Isaiah 54

1 Sing for joy, childless woman, you who have had a baby! Shout aloud, and sing happily, Jerusalem, you who have never given birth! For the abandoned woman now has more children than the married woman, says the Lord.

Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that dost not travail: for more are the children of the desolate than of her that has a husband: for the Lord has said,

2 Make the tent where you live bigger; stretch the fabric to enlarge your home. Don't try and save space—extend your tent cords and make your tent pegs stronger.

Enlarge the place of thy tent, and of thy curtains: fix [the pins], spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy pins;

3 You're going to be spreading out right and left; your descendants will take over the land of other nations and live in towns that were once abandoned.

spread forth [thy tent] yet to the right and the left: for thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and thou shalt make the desolate cities to be inhabited.

4 Do not be afraid, for you won't be humiliated; don't be upset, for you won't be disgraced. You will forget about the shame of your youth, and you won't remember the embarrassment of your widowhood any longer.

Fear not, because thou has been put to shame, neither be confounded, because thou was reproached: for thou shalt forget thy former shame, and shalt no more at all remember the reproach of thy widowhood.

5 For your Maker is your husband, the Lord Almighty is his name the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer, he is called the God of the whole earth.

For [it is] the Lord that made thee; the Lord of hosts is his name: and he that delivered thee, he is the God of Israel, [and] shall be called [so] by the whole earth.

6 The Lord has called you to come back, like a wife who's been abandoned and deeply hurt, a wife who was married when she was young, only to be rejected, says your God.

The Lord has not called thee as a deserted and faint-hearted woman, nor as a woman hated from [her] youth, saith thy God.

7 I deserted you for just a little while, but I will bring you back, showing you a great deal of kindness.

For a little while I left thee: but with great mercy will I have compassion upon thee.

8 In a moment of anger I turned my face away from you, but now with trustworthy love I will always be kind to you, says the Lord, your Redeemer.

In a little wrath I turned away my face from thee; but with everlasting mercy will I have compassion upon thee, saith the Lord that delivers thee.

9 To me this is just like Noah's time, when I promised on oath that a flood would never cover the earth again. In the same way I promise on oath that I won't be angry with you or tell you off.

From the time of the water of Noe this is my [purpose]: as I sware to him at that time, [saying] of the earth, I will no more be wroth with thee, neither when thou art threatened,

10 Though the mountains cease to exist and the hills disappear, yet my trustworthy love for you won't cease to exist and my agreement of peace won't disappear, says the Lord, who shows you kindness.

shall the mountains depart, nor shall thy hills be removed: so neither shall my mercy fail thee, nor shall the covenant of thy peace be at all removed: for the Lord [who is] gracious to thee has spoken [it].

11 My poor storm-damaged city that can't be comforted! Look, I'm going to reset your stones in cement made of antimony, I will use sapphires to lay your foundations.

Afflicted and outcast thou has not been comforted: behold, I [will] prepare carbuncle [for] thy stones, and sapphire for thy foundations;

12 I will make your fortifications out of rubies; I will make your gates out of sparkling beryl. All your walls will be made of precious stones,

and I will make thy buttresses jasper, and thy gates crystal, and thy border precious stones.

13 and all your children will be students of the Lord, and they will live in complete peace.

And [I will cause] all thy sons [to be] taught of God, and thy children [to be] in great peace.

14 Your society will operate from principles of goodness and right; nobody will be there to oppress you. You won't be afraid; you won't have to face any kind of terror.

And thou shalt be built in righteousness: abstain from injustice, and thou shalt not fear; and trembling shall not come nigh thee.

15 If any invader comes to attack you, I didn't send them; you will defeat anyone who attacks you.

Behold, strangers shall come to thee by me, and shall sojourn with thee, and shall run to thee for refuge.

16 Look—I have created a blacksmith who blows the coals into a hot flame and forges a suitable weapon; and I have created the destroyer who brings destruction.

Behold, I have created thee, not as the coppersmith blowing coals, and bringing out a vessel [fit] for work; but I have created thee, not for ruin, that [I] should destroy [thee].

17 None of the weapons forged against you will succeed, and you will condemn anyone who accuses you. This is how the servants of the Lord are blessed, and I am the one who vindicates them, declares the Lord.

I will not suffer any weapon formed against thee to prosper; and every voice that shall rise up against thee for judgment, thou shalt vanquish them all; and thine adversaries shall be [condemned] thereby. There is an inheritance to them that serve the Lord, and ye shall be righteous before me, saith the Lord.

A Dove is Sent Forth from the Ark