Isaiah 54

1 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.

Yahweh says, “You [people of Jerusalem] [MET], start to sing! You [who are like] [MET] women who have never given birth to children, sing loudly and shout joyfully, because you, [who are like] [MET] childless women who have been abandoned [by their husbands], will [soon] have more children than women who have never had any children.

2 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;

Make your tents larger; make them wider, and fasten them firmly with tent pegs.

3 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.

[You will need to make your city much larger] because [soon] you and your descendants will spread all over the land. They will force the people of [other] nations [who now live in your cities] to leave, and you will live [again] in those cities [that were previously abandoned].

4 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;

Do not be afraid; you will no [longer] be ashamed. Previously you were ashamed [because your enemies conquered you] and caused many of your women to become widows, but [soon] you will not even remember that.

5 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.

[I], the Commander of the armies of angels, the Holy one of Israel, who rules over the whole earth, the one who created you, will be [like] [MET] a husband to you.

6 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.

You were like a woman whose husband left her, and caused you to be very sad; you were like a young woman who got married when she was [very] young, and then her husband abandoned her.

7 For a small moment, I forsook thee, —But, with abounding compassions, do I embrace thee:

I abandoned you [people of Jerusalem] for a while, but [now] I am saying, ‘I will take you back.’

8 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.

I was very angry with you for a while, and I turned away from you. But I will act mercifully toward you and I will faithfully love you forever. That is what [I], Yahweh, your protector, say to you.

9 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.

During the time that Noah lived, I solemnly promised that I would never again allow a flood to cover the earth. So [now] I solemnly promise that I will not be angry with you again and (rebuke you/threaten to punish you).

10 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.

Even if the mountains and hills shake and collapse, I will not stop faithfully loving you, and I will not cancel my agreement to cause things to go well for you. That is what [I], Yahweh, who act mercifully, say.

11 O thou humbled one storm-tossed, uncomforted, —Lo! I, am about to set in antimony, thy stones, And will found thee in sapphires;

You [people of Jerusalem] [APO], [your enemies acted very violently toward you]; [it was as though] your city was battered by a severe storm, and no one helped you. But [now] I will cause your city to be rebuilt with stones made of (turquoise/valuable stones), and I will cause the foundations of the city to be made of (sapphires/valuable blue stones).

12 And make rubies, thy battlements, And thy gates, sparkling stones, —And, all thy boundaries, stones of delight;

I will cause the towers on the city wall to be made of (rubies/valuable red stones), and all the gates of the city will be made of [other] very valuable stones.

13 And, all thy children, shall be the instructed of Yahweh, —And, great, shall be the prosperity of thy children.

I will be the one who will teach you people and cause things to go well with you.

14 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.

Your [government] will be strong because of acting justly/fairly; no one will (oppress you/cause you to suffer); you will not be afraid, because there will be nothing [PRS] that will (terrorize you/cause you to become extremely afraid).

15 Lo! they would, quarrel, with thee—not at all from me, —Whoso hath quarrelled with thee, over thee, shall fall.

If any army attacks you, it will not be because I have incited them to do that, and you will defeat any group that attacks you.

16 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:

Think about this: (Blacksmiths/Men who make things from metal) fan the coals to make a very hot flame in order to produce weapons that can be used [in battles], but I am the one who has produced blacksmiths! And I am also the one who created people who destroy [other people and cities].

17 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.

[But I am promising you that I will] not allow you to be defeated/injured by soldiers using weapons that have been made to attack you, and when others try to accuse you, you will (refute them/show that they are wrong). That is the reward that I will give to the people who serve me; I will defend them; that is what [I], Yahweh, promise.”

A Dove is Sent Forth from the Ark