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Isaiah 62

Isaiah 62 joins God’s promise to restore Jerusalem with a charge to keep praying until that promise becomes visible.

Jerusalem is promised a future in which nations see her righteousness and kings see her glory. The opening speaker, whose identity is debated, refuses silence until Zion’s salvation shines out. YHWH promises new names in place of abandonment and desolation, and rejoices over his people as a bridegroom over his bride. Watchmen are charged to keep calling on him. An oath secures the harvest, and commands to prepare a highway announce salvation’s arrival.

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1For Zion’s sake I will 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. You will be called by a new name, which the LORD’s mouth will name.
3You will also be a crown of beauty in the LORD’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 the LORD 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 the LORD, take no rest,
7and give him no rest until he establishes, and until he makes Jerusalem a praise on the earth.
8The LORD 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 the LORD. 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, the LORD 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, The LORD’s Redeemed”. You will be called “Sought Out, A City Not Forsaken”.
World English BibleRead in NIV in Psalmlog →Highlighted verses are the most connected.
Key verses
Isaiah 62:4Jerusalem’s changed names declare YHWH’s delight and reverse the abandonment and desolation that have defined her.
Isaiah 62:6The watchmen’s unceasing call to YHWH links the promised restoration with persistent prayer for Jerusalem.
Isaiah 62:11The proclamation carries news of Zion’s coming salvation to the ends of the earth, with reward accompanying the arrival.
Where this chapter reaches

Matthew shares the address to Zion’s daughter when announcing her king’s arrival, linking the proclamation here with the account of Jesus entering Jerusalem. Revelation shares the imagery of a city as a bride and the announcement of coming with reward.

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Notice

After reading the whole chapter

What changes for Jerusalem when God replaces the names Forsaken and Desolate with names of delight?

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How might the watchmen’s charge shape what you keep bringing to God in prayer?

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Questions people ask about Isaiah 62

What do Hephzibah and Beulah mean in Isaiah 62?

Hephzibah means that God’s delight is in her, and Beulah means married. Verse 4 explains both names through YHWH’s delight in Jerusalem and the marriage image for her land. They replace Forsaken and Desolate, marking a change in the city’s standing and the condition of its land.

Who are the watchmen in Isaiah 62?

The watchmen are stationed on Jerusalem’s walls and charged never to be silent. The passage connects their task with calling on YHWH until he establishes Jerusalem as a praise on earth. Their precise identity is not stated; the emphasis falls on their constant prayer and refusal to fall silent.

Who is speaking in Isaiah 62:1?

The opening speaker is not named. Readers differ over whether the voice belongs to the prophet or to YHWH, whose speech appears throughout the chapter. The text leaves that identification uncertain, while making the speaker’s resolve clear: silence and rest must wait until Jerusalem’s righteousness and salvation shine out.

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Isaiah · 66 chapters
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Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).