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.
Shout in triumph, O barren one, Who hadst not borne, —Break forth into shouts of triumph—and trill thy voice, Who hadst not travailed in birth, For, more, are the children of the Desolate Than the children of Her who had the husband, Saith Yahweh.
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 space of thy tent And the curtains of thy habitations, let them spread forth do not spare, —Lengthen thy cords, And thy tent-pins, make thou fast;
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 break forth, —And thy seed, shall of the nations, take possession, And forsaken cities, shall they cause 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.
Do not fear for thou shalt not turn pale, Neither feel disgraced for thou shalt not be put to the blush, —For, the shame of thy youth, shalt thou forget, And the reproach of thy widowhood, shalt thou 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, Yahweh of hosts, is his Name, —And, thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, The God of all the 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, like a wife forsaken and grieved in spirit, hath Yahweh called thee, —Even the wife of youthful days, in that thou wast 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 small moment, I forsook thee, —But, with abounding compassions, do I embrace 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 an overflow of vexation, I hid my face for a moment, from thee, But, with lovingkindness age-abiding, have I had compassion on thee, —saith thy Redeemer Yahweh.
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.
For, the waters of Noah, is this unto me, —As to which I sware that the waters of Noah should not again pass over the earth, So have I sworn Not to be vexed with thee Nor to 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, may move away, And the hills, may be shaken, —But, my lovingkindness, from thee, shall not move away, And, my covenant of peace, shall not be shaken, saith he who hath compassion upon thee—Yahweh.
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 humbled one storm-tossed, uncomforted, —Lo! I, am about to set in antimony, thy stones, And will found thee in 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 make rubies, thy battlements, And thy gates, sparkling stones, —And, all thy boundaries, stones of delight;
13 and all your children will be students of the Lord, and they will live in complete peace.
And, all thy children, shall be the instructed of Yahweh, —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.
In righteousness, shalt thou be established, —Be thou far from oppression—But indeed thou shalt not fear, And from crushing calamity—But indeed it shall not come nigh unto thee.
15 If any invader comes to attack you, I didn't send them; you will defeat anyone who attacks you.
Lo! they would, quarrel, with thee—not at all from me, —Whoso hath quarrelled with thee, over thee, shall fall.
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.
Lo! I, have created the smith, who bloweth up a fire of coals, And who bringeth forth an instrument for his work, —And, I, have created the waster to destroy:
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.
No instrument formed against thee, shall prosper, And every tongue that riseth against thee in judgment, shalt thou prove to be lawless, —This is the inheritance of the servants of Yahweh. And, their righteousness, is from me, Declareth Yahweh.
A Dove is Sent Forth from the Ark
