Isaiah 54
Expanded Bible
People Will Return to Jerusalem
54 The Lord says, “Sing, ·Jerusalem [L barren one; Gal. 4:27].
·You are like a woman who [L …who] never gave birth to children.
Start singing and shout for joy.
You never ·felt the pain of giving birth [were in labor],
·but you will have more children [L for more are the children of the desolate one]
than the woman who has a husband.
2 Make your tent bigger;
stretch ·it [L your tent curtains] out and make it wider.
Do not hold back.
Make the ·ropes [cords] longer
and its stakes stronger,
3 because you will spread out to the right and to the left.
Your ·children [descendants; offspring; seed] will take ·over [possession of] other nations,
and they will ·again live in [resettle] cities that once were ·destroyed [ruined; desolate].
4 “Don’t be afraid, because you will not be ashamed.
Don’t be ·embarrassed [discouraged], because you will not be disgraced.
You will forget the shame ·you felt earlier [L of your youth];
you will not remember the ·shame [disgrace; reproach] ·you felt when you lost your husband [of your widowhood; or of your abandonment].
5 ·The God who made you is like [L For your Maker is] your husband.
His name is the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts].
The Holy One of Israel [1:4] is ·the one who saves you [your redeemer].
He is called the God of all the earth.
6 You were like a woman ·whose husband left her [deserted; abandoned],
·and you were very sad [L grieved/distressed in spirit].
You were like a wife who married young
and then ·her husband left her [was rejected].
But the Lord ·called you to be his [or will call you back],”
says your God.
7 God says, “I left you for a ·short time [moment],
but with great ·kindness [mercy; compassion] I will bring you back again.
8 I ·became very angry [had a surge/burst of anger]
and hid from you for a ·time [moment],
but I will show you ·mercy [compassion] with ·kindness [lovingkindness; loyalty; covenant love] forever,”
says the Lord ·who saves you [your redeemer].
9 The Lord says, “This day is like the ·time [days] of Noah to me [Gen. 6–9].
I ·promised [swore] then that ·I [L the waters of Noah] would never ·flood [cover] the world again [Gen. 9:11].
In the same way, I ·promise [swore] I will not be angry with you
or ·punish [rebuke] you again.
10 The mountains may ·disappear [move; be shaken],
and the hills may ·come to an end [be removed; disappear],
but my ·love [lovingkindness; loyalty; covenant love] will never ·disappear [be moved/shaken];
my ·promise [covenant; treaty] of peace will not ·come to an end [be removed; disappear],”
says the Lord who ·shows mercy to [has compassion for] you.
11 “·You poor city [L Afflicted one]. Storms have ·hurt [battered; tossed] you,
and you have not been comforted.
But I will rebuild you with ·turquoise stones [gems],
and I will build your foundations with ·sapphires [or lapis lazuli].
12 I will use ·rubies [or agate; or jasper] to build your ·walls [towers; battlements; pinnacles]
and ·shining jewels [or beryl; or garnet; or crystal] for the gates
and precious jewels for all your outer walls.
13 All your children will be taught by the Lord,
and they will have much ·peace [prosperity; wholeness; C Hebrew: shalom].
14 I will ·build [establish] you ·using fairness [in righteousness].
·You will be safe from those who would hurt you [L Tyranny/oppression will be far from you],
·so you will have nothing to fear [terror will be far away].
Nothing will come to make you afraid.
15 ·I will not send anyone to attack you [L If anyone attacks, it is not from me],
and you will defeat those who do attack you.
16 “See, I made the blacksmith.
He fans the fire to make it hotter,
and he ·makes the kind of tool he wants [forges a weapon for his purpose].
In the same way I have made the destroyer to destroy.
17 So no weapon ·that is used [forged] against you will ·defeat you [succeed].
You will ·show that those who speak against you are wrong [refute every accusation against you; L refute every tongue that rises against you in judgment].
These are the ·good things [heritage] my servants receive.
Their ·victory [vindication; righteousness] comes from me,” says the Lord.
Isaiah 54
New American Standard Bible
The Fertility of Zion
54 “(A)Shout for joy, infertile one, you who have not given birth to any child;
Break forth into joyful shouting and cry aloud, you who have not been in labor;
For the sons of the (B)desolate one will be (C)more numerous
Than the sons of the married woman,” says the Lord.
2 “(D)Enlarge the place of your tent;
[a]Stretch out the curtains of your dwellings, do not spare them;
Lengthen your (E)ropes
And strengthen your (F)pegs.
3 For you will (G)spread out to the right and to the left.
And your [b]descendants will (H)possess nations
And will (I)resettle the desolate cities.
4 “Fear not, for you will (J)not be put to shame;
And do not feel humiliated, for you will not be disgraced;
But you will forget the (K)shame of your youth,
And no longer remember the (L)disgrace of your widowhood.
5 For your (M)husband is your Maker,
Whose name is the Lord of armies;
And your (N)Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel,
Who is called the (O)God of all the earth.
6 For the Lord has called you,
Like a wife (P)forsaken and grieved in spirit,
Even like a wife of one’s youth when she is rejected,”
Says your God.
7 “[c]For a (Q)brief moment I abandoned you,
But with great compassion I will (R)gather you.
8 In an [d](S)outburst of anger
I hid My face from you for a moment,
But with everlasting (T)favor I will (U)have compassion on you,”
Says the Lord your (V)Redeemer.
9 “For [e]this is like the days of Noah to Me,
When I swore that the waters of Noah
Would (W)not [f]flood the earth again;
So I have sworn that I will (X)not be angry with you
Nor rebuke you.
10 For the (Y)mountains may be removed and the hills may shake,
But My [g]favor will not be removed from you,
Nor will My (Z)covenant of peace be shaken,”
Says (AA)the Lord who has compassion on you.
11 “(AB)Afflicted one, storm-tossed, and (AC)not comforted,
Behold, I will set your stones in antimony,
And I will (AD)lay your foundations with [h](AE)sapphires.
12 Moreover, I will make your battlements of [i]rubies,
And your gates of [j]crystal,
And your entire [k]wall of precious stones.
13 (AF)All your sons will be [l]taught by the Lord;
And the well-being of your sons will be (AG)great.
14 In (AH)righteousness you will be established;
You will be far from (AI)oppression, for you will (AJ)not fear;
And from (AK)terror, for it will not come near you.
15 If anyone fiercely attacks you, it will not be from Me.
(AL)Whoever attacks you will fall because of you.
16 Behold, I Myself have created the smith who blows on the fire of coals
And produces a weapon for its work;
And I have created the destroyer to inflict ruin.
17 (AM)No weapon that is formed against you will succeed;
And you will condemn (AN)every tongue that [m]accuses you in judgment.
This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord,
And their (AO)vindication is from Me,” declares the Lord.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 54:2 Lit Let them stretch out
- Isaiah 54:3 Lit seed
- Isaiah 54:7 Lit In
- Isaiah 54:8 Lit overflowing
- Isaiah 54:9 Some mss the waters of Noah this is to Me
- Isaiah 54:9 Lit cross over
- Isaiah 54:10 Or faithfulness
- Isaiah 54:11 Or lapis lazuli
- Isaiah 54:12 I.e., bright red
- Isaiah 54:12 Or carbuncles
- Isaiah 54:12 Lit border, boundary
- Isaiah 54:13 Or disciples of
- Isaiah 54:17 Lit rises against
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
