Isaiah 62:6
in Isaiah 62On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have posted watchmen; they will never be silent day or night. You who call on the LORD shall take no rest for yourselves,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem; they shall never hold their peace day nor night: ye that are Jehovah’s remembrancers, take ye no rest,
KJV
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,
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This verse in Isaiah 62
Commentary
5 notes on this verseon Isaiah 62:6-7
(Verse 6, 7.) I have set watchmen upon your walls, O Jerusalem, who shall never hold their peace day or night: you who make mention of the Lord, keep not silence, and give him no rest, until he establishes, and until he makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth. LXX: And upon your walls, O Jerusalem, I have set watchmen, who shall never hold their peace day or night, remembering the Lord: there is no one like you, if he corrects you, and he will make Jerusalem rejoice upon the earth.
This site's exposition
I have set watchmen upon thy walls
on Isaiah 62:6-7
The Lord appoints watchmen on Jerusalem's walls whose task is not defense but intercession, praying without stopping day or night until the city he named becomes what he named it. The watchmen are told to give him no rest, the same resolve voiced of the Lord himself in verse 1, so the prophet turns his own vow into a charge laid on a praying remnant. Barnes reads the pattern as the ordinary shape of promised mercy in Isaiah, God binding himself to answer prayer he has already purposed to grant. Delitzsch notes the address widening from the prophet's single voice to a company set apart for the single work of holding God to his word.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem,.... Not angels, as Jarchi; nor kings, as Kimchi; nor princes and civil magistrates, as others; nor the mourners in Zion, as Aben Ezra; but ministers of the Gospel; as the prophets of the Old Testament are called watch men, Isa 21:11, so ministers of the New, Isa 52:8 who are to watch in all things over themselves, and for the souls of men; for their good, and to guard them against that which is evil, pernicious, and dangerous, both in principle and practice, 2Ti 4:
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Ye that make mention of the Lord, keep not silence - The faithful, and in particular the priests and Levites, are exhorted by the prophet to beseech God with unremitted importunity (compare Luk 18:1, etc.) to hasten the redemption of Sion. The image in this place is taken from the temple service; in which there was appointed a constant watch, day and night, by the Levites: and among them this seems to have belonged particularly to the singers, see 1Ch 9:
on Isaiah 62:6-7
IN the opening verses of this chapter our Lord declares that He will not rest till His purpose of Grace is accomplished. "For Zion's sake will I not hold My peace, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest." His soul is set upon the perfection of His Church. There is never a moment when the heart of Christ ceases to beat high with desire for the salvation of His redeemed. From the dreadful work of making Atonement, He stayed not His hand, but set His face like a flint towards it, till He could say, "It is finished."
The words behind it
18 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| חוֹמֹתַ֣יִךְ | chomotayikh | walls your | H2346 → | 133 times |
| יְרוּשָׁלִַ֗ם | yerushalim | O Jerusalem | H3389 → | 643 times |
| הִפְקַ֙דְתִּי֙ | hifkadti | I have appointed | H6485 → | 303 times |
| שֹֽׁמְרִ֔ים | shomerim | watchmen | H8104 → | 468 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הַיּ֧וֹם | haiyom | the day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| וְכָל־ | vekhol | and all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הַלַּ֛יְלָה | halaylah | the night | H3915 → | 233 times |
| תָּמִ֖יד | tamid | continually | H8548 → | 104 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יֶחֱשׁ֑וּ | yecheshu | they will be silent | H2814 → | 16 times |
| הַמַּזְכִּרִים֙ | hamazkirim | O those [who] cause to remember | H2142 → | 230 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| יְהוָ֔ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אַל־ | ʾal- | [let] not | H408 → | 724 times |
| דֳּמִ֖י | domi | rest | H1824 → | 4 times |
| לָכֶֽם׃ | lakhem | [belong] to you |
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
חוֹמֹתַ֣יִךְwalls your
chomotayikhH2346 →133 times
יְרוּשָׁלִַ֗םO Jerusalem
yerushalimH3389 →643 times
הִפְקַ֙דְתִּי֙I have appointed
hifkadtiH6485 →303 times
שֹֽׁמְרִ֔יםwatchmen
shomerimH8104 →468 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
הַיּ֧וֹםthe day
haiyomH3117 →2304 times
וְכָל־and all
vekholH3605 →5413 times
הַלַּ֛יְלָהthe night
halaylahH3915 →233 times
תָּמִ֖ידcontinually
tamidH8548 →104 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
יֶחֱשׁ֑וּthey will be silent
yecheshuH2814 →16 times
הַמַּזְכִּרִים֙O those [who] cause to remember
hamazkirimH2142 →230 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
יְהוָ֔הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אַל־[let] not
ʾal-H408 →724 times
דֳּמִ֖יrest
domiH1824 →4 times
לָכֶֽם׃[belong] to you
lakhem
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
1 Thessalonians 5:17Pray without ceasing.
it leads to
- Romans 12:12
Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, persistent in prayer.
- Colossians 4:2
Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful,
- Ephesians 6:18
Pray in the Spirit at all times, with every kind of prayer and petition. To this end, stay alert with all perseverance in your prayers for all the saints.
- Luke 18:1
Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray at all times and not lose heart:
- Luke 21:36
So keep watch at all times, and pray that you may have the strength to escape all that is about to happen and to stand before the Son of Man.”
- Romans 12:12
Through
Jeremiah 6:17I appointed watchmen over you and said, ‘Listen for the sound of the ram’s horn.’ But they answered, ‘We will not listen!’
it leads to
- Jeremiah 25:4
And the LORD has sent all His servants the prophets to you again and again, but you have not listened or inclined your ear to hear.
- Isaiah 58:1
“Cry aloud, do not hold back! Raise your voice like a ram’s horn. Declare to My people their transgression and to the house of Jacob their sins.
- Jeremiah 25:4
Through
Isaiah 52:8Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices, together they shout for joy. For every eye will see when the LORD returns to Zion.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 33:7
As for you, O son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; so hear the word from My mouth and give them the warning from Me.
- Ezekiel 33:7
Where this verse is studied
1 study on this verse
Also on Isaiah 62: 1 study that walk through this chapter ▾
About Isaiah
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Isaiah; Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2189: “A Call To Prayer and Testimony” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Isaiah; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).