Isaiah 54:11-17
New English Translation
11 “O afflicted one, driven away,[a] and unconsoled!
Look, I am about to set your stones in antimony,
and lay your foundation with lapis lazuli.
12 I will make your pinnacles out of gems,[b]
your gates out of beryl,[c]
and your outer wall[d] out of beautiful[e] stones.
13 All your children will be followers of the Lord,
and your children will enjoy great prosperity.[f]
14 You will be reestablished when I vindicate you.[g]
You will not experience oppression;[h]
indeed, you will not be afraid.
You will not be terrified,[i]
for nothing frightening[j] will come near you.
15 If anyone dares to[k] challenge you, it will not be my doing!
Whoever tries to challenge you will be defeated.[l]
16 Look, I create the craftsman,
who fans the coals into a fire
and forges a weapon.[m]
I create the destroyer so he might devastate.
17 No weapon forged to be used against you will succeed;
you will refute everyone who tries to accuse you.[n]
This is what the Lord will do for his servants—
I will vindicate them,”[o]
says the Lord.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 54:11 tn Or, more literally, “windblown, storm-tossed.”
- Isaiah 54:12 tn Perhaps, “rubies” (so ASV, NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).
- Isaiah 54:12 tn On the meaning of אֶקְדָּח (ʾeqdakh), which occurs only here, see HALOT 82 s.v.
- Isaiah 54:12 tn Heb “border” (so ASV); NASB “your entire wall.”
- Isaiah 54:12 tn Heb “delightful”; KJV “pleasant.”
- Isaiah 54:13 tn Heb “and great [will be] the peace of your sons.”
- Isaiah 54:14 tn Heb “in righteousness [or “vindication”] you will be established.” The precise meaning of צְדָקָה (tsedaqah) here is uncertain. It could mean “righteousness, justice,” indicating that the city will be a center for justice. But the context focuses on deliverance, suggesting that the term means “deliverance, vindication” here.
- Isaiah 54:14 tn Heb “Be far from oppression!” The imperative is used here in a rhetorical manner to express certainty and assurance. See GKC 324 §110.c.
- Isaiah 54:14 tn Heb “from terror.” The rhetorical command, “be far” is understood by ellipsis here. Note the preceding context.
- Isaiah 54:14 tn Heb “it,” i.e., the “terror” just mentioned.
- Isaiah 54:15 tn The infinitive absolute precedes the finite verb here for emphasis.
- Isaiah 54:15 tn Heb “will fall over you.” The expression נָפַל עַל (nafal ʿal) can mean “attack,” but here it means “fall over to,” i.e., “surrender to.”
- Isaiah 54:16 tn Heb “who brings out an implement for his work.”
- Isaiah 54:17 tn Heb “and every tongue that rises up for judgment with you will prove to be guilty.”
- Isaiah 54:17 tn Heb “this is the inheritance of the servants of the Lord, and their vindication from me.”
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