Isaiah 54
1 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.
Let your voice be loud in song, O woman without children; make melody and sounds of joy, you who did not give birth: for the children of her who had no husband are more than those of the married wife, says the Lord.
2 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!
Make wide the place of your tent, and let the curtains of your house be stretched out without limit: make your cords long, and your tent-pins strong.
3 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.
For I will make wide your limits on the right hand and on the left; and your seed will take the nations for a heritage, and make the waste towns full of people.
4 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.
Have no fear; for you will not be shamed or without hope: you will not be put to shame, for the shame of your earlier days will go out of your memory, and you will no longer keep in mind the sorrows of your widowed years.
5 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.
For your Maker is your husband; the Lord of armies is his name: and the Holy One of Israel is he who takes up your cause; he will be named the God of all the earth.
6 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.
For the Lord has made you come back to him, like a wife who has been sent away in grief of spirit; for one may not give up the wife of one's early days.
7 For a little moment I have forsaken thee, But with great mercy will I gather thee.
For a short time I gave you up; but with great mercies I will take you back again.
8 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.
In overflowing wrath my face was veiled from you for a minute, but I will have pity on you for ever, says the Lord who takes up your cause.
9 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.
For this is like the days of Noah to me: for as I took an oath that the waters of Noah would never again go over the earth, so have I taken an oath that I will not again be angry with you, or say bitter words to you.
10 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.
For the mountains may be taken away, and the hills be moved out of their places, but my love will not be taken from you, or my agreement of peace broken, says the Lord, who has had mercy on you.
11 O thou afflicted, beaten with the storm, destitute of consolation! Behold, I lay thy stones in cement of vermilion, And thy foundations with sapphires.
O troubled one, storm-crushed, uncomforted! see, your stones will be framed in fair colours, and your bases will be sapphires.
12 And I will make thy battlements of rubies, And thy gates of carbuncles, And all thy borders fill of precious stones.
I will make your towers of rubies, and your doors of carbuncles, and the wall round you will be of all sorts of beautiful stones.
13 All thy children shall be taught by Jehovah, And great shall be the prosperity of thy children.
And all your builders will be made wise by the Lord; and great will be the peace of your children.
14 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.
All your rights will be made certain to you: have no fear of evil, and destruction will not come near you.
15 If any be leagued against thee, it is not by my command; Whoever shall be leagued against thee shall come over to thee.
See, they may be moved to war, but not by my authority: all those who come together to make an attack on you, will be broken against you.
16 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.
See, I have made the iron-worker, blowing on the burning coals, and making the instrument of war by his work; and I have made the waster for destruction.
17 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.
No instrument of war which is formed against you will be of any use; and every tongue which says evil against you will be judged false. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness comes from me, says the Lord.
A Dove is Sent Forth from the Ark
