Isaiah 61:10

61:10 I ¹  will greatly rejoice ²  in the Lord;

I will be overjoyed because of my God. ³ 

For he clothes me in garments of deliverance;

he puts on me a robe symbolizing vindication. ⁴ 

I look like a bridegroom when he wears a turban as a priest would;

I look like a bride when she puts on her jewelry. ⁵ 

Isaiah 62:5

62:5 As a young man marries a young woman,

so your sons ⁶  will marry you.

As a bridegroom rejoices over a bride,

so your God will rejoice over you.

John 3:29

3:29 The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands by and listens for him, rejoices greatly ⁷  when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. This then is my joy, and it is complete. ⁸ 

¹ sn The speaker in vv. 10-11 is not identified, but it is likely that the personified nation (or perhaps Zion) responds here to the Lord’s promise of restoration.

² tn The infinitive absolute appears before the finite verb for emphasis.

³ tn Heb “my being is happy in my God”; NAB “in my God is the joy of my soul.”

⁴ tn Heb “robe of vindication”; KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV “robe of righteousness.”

⁵ tn Heb “like a bridegroom [who] acts like a priest [by wearing] a turban, and like a bride [who] wears her jewelry.” The words “I look” are supplied for stylistic reasons and clarification.

⁶ tc The Hebrew text has “your sons,” but this produces an odd metaphor and is somewhat incongruous with the parallelism. In the context (v. 4b, see also 54:5-7) the Lord is the one who “marries” Zion. Therefore several prefer to emend “your sons” to בֹּנָיִךְ (bonayikh, “your builder”; e.g., NRSV). In Ps 147:2 the Lord is called the “builder of Jerusalem.” However, this emendation is not the best option for at least four reasons. First, although the Lord is never called the “builder” of Jerusalem in Isaiah, the idea of Zion’s children possessing the land does occur (Isa 49:20; 54:3; cf. also 14:1; 60:21). Secondly, all the ancient versions support the MT reading. Thirdly, although the verb בָּעַל (ba’al) can mean “to marry,” its basic idea is “to possess.” Consequently, the verb stresses a relationship more than a state. All the ancient versions render this verb “to dwell in” or “to dwell with.” The point is not just that the land will be reinhabited, but that it will be in a relationship of “belonging” to the Israelites. Hence a relational verb like בָּעַל is used (J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah [NICOT], 2:581). Finally, “sons” is a well-known metaphor for “inhabitants” (J. de Waard, Isaiah, 208).

⁷ tn Grk “rejoices with joy” (an idiom).

⁸ tn Grk “Therefore this my joy is fulfilled.”