The big picture
Isaiah 62 will not let Zion's old names stand. The chapter begins with a refusal to keep silent until Jerusalem's righteousness shines publicly, then gives the city names that answer abandonment with delight, marriage, and belonging. Watchmen take up the same refusal to rest, speaking until the promised change is established in the earth. The restoration becomes concrete when the LORD swears that grain and wine will reach the people who actually labored for them instead of feeding hostile outsiders. The ending turns outward again: gates open, stones are removed from the highway, a standard is raised, and salvation approaches. The people are called holy and redeemed, while the city once called Forsaken is publicly known as Sought out and not forsaken.
Central truth
Isaiah 60:1–66:24 closes the book with Zion illuminated by the LORD, good news for the broken, judgment on rebellion, worldwide worship, and a new creation where God's enduring word and glory frame the final horizon.
The study notes have a page of their own
The movement by movement analysis, the words to trace, the verse by verse notes and where readers differ are written for someone studying alone. They are on the Deep Personal Reflections page for this chapter. This page is the lesson.
A chapter-specific teaching brief
These anchors come from this chapter itself. They help a teacher use the Level 1 overview, the Level 2 study, and the Scripture text as one lesson.
Open with the chapter’s first image
Isaiah 62:1: “For Zion’s sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the…”
Slow down at the turning point
Isaiah 62:9: “But they that have gathered it shall eat it, and praise the LORD; and they that have brought it together shall drink it in the courts of my holiness.”
Keep this word trail visible
LORD, hand, land, people, drink, forsaken
What to explain, in order
Teach the passage in this order. Each step names the verses it rests on, so every point can be shown in the text before it is applied.
Isaiah 60:1-22
Arise, shine
Read 60:1-3 aloud as a command to someone lying in the dark. Zion is told to get up because light has come, and the light is the glory of the LORD. Then 60:4-9: her children and the wealth of the nations come to her, ships of Tarshish carrying silver and gold "unto the name of the LORD thy God". Read 60:18-20: walls called Salvation, gates Praise, and the LORD as everlasting light so that mourning ends. Note Revelation 21:23 takes up the sunless city. Teach this first because the closing chapters open by announcing the light.
Isaiah 61:1-11
The anointed mission
Read 61:1-3 and list the verbs on the board. Explain "the acceptable year of the LORD" against the background of the jubilee of Leviticus 25, when debts were released and land returned. Then read Luke 4:16-21: Jesus reads this passage in Nazareth, stops after "the acceptable year of the Lord", and says "This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears". Read 61:4, ruins rebuilt, and 61:10-11, the joy of someone clothed with salvation. Teach this second because it names who brings the light of chapter 60 to the brokenhearted.
Isaiah 62:1-12
A new name
Begin with 62:1: God will not keep quiet until Zion shines. Then 62:2-5, the new name: Hephzibah and Beulah, my delight is in her and married, with God rejoicing over her as a bridegroom over a bride. Explain how much a name meant in Israel; Forsaken and Desolate were what everyone called her. Read 62:6-7, watchmen who give God no rest in prayer, and 62:10-12, the highway prepared and the final names, Sought out and A city not forsaken. Teach this here because it moves the promise from the city's walls to its identity.
Isaiah 63:1-6
The warrior from Edom
Read 63:1-6 calmly as a dialogue: a watchman asks who comes from Edom in red garments, and the answer is the LORD, "mighty to save". Explain the winepress as a picture of judgment, the treader's clothes splashed red. Recall chapter 34: Edom stands for every power that set itself against God's people, and must not be identified with any modern nation. Note 63:5 repeats 59:16: no one helped, so his own arm saved. Revelation 19:13-15 uses the same picture. Teach it with the reason given in 63:4: vengeance in the service of "the year of my redeemed".
Isaiah 63:7-64:12
A prayer from the ruins
This is one long prayer. Read 63:7-9 first: the lovingkindnesses of the LORD, and "In all their affliction he was afflicted". Then 63:10, rebellion that "vexed his holy Spirit", and 63:11-14, the memory of Moses and the sea, asked as a question: where is he now? Read 63:16 and 64:8, God called our father twice. Then 64:1-7: rend the heavens, a confession of uncleanness, and no one calling on his name. End with 64:9-12, the ruined holy cities. Teach this as a model of honest prayer: remembering, confessing, and pleading on the basis of who God is.
Isaiah 65:1-25
New heavens and a new earth
Read 65:1-2: God found by those who did not seek him and holding out his hands to a rebellious people; Romans 10:20 quotes 65:1. Then read 65:17-25 as God's answer to the prayer. List its promises: new heavens and earth, Jerusalem a joy, no more weeping, long life, houses lived in by those who built them, prayer answered before it is spoken, wolf and lamb feeding together. Explain that readers differ on how verse 20 fits, and that the passage gives no timetable. Read 2 Peter 3:13 and Revelation 21:1-4 alongside, and teach the promise itself.
Isaiah 66:1-24
Where Isaiah ends
Read 66:1-2: heaven is God's throne and no temple can hold him, but he looks to the one who is poor, contrite and "trembleth at my word". Then 66:10-13, God comforting like a mother. Read 66:18-23: all nations gathered, messengers sent to distant islands, some made priests, all flesh worshipping. Then read 66:24 without softening it, and mention Mark 9:48. Note that in synagogue reading verse 23 is often repeated after verse 24, so the reading ends on worship while the warning remains. Teach this last so learners hear the whole ending: comfort, mission, worship and warning.
Where learners get stuck
The misreadings this passage tends to produce, and how to answer each from the text.
"Isaiah 65 and 66 give us a timeline of the end of the world."
These chapters give promises, not dates or a sequence of events. Readers differ over details such as 65:20, where a hundred-year-old is called a child: some see an age before the final state, others a picture of fullness of life drawn in this world's language. The text itself says "I create new heavens and a new earth" (65:17) and leaves the timing with God. Teach the promise, as 2 Peter 3:13 does, and decline to build a chart.
"The warrior of Isaiah 63 shows that God loves violence, and Edom is a country today."
The winepress picture describes judgment on those who crushed God's people, and its purpose is stated: "the year of my redeemed is come" (63:4). The same chapter turns at once to "the lovingkindnesses of the LORD" (63:7). Edom, as in chapter 34, is an ancient people standing for every hostile power. Do not attach the passage to any modern nation or conflict.
"'Our righteousnesses are as filthy rags' means every good thing anyone does is worthless to God."
Isaiah 64:6 is a confession prayed by a people who admit "we have sinned" (64:5) and that none "calleth upon thy name" (64:7). It says that even their best was stained. The same prayer says God "meetest him that rejoiceth and worketh righteousness" (64:5). Traditions draw out the verse's implications differently; teach it in its setting, as the honest confession of people with nothing to bargain with.
"Isaiah ends happily, so the last verse can be skipped."
The book ends with both gathering and warning. Isaiah 66:18-23 promises that "all flesh" will worship; 66:24 shows the end of those who "have transgressed against me". Jesus quotes the line in Mark 9:48 as a warning. Synagogue practice of rereading 66:23 after 66:24 lets the reading end on worship without removing the verse. Teach both, with care, and let the warning serve the invitation.
Learning objectives
- Trace the movement of nations toward Zion's light and glory in Isaiah 60.
- Identify the Spirit-anointed speaker's mission in 61:1–3 and the reversals promised to the broken and mourning.
- Explain Zion's new names in Isaiah 62 and how they answer earlier abandonment language.
- Compare the warrior imagery of Isaiah 63:1–6 with the remembered mercy and exodus language that follows.
- Describe the tension in Isaiah 65 between judgment on rebels and joy for God's servants.
- Explain how Isaiah 65:17 and 66:22 place new heavens and new earth at the book's closing horizon.
Teacher preparation
- Read Isaiah 60–66 as a closing movement before planning individual sections.
- Prepare Isaiah 61:1–2 with Luke 4:16–21.
- Mark the place-name Edom and Bozrah in 63:1.
- Read Isaiah 64:6 in context.
- Prepare the ending of Isaiah 66.
Evidence and interpretation checks
Explicit
Isaiah 60:1–3 calls Zion to arise as nations come to her light; 61:1 announces good tidings and liberty; 65:17 and 66:22 name new heavens and new earth.
Scripture-supported
Luke 4:16–21 applies Isaiah 61:1–2 to Jesus, while Revelation 21 draws heavily on Isaiah 60 and 65 in its vision of renewed creation.
Strong inference
The repeated movement of nations toward the LORD's glory suggests that Zion's restoration serves a worldwide purpose rather than ending with local prosperity.
Possible or traditional reading
Isaiah 65:20–25 contains long-life and death language within its new-creation vision, while Revelation 21 says death is no more; interpreters differ on how the horizons relate.
Limit
Isaiah 60–66 does not arrange every promise into a detailed end-times chronology; preserve the sequence and imagery before building a system from it.
Discussion with answer guidance
1. What makes Zion visible in Isaiah 60:1–3, and who responds to that light?
What a good answer contains
The light is not Zion's own: "Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee" (60:1). Darkness covers the peoples, "but the LORD shall arise upon thee" (60:2). Then "the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising" (60:3), and Zion's scattered children come home (60:4). A good answer says Zion shines by reflecting God's glory, and the nations come because of what they see on her. A weak answer makes the light Zion's achievement.
Show teacher guidance
The LORD's glory rises upon Zion while darkness covers peoples.
2. What verbs define the Spirit-anointed mission in Isaiah 61:1–3?
What a good answer contains
The anointed one is sent "to preach good tidings unto the meek", "to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison" (61:1), "To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn" (61:2), and "to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness" (61:3). A good answer gathers the verbs: preach, bind up, proclaim, comfort, appoint, give. It also notes Jesus reads this passage in Luke 4:18-21.
Show teacher guidance
Expect preach good tidings, bind up, proclaim liberty, open prison, proclaim the acceptable year and day of vengeance, comfort, appoint, give beauty, oil, and garment.
3. How do the names in Isaiah 62:4 and 12 rewrite Zion's public identity?
What a good answer contains
Zion was called "Forsaken" and her land "Desolate"; now she is "Hephzi-bah", meaning my delight is in her, and her land "Beulah", meaning married, "for the LORD delighteth in thee" (62:4). In 62:12 she gains more: "The holy people, The redeemed of the LORD", and "Sought out, A city not forsaken". A good answer sees that God names her by his love, not by her past. It also notes the new name comes from "the mouth of the LORD" (62:2).
Show teacher guidance
Forsaken and Desolate give way to Hephzibah and Beulah, then holy people, redeemed of the LORD, Sought out, and a city not forsaken.
4. Why does Isaiah 63 move from the bloodstained warrior of verses 1–6 to lovingkindness and remembered exodus in verses 7–14?
What a good answer contains
Because the same God does both. The warrior from Edom has trodden "the winepress alone" (63:3), for "the day of vengeance is in mine heart, and the year of my redeemed is come" (63:4). Then the prophet says "I will mention the lovingkindnesses of the LORD" (63:7), recalling that "In all their affliction he was afflicted" (63:9) and that he led them through the sea (63:11-13). A good answer sees judgment on oppressors and mercy to his people held together, and that the vengeance serves redemption.
Show teacher guidance
The chapter holds judgment and covenant mercy in the same portrait of the LORD.
5. What does the prayer in Isaiah 64 admit while asking God to 'rend the heavens'?
What a good answer contains
It longs for God to come: "Oh that thou wouldest rend the heavens, that thou wouldest come down" (64:1). It remembers that no eye has seen a God like him (64:4). It confesses honestly: "we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags" (64:6), and admits no one calls on his name (64:7). Then it appeals to relationship: "thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter" (64:8), and "we are all thy people" (64:9). A good answer holds confession and trust together.
Show teacher guidance
It longs for divine intervention, remembers God's unparalleled acts, confesses sin and uncleanness, calls God Father and Potter, and pleads over ruined holy places.
6. How can Isaiah 66 end with both all nations coming to see God's glory and a final scene of judged transgressors?
What a good answer contains
Because the book keeps both. God says "I will gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come, and see my glory" (66:18), sends messengers to far islands (66:19), and takes some of them "for priests and for Levites" (66:21). "All flesh" will worship (66:23). Then the last verse shows "the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me" (66:24). A good answer does not soften either: the invitation is worldwide, and refusal is real. Mark 9:48 shows Jesus using 66:24 as a warning.
Show teacher guidance
The chapter deliberately preserves both gathering and judgment.
Responsible application
Heart and habits
Ask learners to compare self-generated light with reflected glory by using Isaiah 60:1–3.
Relationships and community
Use Isaiah 61:1–4 to design a fictional community-restoration project.
Name the city again
Give learners the old names Forsaken and Desolate and the new names from Isaiah 62.
Session plans
Two timings of the same lesson. The shorter keeps the reading, the central discussion and one response; the longer gives the confusions and the application their own time.
45 minutes
Arise and shine
Read 60:1-5 and 60:18-20. Ask question one.
The anointed mission
Read 61:1-3 and Luke 4:18-21. Ask question two and list the verbs.
New names
Read 62:1-5 and 62:12. Ask question three.
Warrior, memory and prayer
Read 63:1-9 and 64:1-9. Ask questions four and five, and use confusions two and three briefly.
New heavens
Read 65:17-25. Use confusion one, then ask what the passage promises.
Where Isaiah ends
Read 66:1-2 and 66:18-24. Ask question six and confusion four. Give out the handout and pray.
90 minutes
Names people are given
Ask what names or labels people carry from their past, in general terms. Keep it impersonal.
Light has come
Read 60:1-22 and Revelation 21:23. Ask question one.
Good tidings to the meek
Read 61:1-11, Leviticus 25:10 and Luke 4:16-21. Ask question two.
Hephzibah
Read 62:1-12. Ask question three. Give each learner a card with a new name from 62:4 or 62:12.
The winepress and the lovingkindnesses
Read 63:1-14. Ask question four and confusion two.
Rend the heavens
Read 63:15-64:12. Ask question five and confusion three. Let the group pray 64:8 together.
New heavens and a new earth
Read 65:17-25, 2 Peter 3:13 and Revelation 21:1-4. Use confusion one. List the promises on the board.
The last chapter
Read 66:1-24 and Mark 9:48. Ask question six and confusion four.
Handout and blessing
Read the key verse together and close with 66:13 spoken as a blessing.
Adapting the lesson
Children
Turn off the lights, then switch on a lamp as you read 60:1. Give each child a card with a new name from 62:4 or 62:12 and explain it: God's delight, sought out, not forsaken. Read 65:25 and draw the wolf and the lamb eating together. Leave out 63:1-6 and 66:24 for young children, and speak of a new world where no one is hurt.
Youth
Centre on 61:1-3 and 62:4: a mission to the brokenhearted and names that replace old labels. Ask what labels people their age carry. Read Luke 4:16-21 and discuss what it meant for Jesus to read this text. Treat 65:17-25 as hope, and steer away from arguments about end-times charts.
Adults
Give the unit its full range: the nations and Zion, Jesus' use of Isaiah 61, the warrior from Edom, the long prayer of 63:7-64:12, new creation and the final warning. Present differing readings of 65:20 without choosing, and refuse any timeline. Let the prayer of 64 shape the group's own prayer for broken places they care about.
One to one
Ask the person which name they most need to hear from 62:4 and 62:12, and read it to them. If they are grieving, read 61:3 and 66:13. If they feel far from God, read the prayer of 64:8-9 together as their own words. Answer questions about the end with the promise of 65:17-19 rather than speculation.
Song and video learning lab
A song or video may interpret, compress, or dramatize the text. Its value becomes clearer when its choices are compared with Scripture.
- Before the media: the exact passage and its central movement.
- During the media: the words, people, events, and emotions the artist emphasizes.
- After the media: what it clarifies, what it leaves out, and what belongs back in the biblical text.
Handout
One page for learners to take home. The print button prints this section alone.
Isaiah 60:1–66:24
The passage in brief
Isaiah 60 to 66 closes the book with hope. God tells Zion to rise and shine, because his glory has come and the nations will come to her light. Someone anointed by the Spirit brings good news to the broken and comfort to mourners. Zion, once called Forsaken, is named God's delight. God judges the oppressors, and his people pray honestly from the ruins, calling him Father. God answers with new heavens and a new earth, comfort like a mother's, worship from all nations, and a final warning.
A verse to keep
Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee.
Isaiah 60:1 · King James Version
Questions to take home
Where does Zion's light come from in 60:1-2?
Which verbs in 61:1-3 describe what the anointed one does?
What new names does God give Zion in 62:4 and 62:12?
What does God promise in 65:17-19?
This week
Pray 61:1-3 this week for one brokenhearted person you know, and look for one way to comfort them.
Music and video connected to the passage
Related media appears when its Scripture reference overlaps this study. Music and video can illuminate a theme while the biblical text remains the foundation.
