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 Fertility of Zion

54 (A)Shout for joy, infertile one, you who have not given birth to any child;
Break forth into joyful shouting and cry aloud, you who have not been in labor;
For the sons of the (B)desolate one will be (C)more numerous
Than the sons of the married woman,” says the Lord.
(D)Enlarge the place of your tent;
[a]Stretch out the curtains of your dwellings, do not spare them;
Lengthen your (E)ropes
And strengthen your (F)pegs.
For you will (G)spread out to the right and to the left.
And your [b]descendants will (H)possess nations
And will (I)resettle the desolate cities.

“Fear not, for you will (J)not be put to shame;
And do not feel humiliated, for you will not be disgraced;
But you will forget the (K)shame of your youth,
And no longer remember the (L)disgrace of your widowhood.
For your (M)husband is your Maker,
Whose name is the Lord of armies;
And your (N)Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel,
Who is called the (O)God of all the earth.
For the Lord has called you,
Like a wife (P)forsaken and grieved in spirit,
Even like a wife of one’s youth when she is rejected,”
Says your God.
[c]For a (Q)brief moment I abandoned you,
But with great compassion I will (R)gather you.
In an [d](S)outburst of anger
I hid My face from you for a moment,
But with everlasting (T)favor I will (U)have compassion on you,”
Says the Lord your (V)Redeemer.

“For [e]this is like the days of Noah to Me,
When I swore that the waters of Noah
Would (W)not [f]flood the earth again;
So I have sworn that I will (X)not be angry with you
Nor rebuke you.
10 For the (Y)mountains may be removed and the hills may shake,
But My [g]favor will not be removed from you,
Nor will My (Z)covenant of peace be shaken,”
Says (AA)the Lord who has compassion on you.

11 (AB)Afflicted one, storm-tossed, and (AC)not comforted,
Behold, I will set your stones in antimony,
And I will (AD)lay your foundations with [h](AE)sapphires.
12 Moreover, I will make your battlements of [i]rubies,
And your gates of [j]crystal,
And your entire [k]wall of precious stones.
13 (AF)All your sons will be [l]taught by the Lord;
And the well-being of your sons will be (AG)great.
14 In (AH)righteousness you will be established;
You will be far from (AI)oppression, for you will (AJ)not fear;
And from (AK)terror, for it will not come near you.
15 If anyone fiercely attacks you, it will not be from Me.
(AL)Whoever attacks you will fall because of you.
16 Behold, I Myself have created the smith who blows on the fire of coals
And produces a weapon for its work;
And I have created the destroyer to inflict ruin.
17 (AM)No weapon that is formed against you will succeed;
And you will condemn (AN)every tongue that [m]accuses you in judgment.
This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord,
And their (AO)vindication is from Me,” declares the Lord.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 54:2 Lit Let them stretch out
  2. Isaiah 54:3 Lit seed
  3. Isaiah 54:7 Lit In
  4. Isaiah 54:8 Lit overflowing
  5. Isaiah 54:9 Some mss the waters of Noah this is to Me
  6. Isaiah 54:9 Lit cross over
  7. Isaiah 54:10 Or faithfulness
  8. Isaiah 54:11 Or lapis lazuli
  9. Isaiah 54:12 I.e., bright red
  10. Isaiah 54:12 Or carbuncles
  11. Isaiah 54:12 Lit border, boundary
  12. Isaiah 54:13 Or disciples of
  13. Isaiah 54:17 Lit rises against

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.

54 Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child: for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith the Lord.

Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes;

For thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left; and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited.

Fear not; for thou shalt not be ashamed: neither be thou confounded; for thou shalt not be put to shame: for thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth, and shalt not remember the reproach of thy widowhood any more.

For thy Maker is thine husband; the Lord of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called.

For the Lord hath called thee as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth, when thou wast refused, saith thy God.

For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee.

In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer.

For this is as the waters of Noah unto me: for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth; so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee.

10 For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee.

11 O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colours, and lay thy foundations with sapphires.

12 And I will make thy windows of agates, and thy gates of carbuncles, and all thy borders of pleasant stones.

13 And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children.

14 In righteousness shalt thou be established: thou shalt be far from oppression; for thou shalt not fear: and from terror; for it shall not come near thee.

15 Behold, they shall surely gather together, but not by me: whosoever shall gather together against thee shall fall for thy sake.

16 Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy.

17 No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord.