Isaiah 62:5

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

so your sons ¹  will marry you.

As a bridegroom rejoices over a bride,

so your God will rejoice over you.

Jeremiah 2:2

2:2 “Go and declare in the hearing of the people of Jerusalem: ²  ‘This is what the Lord says: “I have fond memories of you, ³  how devoted you were to me in your early years. ⁴  I remember how you loved me like a new bride; you followed me through the wilderness, through a land that had never been planted.

Hosea 2:19-20

2:19 I will commit myself to you ⁵  forever;

I will commit myself to you in ⁶  righteousness and justice,

in steadfast love and tender compassion.

2:20 I will commit myself to you in faithfulness;

then ⁷  you will acknowledge ⁸  the Lord.” ⁹ 

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 ¹⁰  when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. This then is my joy, and it is complete. ¹¹ 

Revelation 19:7

19:7 Let us rejoice ¹²  and exult

and give him glory,

because the wedding celebration of the Lamb has come,

and his bride has made herself ready.

Revelation 22:9-10

22:9 But ¹³  he said to me, “Do not do this! ¹⁴  I am a fellow servant ¹⁵  with you and with your brothers the prophets, and with those who obey ¹⁶  the words of this book. Worship God!” 22:10 Then ¹⁷  he said to me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy contained in this book, because the time is near.

¹ 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).

² map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

³ tn Heb “I remember to/for you.”

⁴ tn Heb “the loyal love of your youth.”

⁵ tn Heb “I will betroth you to me” (so NIV) here and in the following lines. Cf. NRSV “I will take you for my wife forever.”

⁶ tn The preposition בְּ (bet), which is repeated throughout 2:19-20 [21-22], denotes price paid (BDB 90 s.v. בְּ III.3; e.g., Ezek 3:14). The text contains an allusion to the payment of bridal gifts. The Lord will impute the moral character to Israel that will be necessary for a successful covenant relationship (contra 4:1).

⁷ tn The vav consecutive on the suffix conjugation verb וְיָדַעַתְּ (véyada’at, “then you will know”) introduces a result clause (cf. NASB, CEV).

⁸ tn Or “know.” The term יָדַע (yada’, “know, acknowledge”) is often used in covenant contexts. It can refer to the suzerain’s acknowledgment of his covenant obligations to his vassal or to the vassal’s acknowledgment of his covenant obligations to his suzerain. When used in reference to a vassal, the verb “know” is metonymical (cause for effect) for “obey.” See H. Huffmann, “The Treaty Background of Hebrew ya„daà,” BASOR 181 (1966): 31-37.

⁹ tc The MT reads יְהוָה (yÿhvah, “the Lord”); however, many Hebrew mss read כִּי אָנִי (ki ’ani, “that it is I”), as also reflected in the Latin Vulgate (cf. CEV “know who I am”).

¹⁰ tn Grk “rejoices with joy” (an idiom).

¹¹ tn Grk “Therefore this my joy is fulfilled.”

¹² tn This verb and the next two verbs are hortatory subjunctives (giving exhortations).

¹³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present here.

¹⁴ tn On the elliptical expression ὅρα μή ({ora mh) BDAG 720 s.v. ὁράω B.2 states: “Elliptically…ὅρα μή (sc. ποιήσῃς) watch out! don’t do that! Rv 19:10; 22:9.”

¹⁵ tn Grk “fellow slave.” Though σύνδουλος (sundoulos) is here translated “fellow servant,” the word does not bear the connotation of a free individual serving another. See the note on the word “servants” in 1:1.

¹⁶ tn Grk “keep” (an idiom for obedience).

¹⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.