A Perpetual Covenant of Peace

54 “Sing, O (A)barren,
You who have not borne!
Break forth into singing, and cry aloud,
You who have not labored with child!
For more are the children of the desolate
Than the children of the married woman,” says the Lord.
“Enlarge(B) the place of your tent,
And let them stretch out the curtains of your dwellings;
Do not spare;
Lengthen your cords,
And strengthen your stakes.
For you shall expand to the right and to the left,
And your descendants will (C)inherit the nations,
And make the desolate cities inhabited.

“Do(D) not fear, for you will not be ashamed;
Neither be disgraced, for you will not be put to shame;
For you will forget the shame of your youth,
And will not remember the reproach of your widowhood anymore.
(E)For your Maker is your husband,
The Lord of hosts is His name;
And your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel;
He is called (F)the God of the whole earth.
For the Lord (G)has called you
Like a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit,
Like a youthful wife when you were refused,”
Says your God.
“For(H) a mere moment I have forsaken you,
But with great mercies (I)I will gather you.
With a little wrath I hid My face from you for a moment;
(J)But with everlasting kindness I will have mercy on you,”
Says the Lord, your Redeemer.

“For this is like the waters of (K)Noah to Me;
For as I have sworn
That the waters of Noah would no longer cover the earth,
So have I sworn
That I would not be angry with (L)you, nor rebuke you.
10 For (M)the mountains shall depart
And the hills be removed,
(N)But My kindness shall not depart from you,
Nor shall My covenant of peace be removed,”
Says the Lord, who has mercy on you.

11 “O you afflicted one,
Tossed with tempest, and not comforted,
Behold, I will lay your stones with (O)colorful gems,
And lay your foundations with sapphires.
12 I will make your pinnacles of rubies,
Your gates of crystal,
And all your walls of precious stones.
13 All your children shall be (P)taught by the Lord,
And (Q)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 Indeed they shall surely assemble, but not because of Me.
Whoever assembles against you shall (R)fall for your sake.

16 “Behold, I have created the blacksmith
Who blows the coals in the fire,
Who brings forth an [a]instrument for his work;
And I have created the [b]spoiler to destroy.
17 No weapon formed against you shall (S)prosper,
And every tongue which rises against you in judgment
You shall condemn.
This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord,
(T)And their righteousness is from Me,”
Says the Lord.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 54:16 Or weapon
  2. Isaiah 54:16 destroyer

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”