The Eternal Covenant of Peace

54 (A)“Sing, O barren one, who did not bear;
    break forth into singing and cry aloud,
    you who have not been in labor!
For the children of (B)the desolate one (C)will be more
    than the children of her who is married,” says the Lord.
(D)“Enlarge the place of your tent,
    and let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out;
do not hold back; lengthen your cords
    and strengthen your stakes.
(E)For you will spread abroad to the right and to the left,
    and your offspring will possess the nations
    and will people the desolate cities.

“Fear not, (F)for you will not be ashamed;
    be not confounded, for you will not be disgraced;
for you will forget the shame of your youth,
    and the reproach of your widowhood you will remember no more.
(G)For your Maker is your husband,
    the Lord of hosts is his name;
(H)and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer,
    (I)the God of the whole earth he is called.
(J)For the Lord has called you
    like a wife deserted and grieved in spirit,
like a wife of youth when she is cast off,
    says your God.
(K)For a brief moment I deserted you,
    but with great compassion I will gather you.
(L)In overflowing anger for a moment
    I hid my face from you,
(M)but with everlasting love I will have compassion on you,”
    says the Lord, your Redeemer.

“This is like (N)the days of Noah[a] to me:
    as I swore that the waters of Noah
    should no more go over the earth,
so I have sworn that I will not be angry with you,
    and will not rebuke you.
10 For the mountains may depart
    and the hills be removed,
but my steadfast love shall not depart from you,
    and (O)my covenant of peace shall not be removed,”
    says the Lord, who has compassion on you.

11 (P)“O afflicted one, storm-tossed and not comforted,
    behold, (Q)I will set your stones in antimony,
    (R)and lay your foundations with sapphires.[b]
12 I will make your pinnacles of agate,[c]
    your gates of carbuncles,[d]
    and all your wall of precious stones.
13 (S)All your children (T)shall be taught by the Lord,
    (U)and great shall be the peace of your children.
14 In righteousness you shall be established;
    you shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear;
    and from terror, for it shall not come near you.
15 (V)If anyone stirs up strife,
    it is not from me;
whoever stirs up strife with you
    shall fall because of you.
16 Behold, I have created the smith
    who blows the fire of coals
    and produces a weapon for its purpose.
I have also created the ravager to destroy;
17     no weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed,
    and you shall refute every tongue that rises against you in judgment.
This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord
    (W)and their vindication[e] from me, declares the Lord.”

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 54:9 Some manuscripts For this is as the waters of Noah
  2. Isaiah 54:11 Or lapis lazuli
  3. Isaiah 54:12 Or jasper, or ruby
  4. Isaiah 54:12 Or crystal
  5. Isaiah 54:17 Or righteousness

The Fertile Wife of Yahweh

54 “Sing for joy, barren woman; who has not borne!
    Burst forth into rejoicing and rejoice, she who has not been in labor!
        For the children of the desolate woman are more than the children of the married woman,” says Yahweh.
“Enlarge the site of your tent,
    and let them stretch out the tent curtains of your dwelling place.
You must not spare; make your tent cords long
    and strengthen your pegs,
        for you will spread out to the right and to the left.
And your descendants[a] will be heir to the nations,
    and they will inhabit desolate towns.
You must not fear, for you will not be ashamed,
    and you must not be confounded, for you will not feel abashed,
for you will forget the shame of your youth,
    and you will no longer remember the disgrace of your widowhood.
For your husband[b] is your maker,[c] his name is Yahweh of hosts;
    and your redeemer is the holy one of Israel, he is called the God of all of the earth.
For Yahweh has called you like a wife forsaken and hurt of spirit,
    like[d] the wife of childhood when she is rejected, says your God.
I abandoned you for a short[e] moment,
    but[f] I will gather you with great compassion.
I hid my face from you for a moment, in the flowing of anger,
    but[g] I will have compassion on you with everlasting faithfulness” says your redeemer, Yahweh.
“For this is like the waters of Noah to me,
    when I swore that the waters of Noah would never again pass[h] over the earth,
    so I swore that I would not be[i] angry at you and rebuke you.
10 For the mountains may depart,
    and the hills may sway,
but[j] my faithfulness shall not depart from you,
    and my covenant of peace shall not sway,”
says Yahweh, who has compassion on you,
11     “O afflicted one, driven away, who is not consoled.
Look! I am about to set your stones in hard mortar,
    and I will lay your foundation with sapphires.
12 And I will make[k] your battlements of ruby,
    and your gates of stones of beryl,
    and all your wall of precious stones.
13 And all your children shall be pupils of Yahweh,
    and the peace of your children shall be great.

14 In righteousness you shall be established.

Be far from oppression, for you shall not fear,
    and from terror, for it shall not come near you.
15 If indeed one attacks, it is not from me;
    whoever attacks you shall fall because of you.
16 Look! I myself have created the craftsman who blows[l] the fire of coals,
    and who produces[m] a weapon for his work;
    also[n] I myself have created the destroyer to destroy.
17 Every weapon formed against you shall not succeed,
    and you shall declare guilty every tongue that rises against you for judgment.
This is the inheritance of the servants of Yahweh,
    and their legal right[o] from me,”

declares[p] Yahweh.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 54:3 Hebrew “descendant”
  2. Isaiah 54:5 The Hebrew is plural
  3. Isaiah 54:5 The Hebrew is plural
  4. Isaiah 54:6 Or “and”
  5. Isaiah 54:7 Literally “in a small”
  6. Isaiah 54:7 Or “and”
  7. Isaiah 54:8 Or “and”
  8. Isaiah 54:9 Literally “from the passing over of the waters of Noah again”
  9. Isaiah 54:9 Literally “from being “
  10. Isaiah 54:10 Or “and”
  11. Isaiah 54:12 Literally “place”
  12. Isaiah 54:16 Or “blowing”
  13. Isaiah 54:16 Or “producing”
  14. Isaiah 54:16 Or “and”
  15. Isaiah 54:17 Literally “justice”
  16. Isaiah 54:17 Literally “declaration of”