54 ‘Sing with joy,
you woman who could not give birth to any children.
You have never known the pain of a child's birth,
but now shout loudly with joy.
Be happy, because the woman who is alone
will have many children.
She will have more children than the woman who has a husband.’ [ a ]
That is what the Lord says.
2 Make your tent bigger!
You need more room to live in.
Yes, do it!
Make the tent's ropes longer!
Make the pegs that hold it stronger!
3 The borders of your land will be wider in all directions.
Your descendants will take land from other nations.
They will live in the cities that had become empty.
4 Do not be afraid.
You will not be ashamed again.
Do not be frightened of shame.
Nobody will make you ashamed.
You will forget the shame
which you had when you were young.
You will forget that you were ashamed to be alone,
like a widow.
5 Now your Maker is your husband.
His name is the Lord Almighty.
Israel's Holy God is your Redeemer.
He is called, ‘The God who rules the whole earth’.
6 ‘The Lord will now call you to come back to him.
You have been like a wife who was very upset,
because her husband has left her.
You have been like a wife who married when she was young,
and her husband sent her away.’
That is what your God says.
7 ‘For a short time I went away from you.
But now I will bring you back to myself,
because I feel very sorry for you.
8 For a moment I became very angry with you,
and I turned away from you.
But now I will be kind to you,
because my love for you continues for ever.’
That is what the Lord , your Redeemer, says.
9 ‘This is like what I did in Noah's time. [ b ]
At that time, I promised that a flood of water would never again destroy the earth.
Now, at this time, I have promised that I will not be angry with you again.
I will not speak against you again.
10 The mountains may shake to pieces,
and the hills may disappear.
But I will never take my love away from you.
My covenant that brings peace between us will never finish.’
That is what the Lord who is very kind to you says.
11 ‘My city, enemies attacked you,
like a strong storm.
Nobody was there to help you.
Look! Now I will use beautiful jewels to build you again.
I will build your foundation with blue sapphires.
12 I will build your strong towers with rubies.
I will build your gates with valuable jewels,
and I will build your walls with beautiful stones. [ c ]
13 I, the Lord , will teach your children,
and peace will fill their lives.
14 You will have a strong foundation of righteousness.
Your cruel enemies will be far away.
You will have nothing to be afraid of.
No trouble will come near to frighten you.
15 If anyone comes to attack you,
I will not have sent them.
You will win against anyone who tries to attack you.
16 Look! I myself created the worker
who knows how to use iron to make things.
He makes his fire very hot,
and he makes weapons from the iron.
He makes weapons that are strong to fight with.
I also created the armies
who use their weapons to destroy people.
17 But nobody can make a weapon that will beat you,
when your enemies attack you.
If people accuse you of bad things,
you will show that they are wrong.
That is what the Lord will do
as a gift for his servants.
Yes, I will show that they are right.’
That is what the Lord says.
54 “Woman, be happy!
You have not had any children,
but you should be very happy.
“Yes, the woman who is alone [ a ]
will have more children than the woman with a husband.”
This is what the Lord says.
2 “Make your tent bigger.
Open your doors wide.
Don’t think small!
Make your tent large and strong,
3 because you will grow in all directions.
Your children will take over many nations
and live in the cities that were destroyed.
4 Don’t be afraid!
You will not be disappointed.
People will not say bad things against you.
You will not be embarrassed.
When you were young, you felt shame.
But you will forget that shame now.
You will not remember the shame you felt
when you lost your husband. [ b ]
5 Your real husband is the one who made you.
His name is the Lord All-Powerful.
The Holy One of Israel is your Protector, [ c ]
and he is the God of all the earth!
6 “Like a woman whose husband has left her,
you were very sad.
You were like a young wife left all alone.
But the Lord has called you back to him.”
This is what your God says.
7 “For a short time I turned away from you,
but with all my love I will welcome you again.
8 I was so angry that for a while I did not want to see you.
But now I want to comfort you with kindness forever.”
The Lord your Savior said this.
9 “Remember, in Noah’s time I punished the world with the flood.
But I made a promise to Noah that I would never again destroy the world with water.
In the same way, I promise that I will never again be angry with you
and say bad things to you.
10 “The mountains may disappear,
and the hills may become dust,
but my faithful love will never leave you.
I will make peace with you,
and it will never end.”
The Lord who loves you said this.
11 “You poor city!
Enemies came against you like storms,
and no one comforted you.
But I will rebuild you.
I will use a beautiful mortar to lay the stones of your walls.
I will use sapphire stones when I lay the foundation.
12 The stones on top of the wall will be made from rubies.
I will use shiny jewels for the gates.
I will use precious stones to build the walls around you.
13 I, the Lord , will teach your children,
and they will have real peace.
14 You will be built on goodness.
You will be safe from cruelty and fear.
So you will have nothing to fear.
Nothing will come to hurt you.
15 I will never send anyone to attack you.
And if any army tries to attack you, you will defeat them.
16 “Look, I made the blacksmith. He blows on the fire to make it hotter. Then he takes the hot iron and makes the kind of tool he wants to make. In the same way, I made the ‘Destroyer’ to destroy things.
17 “People will make weapons to fight against you, but their weapons will not defeat you. Some people will say things against you, but anyone who speaks against you will be proved wrong.”
The Lord says, “That is what my servants get! They get the good things [ d ] that come from me, their Lord .
54 Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child: for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith the Lord .
2 Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes;
3 For thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left; and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited.
4 Fear not; for thou shalt not be ashamed: neither be thou confounded; for thou shalt not be put to shame: for thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth, and shalt not remember the reproach of thy widowhood any more.
5 For thy Maker is thine husband; the Lord of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called.
6 For the Lord hath called thee as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth, when thou wast refused, saith thy God.
7 For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee.
8 In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer.
9 For this is as the waters of Noah unto me: for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth; so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee.
10 For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee.
11 O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colours, and lay thy foundations with sapphires.
12 And I will make thy windows of agates, and thy gates of carbuncles, and all thy borders of pleasant stones.
13 And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord ; and great shall be the peace of thy children.
14 In righteousness shalt thou be established: thou shalt be far from oppression; for thou shalt not fear: and from terror; for it shall not come near thee.
15 Behold, they shall surely gather together, but not by me: whosoever shall gather together against thee shall fall for thy sake.
16 Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy.
17 No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord , and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord .
54 “ ( A ) Shout for joy, infertile one, you who have not given birth to any child ;
Break forth into joyful shouting and cry aloud, you who have not been in labor;
For the sons of the ( B ) desolate one will be ( C ) more numerous
Than the sons of the married woman,” says the Lord .
2 “ ( D ) Enlarge the place of your tent;
[ a ] Stretch out the curtains of your dwellings, do not spare them ;
Lengthen your ( E ) ropes
And strengthen your ( F ) pegs.
3 For you will ( G ) spread out to the right and to the left.
And your [ b ] descendants will ( H ) possess nations
And will ( I ) resettle the desolate cities.
4 “Fear not, for you will ( J ) not be put to shame;
And do not feel humiliated, for you will not be disgraced;
But you will forget the ( K ) shame of your youth,
And no longer remember the ( L ) disgrace of your widowhood.
5 For your ( M ) husband is your Maker,
Whose name is the Lord of armies;
And your ( N ) Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel,
Who is called the ( O ) God of all the earth.
6 For the Lord has called you,
Like a wife ( P ) forsaken and grieved in spirit,
Even like a wife of one’s youth when she is rejected,”
Says your God.
7 “ [ c ] For a ( Q ) brief moment I abandoned you,
But with great compassion I will ( R ) gather you.
8 In an [ d ] ( S ) outburst of anger
I hid My face from you for a moment,
But with everlasting ( T ) favor I will ( U ) have compassion on you,”
Says the Lord your ( V ) Redeemer.
9 “For [ e ] this is like the days of Noah to Me,
When I swore that the waters of Noah
Would ( W ) not [ f ] flood the earth again;
So I have sworn that I will ( X ) not be angry with you
Nor rebuke you.
10 For the ( Y ) mountains may be removed and the hills may shake,
But My [ g ] favor will not be removed from you,
Nor will My ( Z ) covenant of peace be shaken,”
Says ( AA ) the Lord who has compassion on you.
11 “ ( AB ) Afflicted one, storm-tossed, and ( AC ) not comforted,
Behold, I will set your stones in antimony,
And I will ( AD ) lay your foundations with [ h ] ( AE ) sapphires.
12 Moreover, I will make your battlements of [ i ] rubies,
And your gates of [ j ] crystal,
And your entire [ k ] wall of precious stones.
13 ( AF ) All your sons will be [ l ] taught by the Lord ;
And the well-being of your sons will be ( AG ) great.
14 In ( AH ) righteousness you will be established;
You will be far from ( AI ) oppression, for you will ( AJ ) not fear;
And from ( AK ) terror, for it will not come near you.
15 If anyone fiercely attacks you , it will not be from Me.
( AL ) Whoever attacks you will fall because of you.
16 Behold, I Myself have created the smith who blows on the fire of coals
And produces a weapon for its work;
And I have created the destroyer to inflict ruin.
17 ( AM ) No weapon that is formed against you will succeed;
And you will condemn ( AN ) every tongue that [ m ] accuses you in judgment.
This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord ,
And their ( AO ) vindication is from Me,” declares the Lord .
54 “Sing, barren woman, ( A )
you who never bore a child;
burst into song, shout for joy, ( B )
you who were never in labor; ( C )
because more are the children ( D ) of the desolate ( E ) woman
than of her who has a husband, ( F ) ”
says the Lord .
2 “Enlarge the place of your tent, ( G )
stretch your tent curtains wide,
do not hold back;
lengthen your cords,
strengthen your stakes. ( H )
3 For you will spread out to the right and to the left;
your descendants ( I ) will dispossess nations ( J )
and settle in their desolate ( K ) cities.
4 “Do not be afraid; ( L ) you will not be put to shame. ( M )
Do not fear disgrace; ( N ) you will not be humiliated.
You will forget the shame of your youth ( O )
and remember no more the reproach ( P ) of your widowhood. ( Q )
5 For your Maker ( R ) is your husband ( S ) —
the Lord Almighty is his name—
the Holy One ( T ) of Israel is your Redeemer; ( U )
he is called the God of all the earth. ( V )
6 The Lord will call you back ( W )
as if you were a wife deserted ( X ) and distressed in spirit—
a wife who married young, ( Y )
only to be rejected,” says your God.
7 “For a brief moment ( Z ) I abandoned ( AA ) you,
but with deep compassion ( AB ) I will bring you back. ( AC )
8 In a surge of anger ( AD )
I hid ( AE ) my face from you for a moment,
but with everlasting kindness ( AF )
I will have compassion ( AG ) on you,”
says the Lord your Redeemer. ( AH )
9 “To me this is like the days of Noah,
when I swore that the waters of Noah would never again cover the earth. ( AI )
So now I have sworn ( AJ ) not to be angry ( AK ) with you,
never to rebuke ( AL ) you again.
10 Though the mountains be shaken ( AM )
and the hills be removed,
yet my unfailing love ( AN ) for you will not be shaken ( AO )
nor my covenant ( AP ) of peace ( AQ ) be removed,”
says the Lord , who has compassion ( AR ) on you.
11 “Afflicted ( AS ) city, lashed by storms ( AT ) and not comforted, ( AU )
I will rebuild you with stones of turquoise, [ a ] ( AV )
your foundations ( AW ) with lapis lazuli. ( AX )
12 I will make your battlements of rubies,
your gates ( AY ) of sparkling jewels,
and all your walls of precious stones.
13 All your children will be taught by the Lord , ( AZ )
and great will be their peace. ( BA )
14 In righteousness ( BB ) you will be established: ( BC )
Tyranny ( BD ) will be far from you;
you will have nothing to fear. ( BE )
Terror ( BF ) will be far removed;
it will not come near you.
15 If anyone does attack you, it will not be my doing;
whoever attacks you will surrender ( BG ) to you.
16 “See, it is I who created the blacksmith ( BH )
who fans the coals into flame
and forges a weapon ( BI ) fit for its work.
And it is I who have created the destroyer ( BJ ) to wreak havoc;
17 no weapon forged against you will prevail, ( BK )
and you will refute ( BL ) every tongue that accuses you.
This is the heritage of the servants ( BM ) of the Lord ,
and this is their vindication ( BN ) from me,”
declares the Lord .
