Isaiah 54
Lexham English Bible
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.
2 “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,
3 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.
4 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.
5 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.
6 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.
7 I abandoned you for a short[e] moment,
but[f] I will gather you with great compassion.
8 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.
9 “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
- Isaiah 54:3 Hebrew “descendant”
- Isaiah 54:5 The Hebrew is plural
- Isaiah 54:5 The Hebrew is plural
- Isaiah 54:6 Or “and”
- Isaiah 54:7 Literally “in a small”
- Isaiah 54:7 Or “and”
- Isaiah 54:8 Or “and”
- Isaiah 54:9 Literally “from the passing over of the waters of Noah again”
- Isaiah 54:9 Literally “from being “
- Isaiah 54:10 Or “and”
- Isaiah 54:12 Literally “place”
- Isaiah 54:16 Or “blowing”
- Isaiah 54:16 Or “producing”
- Isaiah 54:16 Or “and”
- Isaiah 54:17 Literally “justice”
- Isaiah 54:17 Literally “declaration of”
Isaiah 54
Common English Bible
Sing, barren woman
54 Sing, barren woman who has borne no child;
break forth into singing and cry out,
you who were never in labor,
for the children of the wife who has been deserted will be more numerous than the children of the married, says the Lord.
2 Enlarge the site of your tent,
and stretch out the drapes of your dwellings;
don’t hold back.
Lengthen your tent ropes and strengthen your stakes.
3 To the right and to the left you will burst out,
and your children will possess the nations’ land
and settle their desolate cities.
4 Don’t fear,
because you won’t be ashamed;
don’t be dismayed,
because you won’t be disgraced.
You will forget the shame of your youth;
you’ll no longer remember the disgrace of your widowhood.
5 The one marrying you is the one who made you—
the Lord of heavenly forces is his name.
The one redeeming you is the holy one of Israel,
the one called the God of all the earth.
6 As an abandoned and dejected woman the Lord has summoned you;
as a young wife when she is rejected,
says your God.
7 For a brief moment I abandoned you,
but with great mercy I will bring you back.
8 In an outburst of rage,
I hid my face from you for a moment,
but with everlasting love I have consoled you,
says your redeemer, the Lord.
9 These are like the days[a] of Noah for me,
when I promised that Noah’s waters would never again cover the earth.
Likewise I promise not to rage against you or rebuke you.
10 The mountains may shift,
and the hills may be shaken,
but my faithful love won’t shift from you,
and my covenant of peace won’t be shaken,
says the Lord, the one who pities you.
11 Suffering one, storm-tossed, uncomforted,
look, I am setting your gemstones in silvery metal
and your foundations with sapphires.
12 I will make your towers of rubies,
and your gates of beryl,
and all your walls of precious jewels.
13 All your children will be disciples of the Lord—
I will make peace abound for your children.
14 You will be firmly founded in righteousness.
You will stay far from oppression because you won’t fear,
far from terror because it won’t come near you.
15 If anyone attacks you, it’s none of my doing.
Whoever attacks you will fall because of you.
16 Look, I myself created the metalworker who blows the fire of coal and who produces a tool for his work.
And I myself created the looter to destroy.
17 No weapon fashioned against you will succeed,
and you may condemn every tongue that disputes with you.
This is the heritage of the Lord’s servants,
whose righteousness comes from me, says the Lord.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 54:9 Or for the waters
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