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.
Sing, O thou barren, that didst not hear! Break forth into singing, and shout for joy, thou that wast not in travail! For more are the children of the desolate Than of the married woman, saith Jehovah.
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 let the canopy of thy habitation be extended! Spare not; lengthen thy cords, And make fast thy stakes!
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.
For on the right hand and on the left shalt thou burst forth with increase; And thy posterity shall inherit the nations, And people the desolate cities.
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, for thou shalt not be confounded; Blush not, for thou shalt not be put to shame. For thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth, And the reproach of thy widowhood thou shalt remember no more.
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 thy husband is thy Maker; Jehovah of hosts is his name. Thy redeemer is the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called.
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.
For as a woman forsaken, and deeply afflicted, hath Jehovah recalled thee, And as a wife wedded in youth, that hath been rejected, 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 moment I have forsaken thee, But with great mercy will I gather 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 overflowing wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment. But with everlasting kindness will I have mercy upon thee, Saith thy redeemer, Jehovah.
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.
As in the time of the waters of Noah, so shall it be now; As I swore that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth, So do I swear that I will not be angry with thee, nor rebuke thee.
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.
For the mountains shall depart, And the hills be overthrown, But my kindness shall not depart from thee, Nor shall my covenant of peace be overthrown, Saith Jehovah, that hath pity on thee.
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.
O thou afflicted, beaten with the storm, destitute of consolation! Behold, I lay thy stones in cement of vermilion, And thy foundations with sapphires.
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 battlements of rubies, And thy gates of carbuncles, And all thy borders fill of precious stones.
13 and all your children will be students of the Lord, and they will live in complete peace.
All thy children shall be taught by Jehovah, And great shall be the prosperity of thy children.
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.
By righteousness shalt thou be established; Be thou far from anxiety, for thou shalt have nothing to fear, And from terror, for it shall not come near thee.
15 If any invader comes to attack you, I didn't send them; you will defeat anyone who attacks you.
If any be leagued against thee, it is not by my command; Whoever shall be leagued against thee shall come over to thee.
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 create the smith, Who bloweth up the coals into a fire, And produceth an instrument for his work; I also create the destroyer to lay waste.
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.
Whatever weapon is formed against thee, it shall not prosper; And against every tongue that contendeth with thee, thou shalt obtain thy cause. This is the inheritance of the servants of Jehovah, And the blessing which they receive from me, saith Jehovah.
A Dove is Sent Forth from the Ark
