Isaiah
Chapter 54
1 Sing, you who couldn’t have children; shout with joy, you who never gave birth. Be happy, because you have more children now than the woman who has a husband, says God.
2 Make your tent bigger and stretch out its covers. Don’t hold back, make the ropes longer, and make the pegs stronger.
3 You will spread out to the right and to the left; your descendants will settle in other nations and live in empty towns.
4 Do not be afraid; you will not be embarrassed. Do not feel confused; you will not be disgraced. You will forget the shame of your youth and no longer remember the dishonor of being a widow.
5 Your Creator is your partner; God is his name; and your Savior, the Holy One of Israel, will be known as the God of the entire world.
6 God has chosen you like a woman abandoned and sad in spirit, like a young wife rejected, says your God.
7 I left you alone for a short time, but I will bring you back with great kindness.
8 I was upset with you for a short time and turned away; but I will show you endless kindness and compassion, says your God, the Redeemer.
9 This is like Noah’s flood to me: just as I promised that Noah’s flood would never again cover the earth, so I promise I will not be angry with you or scold you.
10 Even if the mountains go away and the hills move, my kindness will not leave you and my peace agreement will not move, says God who has mercy on you.
11 You who are troubled and storm-tossed, and without comfort, see, I will set your stones with pretty colors and lay your foundations with sapphires.
12 I will make your windows out of agate, your gates out of sparkling stones, and all your borders out of beautiful stones.
13 All your children will be taught by God, and they will have great peace.
14 You will be set up in what is right: you will be safe from being hurt and you won’t be scared; and you won’t be terrified because it won’t get close to you.
15 Look, they will definitely come together, but not because of me: anyone who comes together against you will fail because of you.
16 Look, I made the blacksmith who fans the coals into flame and forges a tool for his work; I also made the destroyer to ruin.
17 No weapon made against you will succeed, and you will prove wrong every tongue that accuses you. This is the right of God’s servants, and their goodness comes from God.