no longer "Forsaken" and "Desolate" but "Hephzibah" (My Delight Is in Her) and "Beulah" (Married) — as God rejoices over her the way a bridegroom rejoices over a bride (vv. 4-5). Watchmen are posted on the walls and told to give the Lord no rest until he establishes Jerusalem as a praise in the earth (vv. 6-7). God swears an oath that her grain and wine will never again be plundered by enemies (vv. 8-9), and the chapter closes with a call to prepare the highway and lift a banner, announcing that the Redeemer is coming for his people (vv. 10-12).
Authorship & Background
Map & Geography
- Jerusalem (v.1, v.6, v.7): Capital of Judah; the holy city where the Temple stood.
- Zion (v.1, v.11): The hill on which Jerusalem/the Temple stood; often used poetically for God's dwelling.
Places on this map
- JerusalemJerusalemA hill town about 2,500 feet up in the central spine of Judah, roughly 35 miles inland from the Mediterranean and 15 miles west of the Jordan. It sits on no trade route and has no river, which is why it mattered as a fortress and a sanctuary rather than as a market. Wikipedia
Towns sit on their excavated or traditional site. Regions, rivers and seas are ringed rather than dotted, because for those a single point is only an anchor. Coastlines from Natural Earth.
Commentary
- Enduring Word (David Guzik): enduringword.com
- Jamieson-Fausset-Brown (1871): blueletterbible.org A critical and explanatory commentary on the whole Bible, more concise than Matthew Henry and closer to the Hebrew and Greek, with attention to historical and geographical detail. Public domain.
- Matthew Henry's Exposition (1710): blueletterbible.org A devotional verse-by-verse commentary in the Puritan tradition, still among the most widely read three centuries on. Public domain.
Videos
Articles
- BibleProject: bibleproject.com On the whole book: the promised king who runs through Isaiah from beginning to end.
- GotQuestions.org: gotquestions.org On the whole book: an overview of the book of Isaiah -- who wrote it, when, why, and how it fits the rest of Scripture.
Links open on the publisher's own site. Nothing here is reproduced on this page.
Reflection
- God Will Not Keep Silent (v.1) — The speaker refuses to hold his peace until Jerusalem's righteousness shines out like the dawn. Do you view God as passive about your restoration, or as actively, relentlessly working toward it?
- A New Name Given (v.4) — Zion will no longer be called Forsaken or Desolate, but will be renamed to reflect that the Lord delights in her. What old label from your past are you still answering to that God has already replaced?
- God Rejoices Over You (v.5) — God is described rejoicing over His people the way a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, not with mere tolerance but genuine delight. Do you believe God's posture toward you is joy, or something closer to reluctant acceptance?
- Watchmen Who Never Fall Silent (v.6) — Watchmen are stationed on the walls who will never keep silent, day or night, reminding the Lord of His promises. Is there a promise of God you need to keep bringing back to Him in prayer rather than mentioning once and moving on?
- Give Him No Rest (v.7) — The watchmen are told to give the Lord no rest until He establishes Jerusalem and makes it a praise in the earth. Does your prayer life reflect that kind of bold persistence, or does it stop after a polite, single request?