Isaiah 62 · ESV Study Bible

Zion’s Coming Salvation

ISAIAH 62 [†] o For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent,

and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not be quiet,

p until her righteousness goes forth as brightness,

and her salvation as a burning torch.

2[†] q The nations shall see your righteousness,

and all the kings your glory,

r and you shall be called by a new name

that the mouth of the LORD will give.

3 You shall be s a crown of beauty in the hand of the LORD,

and a royal diadem in the hand of your God.

4[^][†] t You shall no more be termed u Forsaken, [1]

and your land shall no more be termed Desolate, [2]

r but you shall be called v My Delight Is in Her, [3]

and your land Married; [4]

for the LORD delights in you,

and your land shall be married.

5[†] For as a young man marries a young woman,

so w shall your sons marry you,

and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride,

so x shall your God rejoice over you.

6[†] On your walls, O Jerusalem,

I have set y watchmen;

all the day and all the night

they shall never be silent.

You who put the LORD in remembrance,

take no rest,

7 and give him no rest

until he establishes Jerusalem

and makes it z a praise in the earth.

8[†] The LORD has sworn a by his right hand

and by his mighty arm:

“I will not again give b your grain

to be food for your enemies,

c and foreigners shall not drink your wine

for which you have labored;

9 but d those who garner it shall eat it

and praise the LORD,

and d those who gather it shall drink it

in the courts of my sanctuary.” [5]

10[†] Go through, go through the gates;

e prepare the way for the people;

f build up, build up the highway;

clear it of stones;

g lift up a signal over the peoples.

11[†] Behold, the LORD has proclaimed

to the end of the earth:

h Say to the daughter of Zion,

i “Behold, your salvation comes;

behold, his reward is with him,

and his recompense before him.”

12[†] j And they shall be called The Holy People,

The Redeemed of the LORD;

k and you shall be called Sought Out,

A City Not Forsaken.

ISAIAH—NOTE ON 62:11 the end of the earth … the daughter of Zion. God extends to the nations the opportunity to become part of Zion (cf. 11:9; 19:23–25; 56:3–8).

ISAIAH—NOTE ON 62:2 Your and you are feminine singular, addressing Zion. a new name that the mouth of the LORD will give. He alone defines the destiny of his people, explained in vv. 4, 12 (cf. 1:26; 56:5; 60:14, 18).

ISAIAH—NOTE ON 62:1–5 The desolation of God’s people will be replaced with delight.

ISAIAH—NOTE ON 62:12 they. The people and peoples of v. 10. You is feminine singular in the Hebrew text, referring to Zion. Logically, the two merge into one.

ISAIAH—NOTE ON 62:8–9 not again. God disciplined his ancient people according to the curses of the old covenant (cf. Lev. 26:14–39; Deut. 28:15–68; Judg. 6:1–6), but here he swears, with great solemnity, to display his glory through his merciful restoration to satisfy his people.

ISAIAH—NOTE ON 62:4 Reversing the situation of 60:15; cf. 6:12; 49:14.

ISAIAH—NOTE ON 62:1 For Zion’s sake. That is, for the sake of the redeemed people of God who dwell in Zion (another name for Jerusalem), the city of God. This emphasis on God’s acting for the sake of his people lies at the heart of Isaiah’s ministry: God will glorify himself in the renewed and increased glory of his people, and that future is worth living for now (cf. 1:26; 2:2–3; 4:2–6; 9:1–3; 10:20–21; 11:11–16; 14:1–2; 25:1–9; 26:1–21; 29:22–24; 30:19–26; 32:1–4, 15–18; 33:5–6, 17–24; 35:1–10; 40:1–5, 27–31; 41:8–20; 42:6–7; 43:1–7, 16–21; 44:1–5, 21–28; 45:14–17, 24–25; 49:5–6, 8–26; 51:1–3, 11; 52:1–10; 54:1–17; 55:12–13; 57:15–19; 59:20; 60:1–22; 61:1–9; 62:1–12; 65:8–10, 17–25; 66:10–14, 18–23). I will not keep silent. The speaker is either the prophet Isaiah, the Lord, or the Messiah. Since the prophetic intercessors of 62:6 “shall never be silent,” it is likely that Isaiah is speaking here. The promises of God compel him to pray.

ISAIAH—NOTE ON 62:5 Your sons are the loyal inhabitants of Zion (here, the eternal city of God; cf. Psalm 87). shall … marry. A poetic image indicating that the inhabitants of Jerusalem will love and cherish their city: the inhabitants of Zion will forever be committed to and delight in their eternal dwelling place, for the Lord’s people are there, and the Lord himself is there. Isaiah’s poetic imagery leaves an overwhelming impression of joy, delight, righteousness, beauty, safety, and peace. so shall your God rejoice over you. Boldly drawing on a familiar human image of inexpressible joy and delight, God says his delight in his people will be like that of a bridegroom’s delight in his bride. Isaiah explains that in God’s great plan of salvation, he not only forgives his people, protects them, heals them, provides for them, restores them to their home, reconciles them to each other, transforms them so they are righteous, honors them, exalts them above all nations, and makes them a blessing to all nations, as he called them to be—but more than all these things, he actually delights in his people.