Isaiah / Chapter 62

Isaiah 62

12 verses • Westminster Leningrad Codex 1 tradition available

Translator's Introduction

What This Chapter Is About

Isaiah 62 is a chapter of relentless advocacy — the speaker (whether the prophet, the Messiah, or God Himself) refuses to be silent until Zion's vindication shines like a blazing torch. The city receives new names: no longer 'Forsaken' (Azuvah) or 'Desolate' (Shemamah) but 'My Delight Is in Her' (Hephzibah) and 'Married' (Beulah). Watchmen are posted on Jerusalem's walls with instructions never to rest and never to let God rest until He establishes Jerusalem as the praise of the earth.

What Makes This Chapter Remarkable

The naming theology of this chapter is extraordinary. To rename something in the ancient Near East was to redefine its identity and destiny. The shift from 'Forsaken' to 'Hephzibah' is not cosmetic but ontological — Zion's very being changes. The image of watchmen who give God no rest (v.7) is one of the boldest depictions of intercessory prayer in Scripture — humans are authorized to be relentless with God.

Translation Friction

The identity of the speaker in verse 1 is debated: is it the prophet, the Servant/Messiah from chapter 61, or God Himself? We have left the ambiguity intact, as the urgency of the speech transcends the question of its source.

Connections

The Hephzibah name (v.4) echoes 2 Kings 21:1, where Hephzibah is the name of King Hezekiah's wife and Manasseh's mother. The watchmen imagery (vv.6-7) connects to Ezekiel 3:17 and 33:7. The 'highway' (v.10) echoes Isaiah 40:3 and 57:14. The banner raised for the peoples (v.10) connects to Isaiah 11:10-12. **Tradition comparisons:** The Dead Sea Scrolls (1QIsaiah-a) preserve this chapter with notable variants: Verse 2 has the key renaming imagery with only minor orthographic variants. Verse 4 contains the Hephzibah/Beulah names without substantive difference. Verse 6 has a notable reading regarding the watchmen on Jerusalem's walls. Verse 11 echoes Zechariah 9:9 and is stable between both texts.. See the [DSS Isaiah comparison](/dss-isaiah/62).

Isaiah 62:1

לְמַעַן צִיּוֹן לֹא אֶחֱשֶׁה וּלְמַעַן יְרוּשָׁלַ‍ִם לֹא אֶשְׁקוֹט עַד־יֵצֵא כַנֹּגַהּ צִדְקָהּ וִישׁוּעָתָהּ כְּלַפִּיד יִבְעָר

For Zion's sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until her righteousness goes forth like brightness and her salvation like a blazing torch.

KJV 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.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

The passionate refusal to be silent mirrors God's own advocacy for His people. Whether the speaker is prophet or Messiah, the urgency is divine in origin.

Dead Sea Scrolls (1QIsaᵃ, 125 BCE)minor

"For Zion's sake I will not keep silent"

The scroll spells lo ('not') with waw-aleph (לוא), a standard Qumran orthographic convention. The passionate opening declaration is identical in meaning: 'For Zion's sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until her righteousness goes forth as brightness.'

Isaiah 62:2

וְרָאוּ גוֹיִם צִדְקֵךְ וְכָל־מְלָכִים כְּבוֹדֵךְ וְקֹרָא לָךְ שֵׁם חָדָשׁ אֲשֶׁר פִּי יְהוָה יִקְּבֶנּוּ

The nations shall see your righteousness, and all kings your glory, and you shall be called by a new name that the mouth of the LORD will bestow.

KJV 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.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

'A new name that the mouth of the LORD will bestow' — the name comes from God's own mouth. It is not chosen by the city or by the nations but spoken into existence by divine decree.

Dead Sea Scrolls (1QIsaᵃ, 125 BCE)minor

"a new name"

No meaningful variant. The promise that the nations shall see Zion's righteousness and she shall be called by 'a new name that the mouth of the LORD will bestow' is identical in both texts.

Isaiah 62:3

וְהָיִיתְ עֲטֶרֶת תִּפְאֶרֶת בְּיַד־יְהוָה וּצְנִיף מְלוּכָה בְּכַף־אֱלֹהָיִךְ

You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the LORD, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God.

KJV Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the LORD, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

Zion is not wearing the crown — she is the crown. God holds her in His hand as His own ornament. The image reverses all humiliation: the formerly despised city is God's jewel.

Isaiah 62:4

לֹא־יֵאָמֵר לָךְ עוֹד עֲזוּבָה וּלְאַרְצֵךְ לֹא־יֵאָמֵר עוֹד שְׁמָמָה כִּי לָךְ יִקָּרֵא חֶפְצִי־בָהּ וּלְאַרְצֵךְ בְּעוּלָה כִּי־חָפֵץ יְהוָה בָּךְ וְאַרְצֵךְ תִּבָּעֵל

You shall no longer be called Forsaken, and your land shall no longer be called Desolate; but you shall be called Hephzibah — 'My Delight Is in Her' — and your land Beulah — 'Married' — for the LORD delights in you, and your land shall be married.

KJV 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.

Notes & Key Terms 2 terms

Key Terms

חֶפְצִי־בָהּ Cheftsi-vah / Hephzibah

"Hephzibah — My Delight Is in Her" — my delight is in her, I take pleasure in her

God renames Zion from Azuvah (Forsaken) to Cheftsi-vah (My Delight Is in Her). The name is a declaration of restored covenant affection — God takes pleasure in the city He once abandoned to judgment. The same name belonged to Hezekiah's wife (2 Kings 21:1), anchoring the eschatological promise in royal history.

בְּעוּלָה Be'ulah / Beulah

"Beulah — Married" — married, owned, possessed by a husband

The land is renamed from Shemamah (Desolate) to Be'ulah (Married). The verb ba'al means both to marry and to possess as lord. The land that was widowed by exile is now claimed again by its divine husband. The marital metaphor extends through verse 5, where God rejoices over Zion as a bridegroom over his bride.

Translator Notes

The renaming is a reversal of exile identity. 'Forsaken' (Azuvah) and 'Desolate' (Shemamah) were not just descriptions but names — identities internalized through decades of ruin. God speaks new names over the old ones.
Hephzibah was historically the name of Hezekiah's wife (2 Kings 21:1), creating a personal resonance with Judah's royal history.

Dead Sea Scrolls (1QIsaᵃ, 125 BCE)minor

"My Delight Is in Her"

The scroll omits the maqqef. The renaming from 'Forsaken' (Azuvah) to 'Hephzibah' (My Delight Is in Her) and from 'Desolate' (Shemamah) to 'Beulah' (Married) is preserved identically. These symbolic names carry the chapter's theological weight — God's relationship to Zion is characterized as marital delight, not abandonment.

Isaiah 62:5

כִּי־יִבְעַל בָּחוּר בְּתוּלָה יִבְעָלוּךְ בָּנָיִךְ וּמְשׂוֹשׂ חָתָן עַל־כַּלָּה יָשִׂישׂ עָלַיִךְ אֱלֹהָיִךְ

For as a young man marries a young woman, so shall your sons marry you; and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you.

KJV 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.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

The final line is one of the most tender in Isaiah: God rejoices over Zion as a bridegroom over his bride. Divine emotion — not merely divine will — is on full display.

Dead Sea Scrolls (1QIsaᵃ, 125 BCE)moderate

"your sons shall marry you"

The scroll uses the feminine suffix forms -ki for both 'you' and 'your sons.' The imagery of the builder marrying the land is preserved. Some scholars note that the scroll may read bonaikh ('your builder') rather than banaikh ('your sons') — a single letter difference (waw vs. yod, which are often confused in Qumran scripts) — but the primary reading appears to match MT.

Isaiah 62:6

עַל־חוֹמֹתַיִךְ יְרוּשָׁלַ‍ִם הִפְקַדְתִּי שֹׁמְרִים כָּל־הַיּוֹם וְכָל־הַלַּיְלָה תָּמִיד לֹא יֶחֱשׁוּ הַמַּזְכִּרִים אֶת־יְהוָה אַל־דֳּמִי לָכֶם

On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have posted watchmen; all day and all night they shall never be silent. You who remind the LORD, take no rest,

KJV 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,

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

These watchmen are not military sentinels but intercessors — their 'watching' is prayer. They are called 'those who remind the LORD' (hamazkirim et YHWH), a stunning vocation: reminding God of His promises.

Dead Sea Scrolls (1QIsaᵃ, 125 BCE)moderate

"you who remind the LORD"

The scroll preserves the same reading of the watchmen on Jerusalem's walls who 'shall never be silent, day or night' and who are charged to 'remind the LORD, take no rest.' The concept of intercessory watchmen who give God no rest until He establishes Jerusalem is identical in both texts. This verse was influential in later Jewish and Christian prayer traditions.

Isaiah 62:7

וְאַל־תִּתְּנוּ דֳמִי לוֹ עַד־יְכוֹנֵן וְעַד־יָשִׂים אֶת־יְרוּשָׁלַ‍ִם תְּהִלָּה בָּאָרֶץ

and give Him no rest until He establishes Jerusalem and makes her the praise of the earth.

KJV And give him no rest, till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

'Give Him no rest' — the boldness is breathtaking. God Himself authorizes His people to be relentless in prayer, to refuse to let Him rest until the promise is fulfilled. This is the theology of persistent intercession.

Isaiah 62:8

נִשְׁבַּע יְהוָה בִּימִינוֹ וּבִזְרוֹעַ עֻזּוֹ אִם־אֶתֵּן אֶת־דְּגָנֵךְ עוֹד מַאֲכָל לְאֹיְבַיִךְ וְאִם־יִשְׁתּוּ בְנֵי־נֵכָר תִּירוֹשֵׁךְ אֲשֶׁר יָגַעַתְּ בּוֹ

The LORD has sworn by His right hand and by His mighty arm: 'I will not again give your grain as food for your enemies, and foreigners shall not drink your new wine for which you have labored.'

KJV 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:

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

God swears an oath — the strongest possible assurance. He swears by His own right hand, since there is no one greater to swear by (cf. Heb 6:13).

Dead Sea Scrolls (1QIsaᵃ, 125 BCE)minor

"the LORD has sworn by His right hand"

No meaningful variant. God's oath by His right hand and mighty arm — that He will never again give Israel's grain to enemies — is identical in both texts.

Isaiah 62:9

כִּי מְאַסְפָיו יֹאכְלֻהוּ וְהִלְלוּ אֶת־יְהוָה וּמְקַבְּצָיו יִשְׁתֻּהוּ בְּחַצְרוֹת קָדְשִׁי

But those who gather it shall eat it and praise the LORD, and those who harvest it shall drink it in the courts of My sanctuary.

KJV 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.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

The promise is simple and profound: you will eat what you grow. After centuries of foreign powers confiscating harvests, this is restoration of the most basic dignity.

Isaiah 62:10

עִבְרוּ עִבְרוּ בַּשְּׁעָרִים פַּנּוּ דֶּרֶךְ הָעָם סֹלּוּ סֹלּוּ הַמְסִלָּה סַקְּלוּ מֵאֶבֶן הָרִימוּ נֵס עַל־הָעַמִּים

Go through, go through the gates! Prepare the way for the people! Build up, build up the highway! Clear it of stones! Raise a banner over the peoples!

KJV 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.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

The doubled imperatives create urgency: go through, go through! Build up, build up! This echoes the highway language of 40:3 and 57:14 — the great processional road for God's returning people.

Dead Sea Scrolls (1QIsaᵃ, 125 BCE)minor

"Go through, go through the gates!"

No meaningful variant. The doubled imperative 'Go through! Go through!' echoes the 'Build up! Build up!' of 57:14. The command to prepare the way of the people, build up the highway, clear the stones, and raise a signal over the peoples is identical in both texts.

Isaiah 62:11

הִנֵּה יְהוָה הִשְׁמִיעַ אֶל־קְצֵה הָאָרֶץ אִמְרוּ לְבַת־צִיּוֹן הִנֵּה יִשְׁעֵךְ בָּא הִנֵּה שְׂכָרוֹ אִתּוֹ וּפְעֻלָּתוֹ לְפָנָיו

Behold, 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."'

KJV 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.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

Matthew 21:5 and John 12:15 echo this verse when Jesus enters Jerusalem: 'Say to the daughter of Zion, Behold, your king is coming.' The salvation that 'comes' is not an abstraction but a person arriving.

Dead Sea Scrolls (1QIsaᵃ, 125 BCE)minor

"behold, your salvation comes"

The scroll uses the feminine suffix -ki and spells the participle ba'ah with he. The proclamation 'Behold, your salvation comes; behold, His reward is with Him' echoes Isaiah 40:10 and anticipates Zechariah 9:9 and Matthew 21:5. The scroll confirms this reading without substantive variant.

Isaiah 62:12

וְקָרְאוּ לָהֶם עַם־הַקֹּדֶשׁ גְּאוּלֵי יְהוָה וְלָךְ יִקָּרֵא דְרוּשָׁה עִיר לֹא נֶעֱזָבָה

And they shall be called the Holy People, the Redeemed of the LORD; and you shall be called Sought Out, a City Not Forsaken.

KJV And they shall call them, The holy people, The redeemed of the LORD: and thou shalt be called, Sought out, A city not forsaken.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

Four final names for the restored community: Holy People, Redeemed of the LORD, Sought Out, City Not Forsaken. Each name directly reverses the exile condition. 'Not Forsaken' (lo ne'ezavah) answers the 'Forsaken' (Azuvah) of verse 4 — the old name is not merely replaced but explicitly negated.

Dead Sea Scrolls (1QIsaᵃ, 125 BCE)minor

"the holy people"

The scroll uses plene spelling for qodesh ('holiness'). The closing titles for the redeemed — 'The Holy People, The Redeemed of the LORD' — and for the city — 'Sought Out, A City Not Forsaken' — are identical in both texts.

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