Isaiah 62:1 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Isaiah 62:1
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.
Tsijon (as a permanent capital) · proper noun, a place name
peace
אֶחֱשֶׁ֔ה'e.che.Sheh
H2814
to hush or keep quiet · verb, qal imperfect, 1st person common singular
Jerusalem’s
יְרוּשָׁלִַ֖םye.ru.sha.Lim
H3389
Jerushalaim or Jerushalem · proper noun, a place name
rest
אֶשְׁק֑וֹט'esh.Kot
H8252
to repose (usually figurative) · verb, qal imperfect, 1st person common singular
righteousness
צִדְקָ֔הּtzid.Kah
H6664
the right (natural · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person feminine singular
forth
יֵצֵ֤אye.Tze'
H3318
to go (causatively · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
brightness
כַנֹּ֙גַהּ֙kha.No.gah
H5051
brilliancy (literally or figuratively) · preposition with the article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
salvation
וִישׁוּעָתָ֖הּvi.shu.'a.Tah
H3444
something saved · conjunction + noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person feminine singular
lamp
כְּלַפִּ֥ידke.la.Pid
H3940
a flambeau · preposition + noun, common masculine singular absolute
burneth
יִבְעָֽרyiv.'Ar
H1197
to kindle · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Isaiah 62:6-7 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 no…
Proverbs 4:18 But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.
Psalms 102:13-16 Thou shalt arise, and have mercy upon Zion: for the time to favour her, yea, the set time, is come.
Isaiah 32:15-17 Until the spirit be poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness be a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be counted for a forest.
Luke 2:30-32 For mine eyes have seen thy salvation,
1 Peter 2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath…
Isaiah 51:5-6 My righteousness is near; my salvation is gone forth, and mine arms shall judge the people; the isles shall wait upon me, and on mine arm sh…
Philippians 2:15-16 That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine a…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Isaiah 62:1-5
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, Isa 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 no…
For Zion's sake will I not hold my peace - These are the words of Jehovah declaring his purpose relative to the events predicted in the preceding chapter.
Thou shalt be called by a new name - Viz., Christian - or, as in the fourth verse, חפצי בה chephtsi bah, "my delight is in her" - because she has now received that command, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; Hear Him."
John Gill on Isaiah 62:1
For Zion's sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest,.... By Zion and Jerusalem, the church in Gospel times is meant, as it often is in this book, and elsewhere; see Hebrews 12:22, for whose glory, prosperity, and safety, a concern is here expressed. Some take them to be the words of God himself, as the Targum and Kimchi; who seems to be silent and at rest, and even as it were asleep, when he does not arise and exert himself on the behalf of his people; but here he declares he would not be as one silent and at rest, nor let the kingdoms and nations of the world be at rest until the deliverer of his people was come, either Cyrus the type, or Christ the antitype:…
On account of Zion I will not be silent. That sad captivity being at hand, which was almost to blot out the name of the whole nation, it was necessary to confirm and encourage believers by many words, that with strong and assured confidence they might rely on these promises under the burden of the cross. Here, therefore, the Prophet, discharging that office which had been entrusted to him, openly declares that he will not be slack in the performance of his duty, and will not cease to speak, till he encourage the hearts of believers by the hope of future salvation, that they may know and be fully convinced that God will be the deliverer of his Church. He too might have been dismayed by the un…
The Church Fathers
(Chapter 62, verses 1 and following) For the sake of Zion I will not keep silent, and for the sake of Jerusalem I will not rest, until her righteousness goes forth as brightness, and her salvation as a burning torch. And the nations shall see your righteousness, and all the kings your glory; and you shall be called by a new name that the mouth of the Lord will name. You shall be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God. (Chapter 70) For the sake of Zion I will not keep silent, and for the sake of Jerusalem I will not rest; until her righteousness goes forth as brightness, and her salvation as a burning torch. And the nations will see your righteousness, and all kings your glory, and you will be called by a new name, which the mouth of the LORD will name. You will be a crown of beauty in the hand of the LORD, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God. This is what the Lord and Savior said, 'The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me' (Luke 4:18), until the place where it is written: 'All who see them shall acknowledge, that they are the seed which the Lord has blessed' (Isaiah 61:1). After the promise, the Church responded: Rejoicing, I will rejoice in the Lord, who in the third psalm of the degrees, sung with joy from the perspective of the repentant people, said: I rejoiced at the things that were said to me: We will go into the house of the Lord (Ps. 121:1); now the prophet is introduced as saying: For the sake of Zion, I will not keep silent, and for the sake of Jerusalem, I will not rest. Day and night, he says, I will not close my mouth, and my prayer will never be silent; I will cry out for as long as it takes, and I will join prayers with prayers, until the promised one comes and illuminates the whole world with his splendor. He makes it more clear who this person is that he seeks, whom he desires to come: Until his righteous splendor goes forth, and his savior is kindled like a lamp. Or according to the Septuagint: Until his righteousness goes forth like light, and his salvation is kindled like a lamp. This is what was said in the Gospel: I am the light of the world (John 8:12): when it is kindled in Zion and in Jerusalem, it will not shine only in Judea, but it will be said to her: The light that is in you, is kindled; the one that has come forth from the Father, it begins to burn in…
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Jews, The · Pray importunately for — Pray importunately for
Lamp · 62:1; — 62:1;
Lamps · Illustrative: Of salvation of God — Illustrative: Of salvation of God
Patriotism · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Righteousness · FRUITS OF — FRUITS OF
Salvation · .A lamp — .A lamp
Zeal, Religious · EXEMPLIFIE — EXEMPLIFIE
Zion · worship — worship
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
The servant here commits himself to proclaiming the good news continuously until the glory of Zion is realized.
Rashi on Isaiah 62:1
For the sake of Zion I will do, and I will not be silent concerning what they did to her.
I will not rest There will be no peace before Me until her righteousness comes out like brilliance.
