Assurance of Zion’s Salvation

62 For Zion’s sake I will not [a]hold My peace,
And for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest,
Until her righteousness goes forth as brightness,
And her salvation as a lamp that burns.
(A)The Gentiles shall see your righteousness,
And all (B)kings your glory.
(C)You shall be called by a new name,
Which the mouth of the Lord will name.
You shall also be (D)a crown of glory
In the hand of the Lord,
And a royal diadem
In the hand of your God.
(E)You shall no longer be termed (F)Forsaken,[b]
Nor shall your land any more be termed (G)Desolate;[c]
But you shall be called [d]Hephzibah, and your land [e]Beulah;
For the Lord delights in you,
And your land shall be married.
For as a young man marries a virgin,
So shall your sons marry you;
And as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride,
(H)So shall your God rejoice over you.

(I)I have set watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem;
They shall [f]never hold their peace day or night.
You who [g]make mention of the Lord, do not keep silent,
And give Him no rest till He establishes
And till He makes Jerusalem (J)a praise in the earth.

The Lord has sworn by His right hand
And by the arm of His strength:
“Surely I will no longer (K)give your grain
As food for your enemies;
And the sons of the foreigner shall not drink your new wine,
For which you have labored.
But those who have gathered it shall eat it,
And praise the Lord;
Those who have brought it together shall drink it (L)in My holy courts.”

10 Go through,
Go through the gates!
(M)Prepare the way for the people;
Build up,
Build up the highway!
Take out the stones,
(N)Lift up a banner for the peoples!

11 Indeed the Lord has proclaimed
To the end of the world:
(O)“Say to the daughter of Zion,
‘Surely your salvation is coming;
Behold, His (P)reward is with Him,
And His [h]work before Him.’ ”
12 And they shall call them The Holy People,
The Redeemed of the Lord;
And you shall be called Sought Out,
A City Not Forsaken.

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 62:1 keep silent
  2. Isaiah 62:4 Heb. Azubah
  3. Isaiah 62:4 Heb. Shemamah
  4. Isaiah 62:4 Lit. My Delight Is in Her
  5. Isaiah 62:4 Lit. Married
  6. Isaiah 62:6 not be silent
  7. Isaiah 62:6 remember
  8. Isaiah 62:11 recompense

Zion’s New Name

62 For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent,(A)
    for Jerusalem’s sake I will not remain quiet,
till her vindication(B) shines out like the dawn,(C)
    her salvation(D) like a blazing torch.
The nations(E) will see your vindication,
    and all kings your glory;
you will be called by a new name(F)
    that the mouth of the Lord will bestow.
You will be a crown(G) of splendor in the Lord’s hand,
    a royal diadem in the hand of your God.
No longer will they call you Deserted,(H)
    or name your land Desolate.(I)
But you will be called Hephzibah,[a](J)
    and your land Beulah[b];
for the Lord will take delight(K) in you,
    and your land will be married.(L)
As a young man marries a young woman,
    so will your Builder marry you;
as a bridegroom(M) rejoices over his bride,
    so will your God rejoice(N) over you.

I have posted watchmen(O) on your walls, Jerusalem;
    they will never be silent day or night.
You who call on the Lord,
    give yourselves no rest,(P)
and give him no rest(Q) till he establishes Jerusalem
    and makes her the praise(R) of the earth.

The Lord has sworn(S) by his right hand
    and by his mighty arm:
“Never again will I give your grain(T)
    as food for your enemies,
and never again will foreigners drink the new wine
    for which you have toiled;
but those who harvest it will eat(U) it
    and praise the Lord,(V)
and those who gather the grapes will drink it
    in the courts of my sanctuary.”(W)

10 Pass through, pass through the gates!(X)
    Prepare the way for the people.
Build up, build up the highway!(Y)
    Remove the stones.
Raise a banner(Z) for the nations.

11 The Lord has made proclamation
    to the ends of the earth:(AA)
“Say to Daughter Zion,(AB)
    ‘See, your Savior comes!(AC)
See, his reward is with him,
    and his recompense accompanies him.’”(AD)
12 They will be called(AE) the Holy People,(AF)
    the Redeemed(AG) of the Lord;
and you will be called Sought After,
    the City No Longer Deserted.(AH)

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 62:4 Hephzibah means my delight is in her.
  2. Isaiah 62:4 Beulah means married.

Christ Born of Mary(A)

And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. (B)This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city.

Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to (C)the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, (D)because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, (E)his betrothed [a]wife, who was with child. So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. And (F)she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a [b]manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

Glory in the Highest

Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And [c]behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, (G)and they were greatly afraid. 10 Then the angel said to them, (H)“Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy (I)which will be to all people. 11 (J)For there is born to you this day in the city of David (K)a Savior, (L)who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a [d]manger.”

13 (M)And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:

14 “Glory(N) to God in the highest,
And on earth (O)peace, (P)goodwill[e] toward men!”

15 So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger. 17 Now when they had seen Him, they made [f]widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child. 18 And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds. 19 (Q)But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and (R)praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them.

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Footnotes

  1. Luke 2:5 NU omits wife
  2. Luke 2:7 feed trough
  3. Luke 2:9 NU omits behold
  4. Luke 2:12 feed trough
  5. Luke 2:14 NU toward men of goodwill
  6. Luke 2:17 NU omits widely

The Birth of Jesus

In those days Caesar Augustus(A) issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world.(B) (This was the first census that took place while[a] Quirinius was governor of Syria.)(C) And everyone went to their own town to register.

So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem(D) the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him(E) and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel(F) of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid.(G) I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior(H) has been born to you; he is the Messiah,(I) the Lord.(J) 12 This will be a sign(K) to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
    and on earth peace(L) to those on whom his favor rests.”

15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.(M) 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.(N) 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God(O) for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

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Footnotes

  1. Luke 2:2 Or This census took place before