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Don’t be afraid, for you will not be put to shame.
Don’t be intimidated,[a] for you will not be humiliated.
You will forget about the shame you experienced in your youth;
you will no longer remember the disgrace of your abandonment.[b]
For your husband is the one who made you—
the Lord of Heaven’s Armies is his name.
He is your Protector,[c] the Holy One of Israel.[d]
He is called “God of the entire earth.”
“Indeed, the Lord will call you back
like a wife who has been abandoned and suffers from depression,[e]
like a young wife when she has been rejected,” says your God.
“For a short time I abandoned[f] you,
but with great compassion I will gather you.
In a burst[g] of anger I rejected you[h] momentarily,
but with lasting devotion I will have compassion on you,”
says your Protector,[i] the Lord.

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 54:4 tn Or “embarrassed”; NASB “humiliated…disgraced.”
  2. Isaiah 54:4 tn Another option is to translate, “the disgrace of our widowhood” (so NRSV). However, the following context (vv. 6-7) refers to Zion’s husband, the Lord, abandoning her, not dying. This suggests that an אַלְמָנָה (ʾalmanah) was a woman who had lost her husband, whether by death or abandonment.
  3. Isaiah 54:5 tn Or “redeemer.” See the note at 41:14.
  4. Isaiah 54:5 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
  5. Isaiah 54:6 tn Heb “like a woman abandoned and grieved in spirit.”
  6. Isaiah 54:7 tn Or “forsook” (NASB).
  7. Isaiah 54:8 tn According to BDB 1009 s.v. שֶׁטֶף the noun שֶׁצֶף here is an alternate form of שֶׁטֶף (shetef, “flood”). Some relate the word to an alleged Akkadian cognate meaning “strength.”
  8. Isaiah 54:8 tn Heb “I hid my face from you.”
  9. Isaiah 54:8 tn Or “redeemer.” See the note at 41:14.

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

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