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The Fertility of Zion

54 “Shout for joy, O barren one, she who has not given birth;
Break forth into joyful shouting and rejoice, she who has not gone into labor [with child]!
For the [spiritual] sons of the desolate one will be more numerous
Than the sons of the married woman,” says the Lord.(A)

“Enlarge the site of your tent [to make room for more children];
Stretch out the curtains of your dwellings, do not spare them;
Lengthen your tent ropes
And make your pegs (stakes) firm [in the ground].

“For you will spread out to the right and to the left;
And your descendants will take possession of nations
And will inhabit deserted cities.


“Do not fear, for you will not be put to shame,
And do not feel humiliated or ashamed, for you will not be disgraced.
For you will forget the shame of your youth,
And you will no longer remember the disgrace of your widowhood.

“For your husband is your Maker,
The Lord of hosts is His name;
And your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel,
Who is called the God of the whole earth.

“For the Lord has called you,
Like a wife who has been abandoned, grieved in spirit,
And like a wife [married] in her youth when she is [later] rejected and scorned,”
Says your God.

“For a brief moment I abandoned you,
But with great compassion and mercy I will gather you [to Myself again].

“In an outburst of wrath
I hid My face from you for a moment,
But with everlasting kindness I will have compassion on you,”
Says the Lord your Redeemer.


“For this is like the waters of Noah to Me,
As I swore [an oath] that the waters of Noah
Would not flood the earth again;
In the same way I have sworn that I will not be angry with you
Nor will I rebuke you.
10 
“For the mountains may be removed and the hills may shake,
But My lovingkindness will not be removed from you,
Nor will My covenant of peace be shaken,”
Says the Lord who has compassion on you.

11 
“O you afflicted [city], storm-tossed, and not comforted,
Listen carefully, I will set your [precious] stones in mortar,
And lay your foundations with sapphires.
12 
“And I will make your battlements of rubies,
And your gates of [shining] beryl stones,
And all your [barrier] [a]walls of precious stones.(B)
13 
“And all your [spiritual] sons will be disciples [of the Lord],
And great will be the [b]well-being of your sons.(C)
14 
“You will be firmly established in righteousness:
You will be far from [even the thought of] oppression, for you will not fear,
And from terror, for it will not come near you.
15 
“If anyone fiercely attacks you it will not be from Me.
Whoever attacks you will fall because of you.
16 
“Listen carefully, I have created the smith who blows on the fire of coals
And who produces a weapon for its purpose;
And I have created the destroyer to inflict ruin.
17 
“No weapon that is formed against you will succeed;
And every tongue that rises against you in judgment you will condemn.
This [peace, righteousness, security, and triumph over opposition] is the heritage of the servants of the Lord,
And this is their vindication from Me,” says the Lord.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 54:12 Lit boundary.
  2. Isaiah 54:13 Or success.

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

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 Lord’s Compassion for the Women without Children

54 Sing with joy, you childless women who never gave birth to children.
Break into shouts of joy, you women who never had birth pains.
“There will be more children of women who have been deserted
than there are children of married women,” says the Lord.
Expand the space of your tent.
Stretch out the curtains of your tent, and don’t hold back.
Lengthen your tent ropes, and drive in the tent pegs.
You will spread out to the right and left.
Your descendants will take over other nations,
and they will resettle deserted cities.
Don’t be afraid, because you won’t be put to shame.
Don’t be discouraged, because you won’t be disgraced.
You’ll forget the shame you’ve had since you were young.
You won’t remember the disgrace of your husband’s death anymore.
Your husband is your maker.
His name is the Lord of Armies.
Your defender is the Holy One of Israel.
He is called the God of the whole earth.

“The Lord has called you as if you were
a wife who was abandoned and in grief,
a wife who married young and was rejected,” says your God.

“I abandoned you for one brief moment,
but I will bring you back with unlimited compassion.
I hid my face from you for a moment in a burst of anger,
but I will have compassion on you with everlasting kindness,”
says the Lord your defender.
“To me this is like Noah’s floodwaters, when I swore an oath
that Noah’s floodwaters would never cover the earth again.
So now I swear an oath not to be angry with you or punish you.
10 The mountains may move, and the hills may shake,
but my kindness will never depart from you.
My promise [a] of peace will never change,”
says the Lord, who has compassion on you.

11 “You suffering, comfortless, storm-ravaged city!
I will rebuild your city with precious stones.
I will reset your foundations with sapphires.
12 I will rebuild your towers with rubies,
your gates with sparkling stones,
and all your walls with precious stones.”

13 All your children will be taught by the Lord,
and your children will have unlimited peace.
14 You will be established in righteousness.
You will be far from oppression,
so you will not be afraid.
You will be far from destruction,
so it won’t come near you.

15 “If anyone attacks you, it will not be my doing.
Whoever attacks you will be defeated by you.
16 I’ve created blacksmiths to fan the coals into flames
and to produce useful weapons.
I’ve also created destroyers to bring destruction.
17 No weapon that has been made to be used against you will succeed.
You will have an answer for anyone who accuses you.
This is the inheritance of the Lord’s servants.
Their victory comes from me,” declares the Lord.

Footnotes

  1. 54:10 Or “covenant.”