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Future Glory for Jerusalem

54 “Sing, O childless woman,
    you who have never given birth!
Break into loud and joyful song, O Jerusalem,
    you who have never been in labor.
For the desolate woman now has more children
    than the woman who lives with her husband,”
    says the Lord.
“Enlarge your house; build an addition.
    Spread out your home, and spare no expense!
For you will soon be bursting at the seams.
    Your descendants will occupy other nations
    and resettle the ruined cities.

“Fear not; you will no longer live in shame.
    Don’t be afraid; there is no more disgrace for you.
You will no longer remember the shame of your youth
    and the sorrows of widowhood.
For your Creator will be your husband;
    the Lord of Heaven’s Armies is his name!
He is your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel,
    the God of all the earth.
For the Lord has called you back from your grief—
    as though you were a young wife abandoned by her husband,”
    says your God.
“For a brief moment I abandoned you,
    but with great compassion I will take you back.
In a burst of anger I turned my face away for a little while.
    But with everlasting love I will have compassion on you,”
    says the Lord, your Redeemer.

“Just as I swore in the time of Noah
    that I would never again let a flood cover the earth,
so now I swear
    that I will never again be angry and punish you.
10 For the mountains may move
    and the hills disappear,
but even then my faithful love for you will remain.
    My covenant of blessing will never be broken,”
    says the Lord, who has mercy on you.

11 “O storm-battered city,
    troubled and desolate!
I will rebuild you with precious jewels
    and make your foundations from lapis lazuli.
12 I will make your towers of sparkling rubies,
    your gates of shining gems,
    and your walls of precious stones.
13 I will teach all your children,
    and they will enjoy great peace.
14 You will be secure under a government that is just and fair.
    Your enemies will stay far away.
You will live in peace,
    and terror will not come near.
15 If any nation comes to fight you,
    it is not because I sent them.
    Whoever attacks you will go down in defeat.

16 “I have created the blacksmith
    who fans the coals beneath the forge
and makes the weapons of destruction.
    And I have created the armies that destroy.
17 But in that coming day
    no weapon turned against you will succeed.
You will silence every voice
    raised up to accuse you.
These benefits are enjoyed by the servants of the Lord;
    their vindication will come from me.
    I, the Lord, have spoken!

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.
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,
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].

“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].
·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.
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.
God says, “I left you for a ·short time [moment],
    but with great ·kindness [mercy; compassion] I will bring you back again.
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].

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.

The Future Glory of Zion

54 “Sing, barren woman,(A)
    you who never bore a child;
burst into song, shout for joy,(B)
    you who were never in labor;(C)
because more are the children(D) of the desolate(E) woman
    than of her who has a husband,(F)
says the Lord.
“Enlarge the place of your tent,(G)
    stretch your tent curtains wide,
    do not hold back;
lengthen your cords,
    strengthen your stakes.(H)
For you will spread out to the right and to the left;
    your descendants(I) will dispossess nations(J)
    and settle in their desolate(K) cities.

“Do not be afraid;(L) you will not be put to shame.(M)
    Do not fear disgrace;(N) you will not be humiliated.
You will forget the shame of your youth(O)
    and remember no more the reproach(P) of your widowhood.(Q)
For your Maker(R) is your husband(S)
    the Lord Almighty is his name—
the Holy One(T) of Israel is your Redeemer;(U)
    he is called the God of all the earth.(V)
The Lord will call you back(W)
    as if you were a wife deserted(X) and distressed in spirit—
a wife who married young,(Y)
    only to be rejected,” says your God.
“For a brief moment(Z) I abandoned(AA) you,
    but with deep compassion(AB) I will bring you back.(AC)
In a surge of anger(AD)
    I hid(AE) my face from you for a moment,
but with everlasting kindness(AF)
    I will have compassion(AG) on you,”
    says the Lord your Redeemer.(AH)

“To me this is like the days of Noah,
    when I swore that the waters of Noah would never again cover the earth.(AI)
So now I have sworn(AJ) not to be angry(AK) with you,
    never to rebuke(AL) you again.
10 Though the mountains be shaken(AM)
    and the hills be removed,
yet my unfailing love(AN) for you will not be shaken(AO)
    nor my covenant(AP) of peace(AQ) be removed,”
    says the Lord, who has compassion(AR) on you.

11 “Afflicted(AS) city, lashed by storms(AT) and not comforted,(AU)
    I will rebuild you with stones of turquoise,[a](AV)
    your foundations(AW) with lapis lazuli.(AX)
12 I will make your battlements of rubies,
    your gates(AY) of sparkling jewels,
    and all your walls of precious stones.
13 All your children will be taught by the Lord,(AZ)
    and great will be their peace.(BA)
14 In righteousness(BB) you will be established:(BC)
Tyranny(BD) will be far from you;
    you will have nothing to fear.(BE)
Terror(BF) will be far removed;
    it will not come near you.
15 If anyone does attack you, it will not be my doing;
    whoever attacks you will surrender(BG) to you.

16 “See, it is I who created the blacksmith(BH)
    who fans the coals into flame
    and forges a weapon(BI) fit for its work.
And it is I who have created the destroyer(BJ) to wreak havoc;
17     no weapon forged against you will prevail,(BK)
    and you will refute(BL) every tongue that accuses you.
This is the heritage of the servants(BM) of the Lord,
    and this is their vindication(BN) from me,”
declares the Lord.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 54:11 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.