Isaiah 54–55

54TH CHAPTER

The Lord’s Compassion for the Women without Children

¹Sing with joy, you childless women who never gave birth to children. 

Break into shouts of joy, you women who never had birth pains. 

“There will be more children of women who have been deserted 

than there are children of married women,” says the Lord. 

²Expand the space of your tent. 

Stretch out the curtains of your tent, and don’t hold back. 

Lengthen your tent ropes, and drive in the tent pegs. 

³You will spread out to the right and left. 

Your descendants will take over other nations, 

and they will resettle deserted cities. 

⁴Don’t be afraid, because you won’t be put to shame. 

Don’t be discouraged, because you won’t be disgraced. 

You’ll forget the shame you’ve had since you were young. 

You won’t remember the disgrace of your husband’s death anymore. 

⁵Your husband is your maker. 

His name is the Lord of Armies. 

Your defender is the Holy One of Israel. 

He is called the God of the whole earth. 

⁶“The Lord has called you as if you were 

a wife who was abandoned and in grief, 

a wife who married young and was rejected,” says your God. 

⁷“I abandoned you for one brief moment, 

but I will bring you back with unlimited compassion. 

⁸I hid my face from you for a moment in a burst of anger, 

but I will have compassion on you with everlasting kindness,” 

says the Lord your defender. 

⁹“To me this is like Noah’s floodwaters, when I swore an oath 

that Noah’s floodwaters would never cover the earth again. 

So now I swear an oath not to be angry with you or punish you. 

¹⁰The mountains may move, and the hills may shake, 

but my kindness will never depart from you. 

My promise^aof peace will never change,” 

says the Lord, who has compassion on you. 

¹¹“You suffering, comfortless, storm-ravaged city! 

I will rebuild your city with precious stones. 

I will reset your foundations with sapphires. 

¹²I will rebuild your towers with rubies, 

your gates with sparkling stones, 

and all your walls with precious stones.” 

¹³All your children will be taught by the Lord, 

and your children will have unlimited peace. 

¹⁴You will be established in righteousness. 

You will be far from oppression, 

so you will not be afraid. 

You will be far from destruction, 

so it won’t come near you. 

¹⁵“If anyone attacks you, it will not be my doing. 

Whoever attacks you will be defeated by you. 

¹⁶I’ve created blacksmiths to fan the coals into flames 

and to produce useful weapons. 

I’ve also created destroyers to bring destruction. 

¹⁷No weapon that has been made to be used against you will succeed. 

You will have an answer for anyone who accuses you. 

This is the inheritance of the Lord’s servants. 

Their victory comes from me,” declares the Lord. 

55TH CHAPTER

The Lord’s Word Will Accomplish Its Task

¹“Listen! Whoever is thirsty, come to the water! 

Whoever has no money can come, buy, and eat! 

Come, buy wine and milk. You don’t have to pay; it’s free! 

²Why do you spend money on what cannot nourish you 

and your wages on what does not satisfy you? 

Listen carefully to me: 

Eat what is good, and enjoy the best foods. 

³Open your ears, and come to me! 

Listen so that you may live! 

I will make an everlasting promise^ato you— 

the blessings I promised to David. 

⁴I made him a witness to people, 

a leader and a commander for people. 

⁵You will summon a nation that you don’t know, 

and a nation that doesn’t know you will run to you 

because of the Lord your God, 

because of the Holy One of Israel. 

He has honored you.” 

⁶Seek the Lord while he may be found. 

Call on him while he is near. 

⁷Let wicked people abandon their ways. 

Let evil people abandon their thoughts. 

Let them return to the Lord, 

and he will show compassion to them. 

Let them return to our God, 

because he will freely forgive them. 

⁸“My thoughts are not your thoughts, 

and my ways are not your ways,” declares the Lord. 

⁹“Just as the heavens are higher than the earth, 

so my ways are higher than your ways, 

and my thoughts are higher than your thoughts.” 

¹⁰“Rain and snow come down from the sky. 

They do not go back again until they water the earth. 

They make it sprout and grow 

so that it produces seed for farmers 

and food for people to eat. 

¹¹My word, which comes from my mouth, is like the rain and snow. 

It will not come back to me without results. 

It will accomplish whatever I want 

and achieve whatever I send it to do.” 

¹²You will go out with joy and be led out in peace. 

The mountains and the hills 

will break into songs of joy in your presence, 

and all the trees will clap their hands. 

¹³Cypress trees will grow where thornbushes grew. 

Myrtle trees will grow where briars grew. 

This will be a reminder of the Lord’s name 

and an everlasting sign that will never be destroyed.