Isaiah 54
New Living Translation
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.
2 “Enlarge your house; build an addition.
Spread out your home, and spare no expense!
3 For you will soon be bursting at the seams.
Your descendants will occupy other nations
and resettle the ruined cities.
4 “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.
5 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.
6 For the Lord has called you back from your grief—
as though you were a young wife abandoned by her husband,”
says your God.
7 “For a brief moment I abandoned you,
but with great compassion I will take you back.
8 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.
9 “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!
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.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.