Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Isaiah 62:5

Clarke's Commentary

Verse Isaiah 62:5. For as a young man - so] The particles of comparison are not at present in the Hebrew Text: but the Septuagint, Syriac, and Chaldee seem to have read in their copies כ caph prefixed to the verb, כי כיבעל ki keyibal, which seems to have been omitted by mistake of a transcriber, occasioned by the repetition of the same two letters. And before the verb in the second line a MS. adds כן ken, so; which the Septuagint, Syriac, and Chaldee seem also to have had in their copies. In the third line of this verse the same MS. has in like manner וכמשוש vechimsos, and two MSS. and the Babylonish Talmud כמשוש kimsos, adding the כ caph; and in the fourth line, the Babylonish Talmud likewise adds כן ken, so, before the verb.

Sir John Chardin, in his note on this place, tells us, "that it is the custom in the east for youths, that were never married, always to marry virgins; and widowers, however young, to marry widows." - HARMER, Observ. ii. p. 482.

So shall thy sons marry thee. — For בניך banayich, thy sons, Bishop Lowth reads, restorer or builder, as he does not consider the word as the plural of בן ben, a son, but the participle benoni of the verb בנה banah, he built. I do not see that we gain much by this translation. Thy sons shall dwell in thee, Vulgate; and so the Septuagint and Chaldee.

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

Good news for the exiles (61:1-62:12)

God’s Spirit gives the prophet some good news to pass on to the Jews held captive in Babylon. They will be released to return to their land, but their captors will be punished (61:1-2). When they arrive in Jerusalem, they may be overcome with grief because of the ruin and devastation they see around them. But God will encourage and strengthen them so that they can rebuild their beloved city (3-4).
Foreigners will carry out the everyday duties for the Jews and contribute liberally to the national income. This will enable the Jews to concentrate on the more important matters of worshipping and serving God (5-6). God will give blessings to his people that are far beyond anything they have ever expected. In justice he will compensate them for the plundering they have suffered at the hands of their enemies (7-9).
In thanks the prophet praises God in advance for saving Israel and giving it glory, a glory that he likens to the beauty of wedding garments. As surely as seeds sprout and grow, so just as surely will God save Israel and bring praise to himself from people of all nations (10-11).
But at the time of writing, the prophet is still in Babylon and Israel has not yet been saved. The prophet will therefore not cease praying for Israel till it has been restored to its land in glory (62:1-3). The nation will then no longer be like an unfaithful wife living alone and in disgrace. Her husband still loves her and will take her back. As the deserted woman becomes happily married again, so the desolate nation will again rejoice in fellowship with Yahweh (4-5).
In Jerusalem watchmen wait expectantly for the first returning exiles. The prophet urges these watchmen to join him in unceasing prayer that God will soon fulfil his promise and bring his people back, never to be plundered again (6-9). He then commands people to go out and prepare the way for Israel’s release from Babylon and return to Jerusalem. Israel will again be known as the people whom God has redeemed (10-12).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

"Thou shalt also be a crown of beauty in the hand of Jehovah, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God. Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land be termed any more Desolate: but thou shalt be called Hephzibah, and thy land Beulah; for Jehovah delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married. 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."

There is no indication whatever that the prophecy professes in these verses to reveal the New Name, which, as we have seen, would not be revealed until the times of Messiah when Gentiles became followers of Christ. Rather, the subject is the glory and honor and happiness that shall mark the righteousness and redemption to be received in the future. As Cheyne said, "For the present, Jehovah reserves the mystic name of the New Jerusalem to himself."T. K. Cheyne's Commentary, Vol. II, p. 98.

"A crown of beauty in the hand of Jehovah" Crowns are not worn on the hand, and some have questioned the appropriateness of this statement; "But with no propriety whatever could it be said that the church is a crown of beauty `on the head' of Jehovah."E. Henderson, p. 447. The form of the metaphor honors that truth.

"So shall thy sons marry thee" This impossible comparison of sons marrying their own mother is resolved when it is understood that the "sons of Israel, their mother" will not at all marry the Old Israel, but the New Israel which is Christ. There is a prediction here of that sacred relationship between Christ and his holy Bride, the Church.

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

For as a young man marrieth a virgin - Roberts remarks on this, ‘In general no youth marries a widow. Such a thing I scarcely ever heard of (in India), nor will it ever be except under some very extraordinary circumstances, as in the case of a queen, princess, or great heiress. Even widowers also, if possible, always marry virgins.’ The idea here is, that Yahweh would have delight in his people, which would be properly represented by the affection which a young man has for his bride.

So shall thy sons marry thee - Lowth renders this, ‘So shall thy restorer wed thee.’ He supposes that the word rendered in our common version, ‘thy sons’ (בניך bânâyı̂k), should be pointed בניך bonayı̂k, as a participle from בנה bânâh, ‘to build,’ rather than from בן bên, ‘a son.’ The parallelism requires some such construction as this; and the unusual form of expression, ‘thy sons shall be wedded to thee,’ seems also to demand it. The Septuagint renders it, ‘As a young man cohabits (συνοικῶν sunoikōn) with a virgin (bride, παρθένῳ parthenō), so shall thy, sons dwell with thee (κατοικήσουσιν οἱ υἱοί σου katoikēsousin hoi huioi sou). So the Chaldee. the conjecture of Lowth has been adopted by Koppe and Doderlin. Rosenmuller supposes that there is here a mingling or confusion of figures, and that the idea is, that her sons should possess her - an idea which is frequently conveyed by the word בעל Ba‛al, which is used here. To me it seems that there is much force in the conjecture of Lowth, and that the reference is to God as the ‘builder,’ or the restorer of Jerusalem, and that the sense is that he would be ‘married,’ or tenderly and indissolubly united to her. If it be objected that the word is in the ‘plural (בניך bonayı̂k) it may be observed thai the word commonly applied to God (אלהים 'ĕlohı̂ym) is also plural, and that an expression remarkably similar to the one before us occurs in Isaiah 54:5, ‘For thy Maker is thy husband’ (Hebrew, בעליך bo‛ălayk, ‘Thy husbands.’) It is not uncommon to use a plural noun when speaking of God. It should be remembered that the points in the Hebrew are of no authority, and that all the change demanded here is in them.

And as the bridegroom - Margin, as in Hebrew,’ With the joy of the bridegroom.’

Over the bride - In the possession of the bride - probably the most tender joy which results from the exercise of the social affections.

Calvin's Commentary on the Bible

5.For as a young man marrieth a virgin. This verse contains nothing more than an explanation and confirmation of the preceding verse. Now there appears to be a sort of contradiction in this respect, that in the latter clause he makes God the only Husband of the Church, while in the former clause he assigns to her many husbands. But the solution is easy; for, when this marriage of the Church is spoken of, there is but one Husband, that is, God, who always claims for himself that title; and that is fulfilled in Christ, to whom, as Paul says, the pastors “espouse the Church as a chaste virgin.” (2 Corinthians 11:2.) Yet this does not prevent the metaphor of marriage from being employed to describe that unity of faith which all the children of God have with their mother, the Church. Nay more, it is consistent with God being the Husband of his Church, that he marries to his Church all the nations that are assembled to her; for, when she is without children, she may be said to be widowed and solitary. This is said, therefore, even with respect to God, who, by ratifying with his guidance the sacred amity between the members of his Church, extends the effect of marriage to the whole body.

And hence it ought to be inferred, that the Church of God shall be truly populous, that is, shall have many children, when she is united to God her Husband; for we must begin with God, that he may preside over his Church, and that under his guidance we may be gathered into her bosom; for then shall the marriage be truly sacred. But for this a vast multitude of people will not constitute a church, but rather an abominable brothel; as we see that in Popery there is boasting of the name of God, and yet the majesty of God is dishonored in it by frightful sacrilege.

Smith's Bible Commentary

Chapter 62

In chapter 62, God continues to speak of the restoration of Israel.

For Zion's sake [that is, Jerusalem] 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 ( Isaiah 62:1 ).

God said, "I'm not going to rest until I have accomplished it."

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. Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the LORD, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God. Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken ( Isaiah 62:2-4 );

And, of course, the people have felt forsaken. Just recently they had another commemoration for those who survived the Holocaust. And you talk to so many people in Israel today or those who are here who have survived the Holocaust, and so often their question was, "Where was God when our parents or our uncles were burned in the ovens in Germany? Where was God? Where was God?" And that is a common question that you hear asked by them. And they themselves feel forsaken by God. But, "You will no longer be called Forsaken."

neither will your land be termed Desolate: but you will be called Hephzibah ( Isaiah 62:4 ),

Which means the Lord delights in thee.

and thy land [will be called] Beulah ( Isaiah 62:4 ):

Which means married.

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 ( Isaiah 62:5 ).

As a bridegroom over the bride. So, again, this beautiful figure of speech that God relates to Israel as a bridegroom to His bride. Now in the New Testament, that same kind of relationship exists between Christ and His church, as Paul writing to the Ephesians writes about marital relationships. "Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for it. And wives, submitting yourselves unto your own husbands as unto the Lord. Now I speak to you," Paul said, "of a mystery. For I speak concerning Christ and His church how that we have this beautiful, intimate relationship with Jesus Christ as the bride to the bridegroom. And that love and all that is there." So it is a figure of the Old Testament between God and Israel. In the New Testament of... That is, God the Father and Israel; in the New Testament of Jesus and the church.

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 ( Isaiah 62:6 ),

In other words, calling for intercessors.

And give him no rest, till he establish, and till he makes Jerusalem a praise in the eaRuth ( Isaiah 62:7 ).

In other words, don't stop praying until the fulfillment of this takes place and God makes Jerusalem that glorious praise of the earth once more. The Bible says. "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper who will pray for your peace" ( Psalms 122:6 ). And so we are encouraged here of continual intercession and prayer, giving Him no rest. Interesting phrase concerning prayer.

You remember Jesus made an illustration of prayer in which He used very unlikely types of figures. It was a judge who had this little widow woman coming in every day and saying, "Avenge me my adversary." And every day she was there seeking to be avenged to her adversary. Finally, Jesus said, though the judge said, "I don't fear God or man, but this little woman is going to drive me crazy." And so he gave the judgment for her. And He was using that as an illustration to encourage us in persistence in prayer.

Now, I have great difficulty with this in my own mind and in the understanding of it. The difficulty lies in the man that Jesus chooses in a figure to represent God, for he was an unjust judge. The man says, "I don't fear God or man." And the persistence of this little woman. But the illustration is this. If even an unjust judge will yield to the persistence, how much more will a righteous, just Father in heaven answer the petitions of His children who call upon Him continually. So He's not really using the judge. He's using the judge in a sharp contrast to God rather than as a figure of God, but in sharp contrast. So even if an unjust judge will yield to persistency, how much more. And so much of the New Testament is in contrast. If this would happen, how much more then will God your Father. So don't give God rest until He makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth.

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 your enemies; and the sons of the stranger shall not drink thy wine, for that which thou hast labored ( Isaiah 62:8 ):

Now, so often they found that... You remember, and it was something that persisted through their history. When their enemies had overrun them, they would come in and take their crops. You remember Gideon was threshing in a cave to hide it from the Midianites because the Midianites would watch them. As soon as they thresh the wheat, they'd come in and rip them off. And so you'd labor and someone else would take it from you. And they experienced this many times. They would build up the land and build up these places and other people would come in and take it. So God says that's not going to happen anymore.

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. 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. Behold, the LORD hath proclaimed to 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 is before him. And they shall call them, The holy people, The redeemed of the LORD: and thou shalt be called, Sought out, A city not forsaken ( Isaiah 62:9-12 ).

So God's restoration of the people. "

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

The certainty of these benefits 62:1-9

It seemed to Isaiah’s audience that the promises in chapter 60 could hardly come to pass, since the Babylonian exile was still looming ahead of them. The Lord assured them that He would surely fulfill these promises.

"Much of this chapter speaks of preparation being made for the coming of the Lord and for the restoration of His people, thus expanding the thoughts in Isaiah 40:3-5; Isaiah 40:9." [Note: J. Martin, p. 1116.]

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

Future generations of Israelites would be married to the Promised Land in the sense that they would not leave it. From a different perspective, the Lord Himself would be Israel’s bridegroom and would rejoice over her as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride.

"In all that Israel was to endure, what a source of comfort God’s pet name for them: ’My-Delight-Is-in-Her’ (Isaiah 62:4) must have been. It is still true today. When circumstances and failure and blighted hopes combine to convince us that our name is ’Forsaken,’ that is the hour to hear the whisper of the Bridegroom to his Bride (cf. 2 Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 5:27; Revelation 21:2; Revelation 21:9), with the name that it is his alone to give and hers alone to hear." [Note: Oswalt, The Book . . . 40-66, pp. 581-82.]

"The Lord had, as it were, divorced Zion (see Isaiah 54:5-7), but now he will remarry her (Isaiah 62:5)." [Note: Chisholm, Handbook on . . ., p. 131.]

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

For as a young man marrieth a virgin, so shall thy sons marry thee,.... As a young man, having married a virgin, possesses and enjoys her, and lives and dwells with her in great harmony and love, having a delight and complacency in her, there being a suitableness in her person and age; so those that are born in Zion, and brought up there, have communion with the church, and enjoy the ordinances of it; dwell and continue with her, and delight in her fellowship, ways, and worship; and have their hearts knit in love to her, professing the same faith, joining in the same worship, and walking with her in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord. So the Septuagint and Vulgate Latin versions render it g, "as a young man dwells with a virgin, so thy sons shall dwell in thee"; as does the Targum in like manner; and so Jarchi interprets it; for it seems exceeding disagreeable for sons to marry their mother; nor can there be an allusion to such an incestuous practice; rather it should be rendered, "as a young man hath a virgin, thy sons shall have thee" h; have union to and communion with the church, and share in all the pleasures, privileges, and immunities of it:

and as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee; Christ is the Lord God of his church and people; Immanuel, God with us; and he stands in the relation of a bridegroom to them, and they in the relation of a bride to him; and as such he rejoices over them with exceeding great joy, and that to do them good; so he rejoiced over them from all eternity, when first betrothed to him; and so he does in time, in redemption: this was the joy set before him, which animated him to bear the cross, and despise the shame of it; namely, that those would be redeemed, and saved by him, and brought to glory; he rejoices at the conversion of them, and will present them to himself with joy in the spiritual and personal reign, and to his Father at the last day; and particularly, what is meant here, there will be such a profusion of blessings on the church in the latter day, as will abundantly show the joy of Christ in his people.

g και ως βυνοικων νεανισκος παρθενω, ουτω κατοικησουσιν οι υιοι βου, Sept.; "habitabit enim juvenis cum virgine, et habitabunt in te filii tui", V. L. h "Nam ut habet juvenis virginem, habebunt te filii tui", Cocceius.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      1 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.   2 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.   3 Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the LORD, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God.   4 Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate: but thou shalt be called Hephzi-bah, and thy land Beulah: for the LORD delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married.   5 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.

      The prophet here tells us,

      I. What he will do for the church. A prophet, as he is a seer, so he is a spokesman. This prophet resolves to perform that office faithfully, Isaiah 62:1; Isaiah 62:1. He will not hold his peace; he will not rest; he will mind his business, will take pains, and never desire to take his ease; and herein he was a type of Christ, who was indefatigable in executing the office of a prophet and made it his meat and drink till he had finished his work. Observe here, 1. What the prophet's resolution is: He will not hold his peace. He will continue instant in preaching, will not only faithfully deliver, but frequently repeat, the messages he has received from the Lord. If people receive not the precepts and promises at first, he will inculcate them and give them line upon line. And he will continue instant in prayer; he will never hold his peace at the throne of grace till he has prevailed with God for the mercies promised; he will give himself to prayer and to the ministry of the word, as Christ's ministers must (Acts 6:4), who must labour frequently in both and never be weary of this well-doing. The business of ministers is to speak from God to his people and to God for his people; and in neither of these must they be silent. 2. What is the principle of this resolution--for Zion's sake, and for Jerusalem's, not for the sake of any private interest of his own, but for the church's sake, because he has an affection and concern for Zion, and it lies near his heart. Whatever becomes of his own house and family, he desires to see the good of Jerusalem and resolves to seek it all the days of his life, Psalms 122:8; Psalms 118:5. It is God's Zion and his Jerusalem, and it is therefore dear to him, because it is so to God and because God's glory is interested in its prosperity. 3. How long he resolves to continue this importunity--till the promise of the church's righteousness and salvation, given in the foregoing chapter, be accomplished. Isaiah will not himself live to see the release of the captives out of Babylon, much less the bringing in of the gospel, in which grace reigns through righteousness unto life and salvation; yet he will not hold his peace till these be accomplished, even the utmost of them, because his prophecies will continue speaking of these things, and there shall in every age be a remnant that shall continue to pray for them, as successors to him, till the promises be performed, and so the prayers answered that were grounded upon them. Then the church's righteousness and salvation will go forth as brightness, and as a lamp that burns, so plainly that it will carry its own evidence along with it. It will bring honour and comfort to the church, which will hereupon both look pleasant and appear illustrious; and it will bring instruction and direction to the world, a light not only to the eyes but to the feet, and to the paths of those who before sat in darkness and in the shadow of death.

      II. What God will do for the church. The prophet can but pray and preach, but God will confirm the word and answer the prayers. 1. The church shall be greatly admired. When that righteousness which is her salvation, her praise, and her glory, shall be brought forth, the Gentiles shall see it. The tidings of it shall be carried to the Gentiles, and a tender of it made to them; they may so see this righteousness as to share in it if it be not their own fault. "Even kings shall see and be in love with the glory of thy righteousness" (Isaiah 62:2; Isaiah 62:2), shall overlook the glory of their own courts and kingdoms, and look at, and look after, the spiritual glory of the church as that which excels. 2. She shall be truly admirable. Great names make men considerable in the world, and great respect is paid them thereupon; now it is agreed that honor est in honorante--honour derives its value from the dignity of him who confers it. God is the fountain of honour and from him the church's honour comes: "Thou shalt be called by a new name, a pleasant name, such as thou wast never called by before, no, not in the day of thy greatest prosperity, and the reverse of that which thou wast called by in the day of thy affliction; thou shalt have a new character, be advanced to a new dignity, and those about thee shall have new thoughts of thee." This seems to be alluded to in that promise (Revelation 2:17) of the white stone and in the stone a new name, and that (Revelation 3:12) of the name of the city of my God and my new name. It is a name which the mouth of the Lord shall name, who, we are sure, miscalls nothing, and who will oblige others to call her by the name he has given her; for his judgment is according to truth and all shall concur with it sooner or later. Two names God shall give her:-- (1.) He shall call her his crown (Isaiah 62:3; Isaiah 62:3): Thou shalt be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord, not on his head (as adding any real honour or power to him, as crowns do to those that are crowned with them), but in his hand. He is pleased to account them, and show them forth, as a glory and beauty to him. When he took them to be his people it was that they might be unto him for a name, and for a praise, and for a glory (Jeremiah 13:11): "Thou shalt be a crown of glory and a royal diadem, through the hand, the good hand, of thy God upon thee; he shall make thee so, for he shall be to thee a crown of glory,Isaiah 28:5; Isaiah 28:5. Thou shalt be so in his hand, that is, under his protection; he that shall put glory upon thee shall create a defence upon all that glory, so that the flowers of thy crown shall never wither nor shall its jewels be lost." (2.) He shall call her his spouse, Isaiah 62:4; Isaiah 62:5. This is a yet greater honour, especially considering what a forlorn condition she had been in. [1.] Her case had been very melancholy. She was called forsaken and her land desolate during the captivity, like a woman reproachfully divorced or left a disconsolate widow. Such as the state of religion in the world before the preaching of the gospel--it was in a manner forsaken and desolate, a thing that no man looked after nor had any real concern for. [2.] It should now be very pleasant, for God would return in mercy to her. Instead of those two names of reproach, she shall be called by two honourable names. First, She shall be called Hephzi-bah, which signifies, My delight is in her; it was the name of Hezekiah's queen, Manasseh's mother (2 Kings 21:1), a proper name for a wife, who ought to be her husband's delight, Proverbs 5:19. And here it is the church's Maker that is her husband: The Lord delights in thee. God by his grace has wrought that in his church which makes her his delight, she being refined, and reformed, and brought home to him; and then by his providence he does that for her which makes it appear that she is his delight and that he delights to do her good. Secondly, She shall be called Beulah, which signifies married, whereas she had been desolate, a condition opposed to that of the married wife,Isaiah 54:1; Isaiah 54:1. "Thy land shall be married, that is, it shall become fruitful again, and be replenished." Though she has long been barren, she shall again be peopled, shall again be made to keep house and to be a joyful mother of children, Psalms 113:9. She shall be married, for, 1. Her sons shall heartily espouse the land of their nativity and its interests, which they had for a long time neglected, as despairing ever to have any comfortable enjoyment of it: Thy sons shall marry thee, that is, they shall live with thee and take delight in thee. When they were in Babylon, they seemed to have espoused that land, for they were appointed to settle, and to seek the peace of it, Jeremiah 29:5-7. But now they shall again marry their own land, as a young man marries a virgin that he takes great delight in, is extremely fond of, and is likely to have many children by. It bodes well to a land when its own natives and inhabitants are pleased with it, prefer it before other lands, when its princes marry their country and resolve to take their lot with it. 2. Her God (which is much better) shall betroth her to himself in righteousness,Hosea 2:19; Hosea 2:20. He will take pleasure in his church: As the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, is pleased with his relation to her and her affection to him, so shall thy God rejoice over thee: he shall rest in his love to thee (Zephaniah 3:17); he shall take pleasure in thee (Psalms 147:11), and shall delight to do thee good with his whole heart and his whole soul,Jeremiah 32:41. This is very applicable to the love Christ has for his church and the complacency he takes in it, which appears so brightly in Solomon's Song, and which will be complete in heaven.