15 “Although you have been forsaken(A) and hated,
    with no one traveling(B) through,
I will make you the everlasting pride(C)
    and the joy(D) of all generations.

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15 Whereas thou has been forsaken and hated, so that no man went through thee, I will make thee an eternal excellency, a joy of many generations.

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Instead of your shame(A)
    you will receive a double(B) portion,
and instead of disgrace
    you will rejoice in your inheritance.
And so you will inherit(C) a double portion in your land,
    and everlasting joy(D) will be yours.

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For your shame ye shall have double; and for confusion they shall rejoice in their portion: therefore in their land they shall possess the double: everlasting joy shall be unto them.

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17 But I will restore you to health
    and heal(A) your wounds,’
declares the Lord,
‘because you are called an outcast,(B)
    Zion for whom no one cares.’(C)

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17 For I will restore health unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds, saith the Lord; because they called thee an Outcast, saying, This is Zion, whom no man seeketh after.

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14 But Zion(A) said, “The Lord has forsaken(B) me,
    the Lord has forgotten me.”

15 “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast
    and have no compassion on the child(C) she has borne?
Though she may forget,
    I will not forget you!(D)
16 See, I have engraved(E) you on the palms of my hands;
    your walls(F) are ever before me.
17 Your children hasten back,
    and those who laid you waste(G) depart from you.
18 Lift up your eyes and look around;
    all your children gather(H) and come to you.
As surely as I live,(I)” declares the Lord,
    “you will wear(J) them all as ornaments;
    you will put them on, like a bride.

19 “Though you were ruined and made desolate(K)
    and your land laid waste,(L)
now you will be too small for your people,(M)
    and those who devoured(N) you will be far away.
20 The children born during your bereavement
    will yet say in your hearing,
‘This place is too small for us;
    give us more space to live in.’(O)
21 Then you will say in your heart,
    ‘Who bore me these?(P)
I was bereaved(Q) and barren;
    I was exiled and rejected.(R)
    Who brought these(S) up?
I was left(T) all alone,(U)
    but these—where have they come from?’”

22 This is what the Sovereign Lord(V) says:

“See, I will beckon to the nations,
    I will lift up my banner(W) to the peoples;
they will bring(X) your sons in their arms
    and carry your daughters on their hips.(Y)
23 Kings(Z) will be your foster fathers,
    and their queens your nursing mothers.(AA)
They will bow down(AB) before you with their faces to the ground;
    they will lick the dust(AC) at your feet.
Then you will know that I am the Lord;(AD)
    those who hope(AE) in me will not be disappointed.(AF)

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14 But Zion said, The Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me.

15 Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee.

16 Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.

17 Thy children shall make haste; thy destroyers and they that made thee waste shall go forth of thee.

18 Lift up thine eyes round about, and behold: all these gather themselves together, and come to thee. As I live, saith the Lord, thou shalt surely clothe thee with them all, as with an ornament, and bind them on thee, as a bride doeth.

19 For thy waste and thy desolate places, and the land of thy destruction, shall even now be too narrow by reason of the inhabitants, and they that swallowed thee up shall be far away.

20 The children which thou shalt have, after thou hast lost the other, shall say again in thine ears, The place is too strait for me: give place to me that I may dwell.

21 Then shalt thou say in thine heart, Who hath begotten me these, seeing I have lost my children, and am desolate, a captive, and removing to and fro? and who hath brought up these? Behold, I was left alone; these, where had they been?

22 Thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I will lift up mine hand to the Gentiles, and set up my standard to the people: and they shall bring thy sons in their arms, and thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders.

23 And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers: they shall bow down to thee with their face toward the earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet; and thou shalt know that I am the Lord: for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me.

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11 the sounds of joy and gladness,(A) the voices of bride and bridegroom, and the voices of those who bring thank offerings(B) to the house of the Lord, saying,

“Give thanks to the Lord Almighty,
    for the Lord is good;(C)
    his love endures forever.”(D)

For I will restore the fortunes(E) of the land as they were before,(F)’ says the Lord.

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11 The voice of joy, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the voice of them that shall say, Praise the Lord of hosts: for the Lord is good; for his mercy endureth for ever: and of them that shall bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the Lord. For I will cause to return the captivity of the land, as at the first, saith the Lord.

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10     and those the Lord has rescued(A) will return.
They will enter Zion with singing;(B)
    everlasting joy(C) will crown their heads.
Gladness(D) and joy will overtake them,
    and sorrow and sighing will flee away.(E)

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10 And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

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18 But be glad and rejoice(A) forever
    in what I will create,
for I will create Jerusalem(B) to be a delight
    and its people a joy.

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18 But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy.

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The Lord will call you back(A)
    as if you were a wife deserted(B) and distressed in spirit—
a wife who married young,(C)
    only to be rejected,” says your God.
“For a brief moment(D) I abandoned(E) you,
    but with deep compassion(F) I will bring you back.(G)
In a surge of anger(H)
    I hid(I) my face from you for a moment,
but with everlasting kindness(J)
    I will have compassion(K) on you,”
    says the Lord your Redeemer.(L)

“To me this is like the days of Noah,
    when I swore that the waters of Noah would never again cover the earth.(M)
So now I have sworn(N) not to be angry(O) with you,
    never to rebuke(P) you again.
10 Though the mountains be shaken(Q)
    and the hills be removed,
yet my unfailing love(R) for you will not be shaken(S)
    nor my covenant(T) of peace(U) be removed,”
    says the Lord, who has compassion(V) on you.

11 “Afflicted(W) city, lashed by storms(X) and not comforted,(Y)
    I will rebuild you with stones of turquoise,[a](Z)
    your foundations(AA) with lapis lazuli.(AB)
12 I will make your battlements of rubies,
    your gates(AC) of sparkling jewels,
    and all your walls of precious stones.
13 All your children will be taught by the Lord,(AD)
    and great will be their peace.(AE)
14 In righteousness(AF) you will be established:(AG)
Tyranny(AH) will be far from you;
    you will have nothing to fear.(AI)
Terror(AJ) will be far removed;
    it will not come near you.

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 54:11 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.

For the Lord hath called thee as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth, when thou wast refused, saith thy God.

For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee.

In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer.

For this is as the waters of Noah unto me: for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth; so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee.

10 For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee.

11 O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colours, and lay thy foundations with sapphires.

12 And I will make thy windows of agates, and thy gates of carbuncles, and all thy borders of pleasant stones.

13 And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children.

14 In righteousness shalt thou be established: thou shalt be far from oppression; for thou shalt not fear: and from terror; for it shall not come near thee.

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12 until the Lord has sent everyone far away(A)
    and the land is utterly forsaken.(B)

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12 And the Lord have removed men far away, and there be a great forsaking in the midst of the land.

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The Seventh Trumpet

15 The seventh angel sounded his trumpet,(A) and there were loud voices(B) in heaven, which said:

“The kingdom of the world has become
    the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah,(C)
    and he will reign for ever and ever.”(D)

16 And the twenty-four elders,(E) who were seated on their thrones before God, fell on their faces(F) and worshiped God, 17 saying:

“We give thanks(G) to you, Lord God Almighty,(H)
    the One who is and who was,(I)
because you have taken your great power
    and have begun to reign.(J)

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15 And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.

16 And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God,

17 Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned.

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But exclude the outer court;(A) do not measure it, because it has been given to the Gentiles.(B) They will trample on the holy city(C) for 42 months.(D)

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But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.

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The Branch of the Lord

In that day(A) the Branch of the Lord(B) will be beautiful(C) and glorious, and the fruit(D) of the land will be the pride and glory(E) of the survivors(F) in Israel.

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In that day shall the branch of the Lord be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel.

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[a]How deserted(A) lies the city,
    once so full of people!(B)
How like a widow(C) is she,
    who once was great(D) among the nations!
She who was queen among the provinces
    has now become a slave.(E)

Bitterly she weeps(F) at night,
    tears are on her cheeks.
Among all her lovers(G)
    there is no one to comfort her.
All her friends have betrayed(H) her;
    they have become her enemies.(I)

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Footnotes

  1. Lamentations 1:1 This chapter is an acrostic poem, the verses of which begin with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet.

How doth the city sit solitary, that was full of people! how is she become as a widow! she that was great among the nations, and princess among the provinces, how is she become tributary!

She weepeth sore in the night, and her tears are on her cheeks: among all her lovers she hath none to comfort her: all her friends have dealt treacherously with her, they are become her enemies.

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