Isaiah 62:2-5

62:2 Nations will see your vindication,

and all kings your splendor.

You will be called by a new name

that the Lord himself will give you. ¹ 

62:3 You will be a majestic crown in the hand of the Lord,

a royal turban in the hand of your God.

62:4 You will no longer be called, “Abandoned,”

and your land will no longer be called “Desolate.”

Indeed, ²  you will be called “My Delight is in Her,” ³ 

and your land “Married.” ⁴ 

For the Lord will take delight in you,

and your land will be married to him. 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.

Isaiah 63:19

63:19 We existed from ancient times, ⁷ 

but you did not rule over them,

they were not your subjects. ⁸ 

Jeremiah 33:16

33:16 Under his rule Judah will enjoy safety ⁹  and Jerusalem ¹⁰  will live in security. At that time Jerusalem will be called “The Lord has provided us with justice.” ¹¹ 

Acts 11:26

11:26 and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. ¹²  So ¹³  for a whole year Barnabas and Saul ¹⁴  met with the church and taught a significant number of people. ¹⁵  Now it was in Antioch ¹⁶  that the disciples were first called Christians. ¹⁷ 

James 2:7

2:7 Do they not blaspheme the good name of the one you belong to? ¹⁸ 

Revelation 3:12

3:12 The one who conquers ¹⁹  I will make ²⁰  a pillar in the temple of my God, and he will never depart from it. I ²¹  will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God (the new Jerusalem that comes down out of heaven from my God), ²²  and my new name as well.

¹ tn Heb “which the mouth of the Lord will designate.”

² tn Or “for”; KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV “but.”

³ tn Hebrew חֶפְצִי־בָהּ (kheftsi-vah), traditionally transliterated “Hephzibah” (so KJV, ASV, NIV).

⁴ tn Hebrew בְּעוּלָה (bÿ’ulah), traditionally transliterated “Beulah” (so KJV, ASV, NIV).

⁵ tn That is, the land will be restored to the Lord’s favor and once again enjoy his blessing and protection. To indicate the land’s relationship to the Lord, the words “to him” have been supplied at the end of the clause.

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 Heb “we were from antiquity” (see v. 16). The collocation עוֹלָם + מִן + הָיָה (hayah + min + ’olam) occurs only here.

⁸ tn Heb “you did not rule them, your name was not called over them.” The expression “the name is called over” indicates ownership; see the note at 4:1. As these two lines stand they are very difficult to interpret. They appear to be stating that the adversaries just mentioned in v. 18 have not been subject to the Lord’s rule in the past, perhaps explaining why they could commit the atrocity described in v. 18b.

⁹ tn For the translation of this term in this context see the parallel context in 23:6 and consult the translator’s note there.

¹⁰ map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

¹¹ tn Heb “And this is what will be called to it: ‘The Lord our righteousness.’”

¹² sn Antioch was a city in Syria (not Antioch in Pisidia). See the note in 11:19.

¹³ tn Grk “So it happened that” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

¹⁴ tn Grk “year they”; the referents (Barnabas and Saul) have been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁵ tn Grk “a significant crowd.”

¹⁶ sn Antioch was a city in Syria (not Antioch in Pisidia). See the note in 11:19.

¹⁷ sn The term Christians appears only here, in Acts 26:28, and 1 Pet 4:16 in the NT.

¹⁸ tn Grk “that was invoked over you,” referring to their baptism in which they confessed their faith in Christ and were pronounced to be his own. To have the Lord’s name “named over them” is OT imagery for the Lord’s ownership of his people (cf. 2 Chr 7:14; Amos 9:12; Isa 63:19; Jer 14:9; 15:16; Dan 9:19; Acts 15:17).

¹⁹ tn Or “who is victorious”; traditionally, “who overcomes.”

²⁰ tn Grk “I will make him,” but the pronoun (αὐτόν, auton, “him”) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated here.

²¹ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

²² sn This description of the city of my God is parenthetical, explaining further the previous phrase and interrupting the list of “new names” given here.