Bible Commentaries
Isaiah 62

Verses 1-12

The New Jerusalem ( 62 : 1 - 12 )

This poem repeats themes that are common in Second Isaiah in chapters 40-55 and 60-61. Zion, or Jerusalem, is the object of a prophecy in which God is represented as speaking in the first person. The closest parallel to this chapter is 51:1—52:12, where after the Servant of the Lord has responded to God’s call (ch. 50), the following prophecy turns to the encouragement of Zion and foretells the city’s reconstruction. Similarly, the servant poem in chapter 61 (if that is the correct interpretation) is followed again by the encouragement of Zion. Here again the subject is the New Jerusalem which is the religious capital of the world, a city no longer termed “Forsaken,” but instead “ Hephzibah ” and “ Beulah ” (the Hebrew terms translated “My delight is in her” and “Married” in verse 4). She who has been forsaken, as though she were an unmarried girl, will now be married, and the occasion will be one for great rejoicing. God has placed watchmen on the walls of Jerusalem, and never again need the city be in fear (vss. 6-9). The inhabitants of the city are commanded to go out to the gates and prepare a highway on which all of the redeemed of the Lord may return (vss. 10-12). They will be called “The holy people,” and the city is to be called “Sought out,” a city no longer forsaken. Thus through an address to Jerusalem the current inhabitants of the very poor and as yet unfortified city are themselves encouraged and strengthened for the future which they must face, a future with meaning and significance. The Lord is the Lord of history; he is the living God; and life under his direction is an exciting prospect.