Isaiah 62 explained: Jerusalem Gets a New Name

Not silent until rescue (vv. 1-3)

Someone vows to keep speaking until Jerusalem's rescue blazes out like sunrise for every nation to see, though scholars are unsure whether the speaker is the prophet or God. The new name and the crown held in God's hand picture a broken city made precious again and kept safe.

Delight and Married (vv. 4-5)

The old labels Deserted and Desolate are replaced by Hephzibah, meaning 'my delight is in her', and Beulah, meaning 'married', picturing an abandoned wife welcomed back with joy. In verse 5 the same Hebrew letters can be read either 'your sons' or 'your builder', and many translators choose 'your Builder', meaning God, because it fits the marriage picture.

Watchmen who never rest (vv. 6-7)

Guards on a city wall kept watch and called out through the night, and here they stand for people who keep praying. They are told to give the LORD no rest, boldly reminding God of his promises until Jerusalem is rebuilt and admired.

Harvests no longer stolen (vv. 8-9)

Invading armies often seized a land's crops, so God swears by his 'right hand', a picture of his power, that this will end. Those who grow the grain and grapes will enjoy them themselves at the festivals held in the temple courtyards.

Clear the road home (vv. 10-12)

Clearing stones, building a highway and raising a banner picture a way being prepared for scattered exiles to come home. The cry 'your Savior comes' (the Hebrew can also mean 'your salvation comes') leads to the city's last new name, Sought After, and Christians later read this line in light of Jesus entering Jerusalem.

Key verse: Isaiah 62:4

Where Christians differ

Christians differ on whether these promises were fulfilled in the return from exile, are now fulfilled in the church, or still await a future restoration of the actual city of Jerusalem.

Something to think about

What would it take for a place or a person long seen as abandoned to be seen differently, both by others and by themselves?